space

A space may be bounded physically or notionally, e.g. room, corridor, atrium, cleared zone (at an airport), roadway, square, working space around a machine, swimming pool.

One of the key properties of a space is the nature of its boundaries; e.g. a room is a space which is bounded on all sides by solid elements, whereas a working space around a machine is often not bounded by solid elements on any sides (other than a floor), but will have notional boundaries.

Another key property of a space is the function or user activity it is intended to serve. Spaces are often named according to this intended or actual function/user activity, e.g. office space, operating theatre, sports hall, boiler room, garden.

Traditionally the concept of space has mainly been applied to buildings, but it is often applied to other types of construction entity.