The modern corridor links and connects church spaces to generate access, facilitate circulation, and forge visual connection.
Corridors made a slow and storied appearance in architectural history, and there was great resistance to them in the public architecture of the early nineteenth century, when many viewed them as dark and lonely. Yet, historian Mark Jarzombek’s research acknowledges that corridors are so ubiquitous today that is inconceivable that they have such a history.
A history of Living Streets
Until the 1850s, corridors were rare, even in large public buildings. Seldom mentioned in the literature of the time, Charlotte Bronte described them as places for restless souls, the Marquis de Sade filled them with trap doors, and George Byron made them scenes of a romantic nature.
By the time Henry James penned "The American" in 1877, corridors had emerged as an integral part of the world of business, government, and the military, enabling and enhancing communication and socializing. As they became embedded into architectural programs, corridors instigated change: newly enclosed courtyards created indoor circulation; corridors separated distinct spaces and required their own air flow and ventilation; and heralded decoration began to elevate them from purely transitional spaces to places that could be affirming.
Schools very often had “marching corridors” used for drill practices and synchronized motion. By 1922, William Butts Ittner had brought this idea to school design across the United States. Yet he also created corridors that served as art galleries and social spaces, encouraging co-mingling of the student body throughout the building.
The view from post-WWII
Jarzombek notes that corridor resistance reappears: “Modern materials, abstract detailing, and the low ceilings of the post-World War II corridors put an end to the idea of corridic grandeur.” He goes on to inform that architectural theorist and educator Christopher Alexander, whose works are required reading in schools of architecture, argued that the modern age “so far infested the word ‘corridor’ that it is hard to imagine that a corridor could ever be a place of beauty, a moment in your passage from room to room, which means as much as all the moments you spend in the rooms themselves.”
What about corridors today? Do we resist their nature, their connectivity? Or do we celebrate it? Can the humble corridor be noble? Beautiful? Enlightening? We advocate for acknowledging the corridor as a social place. In fact, we would define it as a socially defining public place with purpose.
Corridors can link and connect spaces to generate access, circulation arrangements, and enhancement of visual connections, making public spaces more interesting and animated. The introduction of informal places to pause and converse in corridors encourages a sense of community and interaction, which is a tactic we often employ.
Corridors in the modern church
At Granger Community Church, we worked on the design of intentionally supersized corridors in the children’s center. These massive corridors permit coming and going. Functionally, they handle the scale and size of a hugely active congregation. Emotionally, socially, and playfully, these are the avenues, byways, crannies, and pathways that children of all ages move through, make pit stops, and shift their perspectives.
Image: Architecture is Fun
At Indiana's Granger Community Church, Architecture is Fun designed intentionally supersized corridors in the children’s center. Functionally, they handle the scale and size of a hugely active congregation. Emotionally, socially and playfully, these are the avenues, byways, and pathways that children of all ages move through and that shift their perspectives.
These are corridors where you can march to your own drum and where you might find art, beauty, and delight. Designed to be satisfying and comforting, the corridors help fulfill the needs of children and families at the church. They convey a sense of safety, are well lit, warm, and are filled with nooks and interesting places to perch. They are also generous enough to serve on their own as break out spaces to practice or perform, and to play. So indeed, these supersized corridors introduce informality, interaction, and contribute to community.
To make history with the next corridor you design, consider making critical inquiry of corridor spaces, as we did with historian and critic Mark Jarzombek, who helped inform this blog. Find his full paper here: https://web.mit.edu/mmj4/www/downloads/criticalinq36_4.pdf.
