Circulation space as ⇜the fourth place⇝ in a private student housing complex in Depok, Indonesia

This study examined the social interactions within a student housing complex using a closed-ended questionnaire to collect quantitative and qualitative information on social interaction and student preferences with regard to common areas. Additional data for undesignated common spaces for social interaction was collected through observation. Using a private student housing complex near Universitas Indonesia, Depok, as the case study, it was found that the circulation spaces such as corridors and stairways provided the students with the most social contact and social interaction possibilities; that is, these spaces became the fourth place for meeting the students’ social interaction needs. The results indicated that circulation spaces in student housing should be planned not only as through passages but also as potential social interaction spaces and that common designated spaces for social interactions should also be located at circulation nodes or at intersections to provide more opportunities for accidental encounters between neighbors.