BOSTON-Engineering the flow of foot traffic is often a vital component in the design of a new building. And while such flow is an integral part of the design of a future outpatient and research facility now under construction in Boston, it is not the type of flow that most would expect.

In fact, in the case of the $450 million Brigham Building for the Future in the Longwood Medical Area of the city, foot traffic congestion is considered a positive thing, a catalyst for making the building a success.

Tom Sieniewicz, a partner with Boston-based NBBJ, the architectural firm designing the building, notes the facility will be a “very open building with lots of collisions and intersections.” The idea is for researchers and doctors to not only meet in designated conference and lunch rooms, but to bump into each other in the hallways and common areas, much like people do in busy cities.