Spatial Planning

Section 1: Floor Plan Archetypes

The floor plan archetype determines nearly every downstream design decision — structural grid, facade rhythm, servicing strategy, daylight penetration, and occupant experience. The ten canonical plan types below cover the full spectrum of building configurations from narrow residential slabs to deep-plan commercial towers.

1.1 Single-Loaded Corridor

Diagram description: A linear building with habitable rooms on one side only and an open corridor or gallery on the other, typically facing a courtyard or exterior view.

• Typical plan depth: 6–9 m from corridor wall to exterior facade
• Structural grid: 6–8 m bays perpendicular to corridor, 3–4 m bays parallel
• Daylight characteristics: Excellent — all rooms have direct exterior exposure on at least one side; corridor receives borrowed light or is open-air
• Circulation efficiency: Low — corridor serves rooms on one side only, yielding high circulation-to-usable area ratio (NTG penalty 5–10%)
• Best-fit building types: Tropical housing, student residences, hospital wards, hotels in warm climates, gallery-access social housing
• Exemplar buildings: Robin Hood Gardens (Alison & Peter Smithson, London, 1972); Park Hill (Jack Lynn & Ivor Smith, Sheffield, 1961)

1.2 Double-Loaded Corridor