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The Influence of Building Thresholds on User Experience

Abstract

Building thresholds are important transitional elements that connect exterior and interior environments and influence how users enter, perceive, and experience buildings. These spaces may include entrances, porches, vestibules, foyers, arcades, covered walkways, and transitional zones between different functional areas. Beyond their practical role, thresholds can establish a sense of arrival, provide environmental protection, and shape users' first impressions of a building. This study examines the influence of building thresholds on user experience and evaluates how their architectural characteristics contribute to comfort, orientation, accessibility, and spatial perception. The study focuses on the design characteristics of thresholds, including scale, proportion, enclosure, visibility, materiality, lighting, seating, landscaping, and relationship with adjacent spaces. The transition between outdoor and indoor environments is assessed in relation to how users approach and enter buildings. Attention is also given to the sequence of spaces experienced before reaching primary functional areas, as this can influence users' understanding and perception of the building. Threshold design can significantly affect wayfinding and spatial orientation. Clearly defined entrances, visible circulation routes, identifiable landmarks, and logical transitions can help users understand where to enter and how to proceed through a building. Conversely, poorly defined or concealed thresholds may create confusion and reduce the sense of accessibility. The study therefore assesses how threshold configuration and visual connections influence users' ability to navigate and interpret building environments. Environmental comfort is another important consideration in threshold design. Covered entrances, shaded areas, vestibules, and semi-enclosed spaces can provide protection from sun, rain, wind, and excessive heat while allowing gradual transition between outdoor and indoor conditions. The study considers how daylight, ventilation, thermal conditions, acoustics, and material selection contribute to the comfort experienced within threshold spaces. These environmental characteristics are examined in relation to the overall quality of the user experience. The study also considers the social and psychological dimensions of building thresholds. Transitional spaces can encourage informal interaction, provide opportunities for waiting and gathering, and create a sense of welcome and belonging. Their scale, openness, privacy, and visual relationship with surrounding spaces may influence whether users perceive them as inviting, secure, or restrictive. Attention is therefore given to the ways in which threshold design can support social interaction while maintaining appropriate levels of privacy and security. The study aims to provide a better understanding of how building thresholds influence user experience and overall architectural quality. It is expected to identify threshold design characteristics that improve comfort, accessibility, orientation, social interaction, and positive spatial perception. The findings will be useful to architects, planners, and building designers in developing entrances and transitional spaces that provide meaningful, comfortable, and inclusive connections between different environments while strengthening users' overall experience of buildings.

Keywords: Building thresholds, user experience, transitional spaces, entrance design, spatial perception, wayfinding, accessibility, environmental comfort, social interaction, thermal comfort, spatial orientation, building entrances, architectural experience, inclusive design.