Pattern samples |  |  |
Samples from the book A pattern language |
A Place to Wait
The process of waiting has inherent conflicts in it.
On the one hand, whatever people are waiting for - the doctor, an airplane, a business appointment - has built in uncertainties, which make it inevitable that they must spend a long time hanging around, waiting, doing nothing.
On the other hand, they cannot usually afford to enjoy this time. Because it is unpredictable, they must hang at the very door. Since they never know exactly when their turn will come, they cannot even take a stroll or sit outside...
Therefore,
In places where people end up waiting, create a situation which makes the waiting positive. Fuse the waiting with some other activity - newspaper, coffee, pool tables, horseshoes; something which draws people in who are not simply waiting. And also the opposite: make a place which can draw a person waiting into a reverie; quiet; a positive silence.
From A pattern language