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, synagogues, meeting halls,
parliaments and legislatures, courtrooms, 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 clubs, exercise equipment is normally arranged in aisles.

Aisles are distinguished from corridors, hallways, walkways, footpaths, pavements

(American English sidewalks), trails, paths and (enclosed) "open areas" by lying
between other open spaces or areas of seating, but enclosed within a structure.

An aisle at the Green cream Logistics Co., Kotka, Finland.

Contents
1 Typical physical characteristics
1.1 Width of various types of aisles
2 Architecture
3 Church architecture
4 Supermarkets and retail stores
4.1 Signage
5 Libraries
6 Computer server rooms
7 Performance venues
7.1 Cinemas, indoor theatres and concert halls
7.2 Stadiums and outdoor arenas
8 Stables and barns
9 Vehicles
10 Safety and regulatory considerations
11 See also
12 Literature
13 References
14 External links
Typical physical characteristics

Wedding aisle in Montgomery, Alabama.

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.[1]

Church architecture
An aisle in Bath Abbey, Bath, 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.
An aisle in Bath Abbey, Bath, 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.

The nave-aisles in this plan view of a cathedral are shaded pink; the arcade
pillars are black dots
The nave-aisles in this plan view of a cathedral are shaded pink; the arcade
pillars are black dots

Interior elevation view of a Gothic cathedral, looking from the nave, with nave-
aisle arcade highlighted.
Interior elevation view of a Gothic cathedral, looking from the nave, with nave-
aisle arcade highlighted.

In church architecture, 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 columns. 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.[1]

In Gothic architecture, the aisles' roofs are lower than that of the nave, allowing
light to enter through clerestory 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.[1]

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, Amiens Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris and Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral in Sofia[2] are all described as having five aisles, meaning they have
two side aisles either side of the nave. Antwerp Cathedral 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 being the only three exceptions.

Supermarkets and retail stores

The shopping aisle at Epstori shopping center in Seinäjoki, Finland.

A pet food and cleaning aisle of a supermarket.

Supermarket checkout aisles

In supermarkets 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 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

U.S. Library of Congress reading room with aisles.

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

An aisle between Wikimedia servers

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

Performance venues

Theatre-type seating in a lecture hall with a stair aisle.

End zone of Qwest field with blue seats and grey aisles

Closer view of seats.

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 as 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 Shilton Barn, Oxfordshire, England has three aisles and six bays
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".[3] 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
Bus aisle with stairs
Bus aisle with stairs

London Circle Line tube train aisle with open gangways

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 sets certain standards for
building access and other design considerations in all new construction and major
renovations in the U.S.[4] 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.[5] 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
Indoor positioning system
Safety
Soutra Aisle
Wedding ("walking down the aisle")
List of basic architectural topics
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
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now
in the public domain: Spiers, Richard Phené (1911). "Aisle". In Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p.
447.
"Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky". SofiaCode.
Upton, Dell, and John Michael Vlach. Common places: readings in American
vernacular architecture. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986. 206. ISBN
0820307505
The ADA Standards for Accessible Design are part of the ADA Title III regulations
The ADA Small Business Guide provides information on removing architectural
barriers.
External links

Look up aisle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aisles.

A diagram of the aisles in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
ADA Small Business Guide
"aisle". Catholic Encyclopaedia (on-line ed.). 1907.
"Aisle". Language of the Food Industry: Glossary of Supermarket Terms. Food
Marketing Institute. Archived from the original on 18 December 2004. Retrieved 5
January 2005.
Categories: Architectural elementsChurch architectureRoomsBuilding engineering
Navigation menu
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
ArticleTalk
ReadEditView history
Search
Search Wikipedia
Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
Contribute
Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Wikidata item
Print/export
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons

Languages
Deutsch
Español
Français
한국어
हिन्दी
Italiano
Nederlands
日本語
Polski
15 more
Edit links
This page was last edited on 19 August 2022, at 21:37 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.