The Room Before the Conversation

Before a conversation begins, the room has already said something.

Its pace says what kind of response is expected. Its empty space says whether silence is allowed. Its controls say whether the person arriving is a reader, a customer, a user, or a source of activity.

A cared-for room does not guarantee a cared-for conversation. But it can make care more likely by refusing to reward the opposite.

The first design decision is not how someone will speak. It is what they will understand about the place before they do.