The Waiting Room A short history of a minor typology

Abstract

Despite its ubiquity and that we have all spent a lot of time in them, the waiting room has not been an object of study for architecture; the waiting room is not an architectural typology by itself, nor an object of desire. However, in contrast to the apparent banality of its contemporary versions (such as waiting for medical practices or bureaucratic procedures), the waiting room acts as a powerful regulatory device for the use of space and time, administering the waste of the latter. This article traces the history of the waiting room and places it at the center of a debate on architectural programme, building typologies and modern urbanity. For this, it builds a history of the waiting room, from its infrastructural origin (amid the first train stations) and the many specific architectural iterations in the last two centuries (for example, hotel lobbies or restaurant bars). The article argues that the modern waiting room constitutes a number of spaces with specific names and characteristics, that allow to establish a kind of typology, albeit minor. It finishes by questioning its place today