Something that never fails to make a space feel liminal and uncanny is taking something that's supposed to be outdoors and putting it indoors, especially if it involves a boundary of some kind. like to a certain extent just taking a door that's designed like an exterior door and putting it between two indoor spaces already feels a little weird, or outdoor types of lighting. Or wall or flooring material. Like if you put some kinds of siding, stucco, paving stones or something indoors, it'd feel weird.
Mildly Uncanny:
An exterior door.
Light fixtures that normally go outside, like on the wall of a house.
Siding, stucco, rough concrete flooring.
A car. Like a garage is fine, and car dealerships are okay because they're an indoor space whose primary purpose is having cars in it, but if you go to a mall and there's just randomly a car sitting in the middle of a floor it always feels like, why is a car here?
A parking lot. This is why parking garages are like that.
A garage door. This is why indoor self-storage facilities are like that.
The Outdoors. Okay maybe I just don't interact with courtyards enough but when I see a fully enclosed courtyard it feels kind of weird.
Golf. This is why indoor mini golf places are like that.
Moderately Uncanny:
An awning, or an entire porch. Like why does this need to be here?
An umbrella in a space that doesn't have significant natural lighting.
Windows, sliding doors.
An entire goddamn light pole.
Trees, areas of vegetation not in containers. Especially at ground level. Like a raised area of planting in an atrium can be okay but if you've just got plants just randomly in the floor?...
Areas of dirt or gravel ground when the rest of the building isn't like that.
Very large rocks.
Balconies. Like a hallway that's overlooking a lower area is one thing but if there's a balcony with a door opening onto it that doesn't lead anywhere, it's just a place to stare at a hallway or atrium, that's weird.
Very Uncanny:
A skylight, in a space with no natural lighting. Imagine being in a room with a skylight that just looks at a ceiling.
Bodies of water. Like, fountains and swimming pools are okay, but what if you were in an airport or something and you go down one hallway and it opens onto a dock. Waves gently lap at the piers. There are a bunch of little boats docked there that can sail off down a water filled tunnel that goes around a curve and vanishes. Wouldn't that be fucked up?
The Weather. Tables with stupid beach umbrellas are moderately uncanny but what if you were in a big atrium with picnic tables with umbrellas, and it was raining from sprinklers in the ceiling so the umbrellas had a purpose after all. Or worse, snowing.
An entire house. Really any building that's entirely inside another building is pretty fucked up.
