The Street SectionThe ratio of height to width, and why it decides how a street feels.ArchitectureEnclosure comes from the ratio of building height tostreet width, not from the style of the buildings.ratio = height : width18 m tall, 18 m wide1:1, strongly enclosedfeels like a room12 m tall, 24 m wide1:2, comfortablecommon good street9 m tall, 54 m wide1:6, no enclosurereads as open landTHE COMMON MISTAKE✗ Setting every building back for light✓ Vary the setback deliberatelyUniform setbacks widen every street at once, so the scheme loses enclosure.Daylight is better solved by orientation and block depth.Beyond about 1:4 a street stops reading as a defined space. Belowabout 1:1 daylight and privacy become the constraint.The Street Sectionlearnposters.com
The Street Section — printable design wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the The Street Section poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

Beyond about 1:4 a street stops reading as a defined space. Below about 1:1 daylight and privacy become the constraint.

Questions about the The Street Section poster

What’s on the The Street Section poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Enclosure comes from the ratio of building height to street width, not from the style…; ratio = height : width; 18 m tall, 18 m wide = 1:1, strongly enclosed; 12 m tall, 24 m wide = 1:2, comfortable; 9 m tall, 54 m wide = 1:6, no enclosure; Common mistake: Setting every building back for light → Vary the setback deliberately. Beyond about 1:4 a street stops reading as a defined space. Below about 1:1 daylight and privacy become the constraint.
Who is the The Street Section poster for?
The Street Section belongs to the Architecture section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning urban design can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the The Street Section poster?
Draw a section across every street in the scheme. Faster than arguing about character. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so The Street Section belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with The Street Section?
Active Frontage, Garden City and Housing Typologies sit alongside The Street Section in the Architecture section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Active FrontageGarden CityHousing Typologies
Is the The Street Section poster free to download and print?
Yes. The Street Section downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Architecture section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the The Street Section poster print at?
The Street Section is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of The Street Section loses nothing.Printing guide

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