Lobby (room)

A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer or an entrance hall, it often is a large, vast room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc.) adjacent to the auditorium. It is a repose area for spectators and place of venues, especially used before performance and during intermissions but also as a place of celebrations or festivities after performance.

Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression and convey an image, or "power lobby".

Since the mid-1980s, there has been a growing trend to think of lobbies as more than just ways to get from the door to the elevator but instead as social spaces and places of commerce. Some research has even been done to develop scales to measure lobby atmosphere to improve hotel lobby design.

Many places that offer public services, such as a doctor's office, use their lobbies as more of a waiting room for the people waiting for a certain service. In these lobbies it is common for there to be comfortable furniture, such as couches and lounge chairs, so that the customer will be able to wait in comfort. Also, there may be television sets, books, and/or magazines to help the customer pass time as they wait to be served.