Hello Reader,

Building designers often use bubble diagrams to plan and organize spaces, helping them create buildings and interiors that are both functional and efficient.

These diagrams visually represent the program—basically, a list of all the spaces the building needs, along with their square footage and how they’ll be used.

During the early stages of design, bubble diagrams focus on the functional aspects of the building.

They lay out the spaces, their purposes, how they connect to each other, and how people will move through them.

It’s a simple but effective way to bring the design to life!

Above is an example of a bubble diagram created for the first floor of a home.

Each circle is labeled with a room name, and a dashed line indicates a line of sight.

In more complex layouts, the designer may use markers to add color to the "bubbles." For example, all public spaces might be one color, bedrooms another, baths a third, etc., and a legend may be included to identify the color coding.

Program in Architectural Design

The program is a list that itemizes the spaces and outlines the requirements for each space with its assigned square footage, description of the function, and use or activities.

Spatial Relationships

Bubble diagrams depict a program using circles and ovals in a floor plan format.

Each bubble (circle or oval) represents the space to serve its function (such as dining or sleeping) to create functional aspects of design, such as privacy, circulation, noise, and daylight.

The bubble diagrams also convey which functions (circles or ovals) should be near one another for the building to function.

For example, the kitchen may be closest to the dining room because food preparation and eating are compatible functions.

Adjoining or intersecting circles in the kitchen and dining room would illustrate this functional relationship on a bubble diagram.

Adjacency and Proximity in Spatial Relationships

The previous section touched on two important concepts in spatial relationships: adjacency and proximity.

Both concepts are used in bubble diagrams to express the relationships between spaces in a building.

Adjacency defines the common needs, working spatial relationships, and their relative importance.

In bubble diagrams, adjacency is expressed graphically and written with keywords, such as "primary, mandatory, secondary, desirable, or undesirable."

Proximity specifies the closeness of one space to another.

In bubble diagrams, proximity relationships between spaces are arranged and communicated with keywords, such as "immediate proximity, and convenient proximity."

Another concept involved in considering the relationships between spaces is circulation, which refers to the flow of movement from one space to another.

It involves the entry and exit points of spaces, how they relate (directly or indirectly) to one another in this regard, and the movement patterns.

Corridors, aisles, stairs, etc., are all part of circulation. In bubble diagrams, circulation is another important concept.

Use of Graphical Language

Designers are free to use any graphical design or language since bubble diagrams do not have an accepted professional standard.

Generally, in bubble diagrams, lines, arrows, circles, and ovals are used universally, and circles and ovals vary in size, shape, and color.

The goal is to provide a quick expression through multiple layouts and revisions.

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