Double Loaded Corridor with Inset Doors
One way that architecture supports surveillance is through efficient-for-efficiency’s-sake circulation in multi-family buildings. The default as designers and developers is a double-loaded corridor with entry doors running down both sides. This arrangement tends to offer little privacy from your neighbors or the admin of the building who can easily see who is coming and going by looking straight down each hall. While sometimes this approach might be generally appropriate for the personal safety of the occupants such as in a SRO or permanent supportive housing situation, I still think that is worthwhile to find new models that perhaps slightly compromise the efficiency of the building in order to allow for greater autonomy and privacy of the occupant.
One way this has been approached is to slightly inset the door of the unit so there is less exposure of the interior as it is opened and closed. Another way is to create a visual barrier to the view of the interior through a wall or storage cabinet in the entry area and narrowing the transition to the main living spaces. Another way still is to create strategic jogs in the plan or introduce exposed columns that break up the linear monotony of the processional experience. I’d prefer to get rid of that approach to housing all together as it feels more like a storage unit than a home. It seems that North America particularly suffers from this conundrum also due to zoning restrictions like double egress. If you are interested, here is a think piece about changing that rule.
As stated above, sometimes it is beneficial for a building to maintain linear and direct circulation in situations where an immediate intervention might be necessary such as complexes for the previously unhoused with supportive services, in hospital wards or other medical institutions. I don’t think that the average person is or should be comfortable with settling for a surveillance-style approach to their front door just because they happen live in a multi-unit complex. We can do better!