Loneliness is a design outcome as much as a social one. The plan decides how often you pass someone, and passing someone is where everything else starts.

Make the route the meeting place

A stair wide enough for two people to stop on is not an indulgence. It is the difference between a building where residents nod and one where they talk.

Courtyards you cross, not admire

A courtyard that is only visible from a window is landscaping. One that sits on the route between the entrance and the lift is where a community actually forms.

Thresholds that let you linger

A metre of covered space outside each front door changes behaviour more than any communal lounge we have ever specified.