---
title: "Corner Doors (196)"
created: 2026-07-01
updated: 2026-07-01
type: concept
status: compiled
namespace: pattern-language
pattern_number: 196
pattern_name: "Corner Doors"
source_repository: https://github.com/zenodotus280/apl-md
source_url: https://github.com/zenodotus280/apl-md/blob/master/Patterns/Corner%20Doors%20%28196%29.md
license_note: Non-commercial reuse with attribution; see namespace README and source LICENSE.md.
related_patterns:
  - "The Flow Through Rooms (131)"
  - "Sequence of Sitting Spaces (142)"
  - "Tapestry of Light and Dark (135)"
  - "Low Doorway (224)"
  - "Closets Between Rooms (198)"
  - "Frames as Thickened Edges (225)"
  - "Ornament (249)"
  - "Solid Doors with Glass (237)"
---

# Corner Doors (196)

> Source pattern from the abridged `apl-md` corpus. Use as a design reference and constraint seed; do not treat as commercial-clean training data.

### Problem
>The success of a room depends to a great extent on the position of the doors. If the doors create a pattern of movement which destroys the places in the room, the room will never allow people to be comfortable.

### Solution
>Except in very large rooms, a door only rarely makes sense in the middle of a wall. It does in an entrance room, for instance, because this room gets its character essentially from the door. But in most rooms, especially in small ones, put the doors as near the corners of the room as possible. If the room has two doors, and people move through it, keep both doors at one end of the room.

### Related Patterns
... this pattern helps you place doors exactly. Use it to help create the larger [[The Flow Through Rooms (131)]]. You can use it too, to generate a [[Sequence of Sitting Spaces (142)]], by leaving small corners for sitting, uninterrupted by the doors; and you can use it to create [[Tapestry of Light and Dark (135)]], since every door, if glazed and near a window, will create a natural pool of light which people gravitate toward.

When a door marks a transition, as it does into a bedroom or a private place, for instance, make it as low as you dare - [[Low Doorway (224)]] ; and thicken the entry way with closet space where it needs to be especially private - [[Closets Between Rooms (198)]]. Later, when you make the door frame, make it integral with the wall, and decorate it freely - [[Frames as Thickened Edges (225)]], [[Ornament (249)]]; except when rooms are very private, put windows in the door - [[Solid Doors with Glass (237)]] ...

---

> [!cite]- Alexander, Christopher. _A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction_. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 904.
> #APL/confidence/medium
>
> #APL/Building-Patterns/Shaping-the-Rooms