This might be confusing to a visitor, but Alexander explains his philosophy in A Pattern Language.

 “Politeness demands that when someone comes to the door, the door is opened wide,” he writes. Yet the family does “not want to feel disturbed or intruded upon when someone comes to the door.” Thus, he concludes, “make the inside entrance room zigzag, or obstructed, so that a person standing on the doorstep of the open door can see no rooms inside, except the entrance room itself, nor through the doors of any rooms.” Thus the confusion upon entering this particular house.

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LIVING ROOM

Christopher Alexander-designed house with ‘dreamlike’ qualities for sale in Albany — BerkeleysideThis is like our door, living room….it protects the back of the house, and the inner walls provide places to put shelves..

This might be confusing to a visitor, but Alexander explains his philosophy in A Pattern Language. “Politeness demands that when someone comes to the door, the door is opened wide,” he writes. Yet the family does “not want to feel disturbed or intruded upon when someone comes to the door.” Thus, he concludes, “make the inside entrance room zigzag, or obstructed, so that a person standing on the doorstep of the open door can see no rooms inside, except the entrance room itself, nor through the doors of any rooms.” Thus the confusion upon entering this particular house.