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An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals,
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s, meeting
hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
s, parliaments and legislatures,
courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...
s, theatres, and in certain types of passenger vehicles. Their floors may be flat or, as in theatres, stepped upwards from a stage. Aisles can also be seen in shops, warehouses, and factories, where rather than seats, they have shelving to either side. In warehouses and factories, aisles may be defined by storage pallets, and in factories, aisles may separate work areas. In
health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...
s, exercise equipment is normally arranged in aisles. Aisles are distinguished from corridors, hallways, walkways, footpaths, pavements (''American English''
sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick ...
s), trails, paths and (enclosed) "open areas" by lying between other open spaces or areas of seating, but enclosed within a structure.


Typical physical characteristics

Aisles have certain general physical characteristics: *They are virtually always straight, not curved. *They are usually fairly long. An open space that had three rows of chairs to the right of it and three to the left generally would not be considered an "aisle".


Width of various types of aisles

*Theatres, meeting halls, shops, etc., usually have aisles wide enough for 2–3 strangers to walk past each other without feeling uncomfortably close. In such facilities, anything that could comfortably accommodate more than four people side-by-side would generally be considered an "open area", rather than an "aisle". *Factory work area aisles are usually wide enough for workers to comfortably sit or stand at their work area, while allowing safe and efficient movement of persons, equipment and/or materials. *Passage aisles usually are quite narrow—wide enough for a large person to carry a suitcase in each hand but not wide enough for two people to pass side-by-side without touching. Usually, even without luggage one person must turn sideways in order for the other one to pass. *Warehouse aisles normally are at least 8–10 feet (2.4–3 meters) wide, to allow use of mechanical loading equipment. *Wedding aisles are wide enough to allow two people to walk comfortably beside each other and still have space. The width of these aisles varies and is up to those who design the layout of the wedding. *Vehicle aisles are wide enough to allow a designated type of vehicle to pass one or two way. Width generally varies for vehicle type and other variables like no of parking accessibility etc. :Note that spaces between buildings, e. g., rows of storage sheds, would not be considered "aisles", even if the same amount of separation would be considered an aisle in a warehouse.


Architecture

In architecture, an aisle is more specifically the wing of a house, or a lateral division of a large building. The earliest examples of aisles date back to the Roman times and can be found in the Basilica Ulpia (basilica of Trajan), which had double aisles on either side of its central area. The church of St. Peter's in Rome has the same number.


Church architecture

Image:aisle.bath.abbey.arp.jpg, An aisle in
Bath Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th ...
,
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, England. The aisle is lined with wooden seating (pews), the nave seating can be seen on the right, beyond the arcade pillars. The roof of the aisle is fan-vaulted. File:Seitenschiff.svg, The nave-aisles in this plan view of a cathedral are shaded pink; the arcade pillars are black dots File:Arcade diagram.png , Interior elevation view of a Gothic cathedral, looking from the nave, with nave-aisle arcade highlighted.
In
church architecture Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of churches, convents, seminaries etc. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by borrowing other architectural styles as ...
, an aisle (also known as an ''yle'' or ''alley'') is more specifically a passageway to either side of the nave that is separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s. Occasionally aisles stop at the transepts, but often aisles can be continued around the apse. Aisles are thus categorized as ''nave-aisles'', ''transept-aisles'' or ''choir-aisles''. A semi-circular choir with aisles continued around it, providing access to a series of chapels, is a
chevet In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
. In Gothic architecture, the aisles' roofs are lower than that of the nave, allowing light to enter through
clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
windows. In Romanesque architecture, however, the roofs are at roughly equal heights, with those of the aisle being only slightly lower than that of the nave. In Germany, churches where the roofs of the aisles and nave are the same height, such as St. Stephen's, Vienna, the Wiesenkirche at Soest
St. Martin's, Landshut
and the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Munich are known as ''Hallenkirchen''. When discussing overall design, architectural historians include the centrally-positioned nave in the number of aisles. Thus the original St Peter's Basilica in Rome,
Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
, Amiens Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia are all described as having five aisles, meaning they have two side aisles either side of the nave.
Antwerp Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been ...
even has seven aisles (three at either side of the central nave). In the United Kingdom, cathedrals generally only have one aisle on each side, with Chichester Cathedral, Elgin Cathedral and
St Mary Magdalene, Taunton Taunton Minster (St Mary Magdalene church) is a Church of England parish minster church in Taunton, Somerset, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It was completed in 1508 and is in the Early Tudor Perpendicular Gothic style. I ...
being the only three exceptions.


Supermarkets and retail stores

In
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
s there are two types of aisles, food aisles and checkout aisles. Food aisles are where goods are displayed. At the end of food aisles may be found crown end displays, where high-
margin Margin may refer to: Physical or graphical edges *Margin (typography), the white space that surrounds the content of a page *Continental margin, the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust *Leaf ...
goods are displayed for impulse purchase. In retail stores that do not primarily sell food, aisles containing products would be referred to either generically as merchandise aisles, or by the particular products contained in the aisle, e.g., "the gardening aisle", "the sports equipment aisle". Checkout aisles contain cash registers at which customers make their purchases. Regardless of the type of merchandise the establishment sells, it is common to display a range of "impulse buy" items along the checkout aisle, such as cold beverages, magazines, candy and batteries. These are often called "lanes" to distinguish them from the food aisles.


Signage

For customer convenience, supermarkets and retail stores commonly number the aisles and have signs indicating both the aisle number and the types of products displayed in that aisle. Churches, courtrooms, legislatures, and meeting halls may identify individual rows, seats or sections but do not normally assign aisle numbers or display signs regarding aisles.


Libraries

Libraries are commonly divided into several areas: *Circulation desk *Collections, areas where materials are grouped, e.g., Children's Collection. This may include book shelves, manuscripts, photos, etc. *The "stacks", where books are shelved *The Reference Room where materials with limited circulation are stored *Public reading areas containing seats and desks The spaces between rows of book shelves in the "stacks" area are called aisles and desks in the reading area are frequently arranged in rows with aisles.


Computer server rooms

Server rooms are typically divided into hot and cold aisles for cooling efficiency, and access to servers.


Performance venues


Cinemas, indoor theatres and concert halls

Films, stage plays and musical concerts ordinarily are presented in a darkened facility so the audience can see the presentation better. To improve safety, often the edges of the aisles in such facilities are marked with a row of small lights. The markers frequently are strings of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) because LEDs are durable, have low power consumption and use low voltages that are not subject to electrical codes. To provide a higher level of light focused downward, lighting fixtures referred to a
luminaries
are often built into the side of the seat facing the aisle.


Stadiums and outdoor arenas

Sport stadiums and outdoor arenas frequently have several types of aisles, including aisles to purchase tickets for events, aisles to enter the main event area and aisles to go to seating. Stadium seating routinely is separated into sections by aisles. Seating rows are accessed by stairsteps. To promote safety, aisles commonly are divided by a handrail in the middle of the aisle.


Stables and barns

The floor plan of aisled barns resembles that of an aisled church. However, the nave in farm buildings is called an aisle thus a "three aisled barn". Aisled barns have the big barn doors on the gable end of the building giving access to the center aisle, often called the drive floor or threshing floor. The side aisles may be the same widths making the barn symmetrical or the aisle where animals were housed may be narrower which is apparent outside the barn because the barn doors are then off-center. The area between the posts, perpendicular to the aisles are called bays. In stables there is a stable aisle down the centre with individual stalls facing the aisle.


Vehicles

File:Translink bus interior.jpg, Bus aisle with stairs File:Bombardier S Stock Circle line Interior 3.jpg, London Circle Line tube train aisle with open gangways


Safety and regulatory considerations

National and local government regulations require a minimum width for aisles in various building types. Regulatory agencies frequently inspect buildings, vehicles, etc., to enforce regulations requiring that aisles not be restricted. Inspectors have imposed fines for blocking or restricting passage when boxes or folding chairs are stored in aisles, for example. Insurance companies frequently have safety inspectors to examine the premises, both to determine whether insureds are complying with the insurer's requirements for coverage and to look for any practices that could lead to injury or property damage, including restricting passage in aisles. The
Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...
sets certain standards for building access and other design considerations in all new construction and major renovations in the U.S. An architectural barrier is any feature that makes access or use of a building difficult, unreasonably dangerous or impossible. This can include aisles that are too narrow for easy access by a wheelchair.Th
ADA Small Business Guide
provides information on removing architectural barriers.
Often, the only way to get from a row of chairs, shelves, workstations, etc., to an exit is by an aisle. Historically, many deaths and serious injuries have occurred due to fire, inhalation of smoke or noxious fumes, etc., because blocked or partially blocked aisles prevented persons from promptly leaving a dangerous area. Regulations applicable to public carriers transporting passengers often require aisles to be completely clear in vehicles, such as airlines, buses and trains. Many insurance companies have requirements regarding minimum aisle width, unrestricted aisles and easy access to exits, and will refuse to insure companies that do not meet their requirements or will increase the premiums on companies that frequently violate the requirements.


See also

* Building design *
Cathedral diagram In Western ecclesiastical architecture, a cathedral diagram is a floor plan showing the sections of walls and piers, giving an idea of the profiles of their columns and ribbing. Light double lines in perimeter walls indicate glazed windows. Dashe ...
* Indoor positioning system * Safety *
Soutra Aisle Soutra Aisle, (the present structure lies just within the boundary of the Scottish Borders from Midlothian) not far from Fala, is the remains of the ''House of the Holy Trinity'', a church that was part of a complex comprising a hospital and a fr ...
* Wedding ("walking down the aisle") *
List of basic architectural topics :''The following outline is an overview and topical guide to architecture:'' Architecture – the process and the product of designing and constructing buildings. Architectural works with a certain indefinable combination of design quality an ...


Literature

*Walter Horn, 'On the Origins of the Medieval Bay System', in: ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' 17 (1958), nr. 2, p. 2–23.


References


External links


A diagram of the aisles in Saint-Benoît-sur-LoirePenn State College of Agricultural SciencesADA Small Business Guide
* *{{cite web , url= http://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/glossary_search.cfm , title=Aisle , work=Language of the Food Industry: Glossary of Supermarket Terms , publisher=
Food Marketing Institute Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
, access-date=2005-01-05 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041218043641/http://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/glossary_search.cfm , archive-date=2004-12-18 , url-status=dead Architectural elements Church architecture Rooms Building engineering