Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition
by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler
150 Prospect-Refuge
A preference for environments where people can see without being seen.
People prefer environments where they can easily survey their surroundings (via prospects) and quickly hide or retreat to safety if necessary (via refuges). Environments with both prospect and refuge elements are perceived as safe places to explore and dwell and consequently are considered more aesthetic than environments without these elements. The principle is based on the evolutionary history of humans: Environments with ample prospects and refuges increased the probability of survival for early humans.1
The design goal of prospect-refuge can be summarized as the development of spaces where people can see without being seen. The prospect-refuge principle ...
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