ABSTRACT
In A Pattern Language (1977) Christopher Alexander observes (Pattern 125): ‘Wherever there is action in a place, the spots which are the most inviting, are those high enough to give people a vantage point, and low enough to put them in action’. He further points out (Pattern 133): ‘A staircase is not just a way of getting from one floor to another. The staircase is itself a space, a volume, a part of the building; and unless this space is made to live, it will be a dead spot, and work to disconnect the building and to tear its process apart’. This chapter forms part of a wider study to understand the architectural and socio-cultural patterns of the traditional Muslim-Malay marketplaces on the east coast of Malaysia. Considered as a pattern, this essay examines the staircases in Pasar Siti Khadijah, Khota Baru, which fulfil far more than their basic function of allowing users to pass between one floor and another; for they also provide links from the interior to the exterior of the market, extended spaces for trading, and social spaces for different activities to take place – making the staircases one of the most generous elements in the marketplace.
