Aconversation pit is an architectural feature that incorporates built-in seating into a depressed section of flooring within a larger room. This area often has a table in the center as well. The seats typically face each other in a centrally focused fashion, bringing the occupants closer together than free-standing tables and chairs normally would. In residential design this proximity facilitates comfortable human conversation, dinner parties, and table top games. Its disadvantages include accidental falls and uncomfortable interactions with those standing above in the main room.^[1][2]

The conversation pit was popular from the 1950s to the 1970s, seen across Europe as well as North America.^[3] Modernist architectsEero Saarinen andAlexander Girard used a conversation pit as the centerpiece of the influentialMiller House (1958) inColumbus, Indiana, one of the earliest widely publicized applications of the concept.^[4][5] A red conversation pit (since covered, but recently restored) was later incorporated by Saarinen into the 1962TWA Flight Center atJohn F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.^[6] Other influential residential projects include the 1955 Cohen House inSarasota, Florida, by architectPaul Rudolph, for whom the conversation pit became a signature element,^[7] and many ofBruce Goff's houses^[2] beginning in the 1920s, including the Adah Robinson house inTulsa, Oklahoma^[8] and the 1965 Nicol House inKansas City, Missouri.^[9] The 1968–1969Volcano House inSouthern California, designed by architect Harold James Bissner Jr., has a conversation pit.^[10]

Many conversation pits have been filled in during renovation to create a uniform floor level.^[1] The conversation-pit concept influenced the popularity of the somewhat less radical sunken living room,^[2] most familiar from theDick Van Dyke Show on TV.^[2] In the late 1990s conversation pits and sunken living rooms were offered in home plans as a way of creating an informal space within a large area.^[11]

Season 5 ofMad Men, released in 2012 and set in 1966, featured a conversation pit in Don Draper's new Manhattan apartment.^[12] The show's stylish living room led to a reappreciation of the conversation pit andmid-century modern design in general.^{[citation needed]}

• Inglenook, an intimate space that incorporates a fireplace
• Kiva, a meeting space used byPuebloans

• Rooms
• Architectural elements

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