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A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Oxford University Press, 1977; with 5 co-authors)

Christopher Alexander · c. 1977

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9 korrents from this book ↓

Christopher Alexander did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    Towns and buildings can only become alive if all the people make them, sharing a common pattern language that is itself alive

    Their wordsIt is shown there, that towns and buildings will not be able to become alive, unless they are made by all the people in society, and unless these people share a common pattern language, within which to make these buildings, and unless this common pattern language is alive itself.

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  2. Our reading

    A design pattern describes a recurring problem and the core of its solution, usable a million times without repeating itself

    Their wordsEach pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice.

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  3. Our reading

    Metropolitan regions will not come to balance until each is small and autonomous enough to be an independent sphere of culture

    Their wordsMetropolitan regions will not come to balance until each one is small and autonomous enough to be an independent sphere of culture.

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  4. Our reading

    No design pattern is an isolated entity

    Their wordsIn short, no pattern is an isolated entity.

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  5. Our reading

    Individuals have no effective voice in a community of more than 5,000 to 10,000 people

    Their wordsIndividuals have no effective voice in any community of more than 5000-10,000 persons.

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  6. Our reading

    There is abundant evidence that high buildings make people crazy

    Their wordsThere is abundant evidence to show that high buildings make people crazy.

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  7. Our reading

    People use green open spaces when they are close, but not when they are more than three minutes away

    Their wordsPeople need green open places to go to; when they are close they use them. But if the greens are more than three minutes away, the distance overwhelms the need.

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  8. Our reading

    The more monolithic a building is, the more it prevents people from being personal and making human contact

    Their wordsIn short, the more monolithic the building is, the more it prevents people from being personal, and from making human contact with the other people in the building.

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  9. Our reading

    Everybody loves window seats, bay windows and big low-silled windows with chairs drawn up to them

    Their wordsEverybody loves window seats, bay windows, and big windows with low sills and comfortable chairs drawn up to them.

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