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2nd out of 88 books
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A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
by
Christopher Alexander,
Murray Silverstein, Sara Ishikawa, Max Jacobson, Shlomo Angel, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King
"Brilliant....Here's how to design or redesign any space you're living or working in--from metropolis to room. Consider what you want to happen in the space, and then page through this book. Its radically conservative observations will spark, enhance, organize your best ideas, and a wondrous home, workplace, town will result"--San Francisco Chronicle. This classi...more
Hardcover, 1216 pages
Published
August 25th 1977
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published August 1st 1977)
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This is the book that sparked my interest in architecture and home design, many years ago. Skip the town and urban planning if you are more interested in how to design a comfortable home. Christopher Alexander is passionate and persuasive about what he believes we need in our homes: natural light from two sides of a room, window seats one can actually read in, quiet separate dressing areas for every person in a house (because bedrooms should be rooms to relax and be intimate in, not a messy cl...more
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Summary
This book is a classic in architecture and urban planning. It is a huge 1,200 page guidebook/manual for designing every aspect of the built environment. The approach is what we might call today object-oriented. In fact, I have read in a few reviews that this is a popular book for computer programmers.
The book describes 253 "patterns", that can be uniquely instantiated and combined to envision, articulate, and ultimately create the fabric of our surroundings. Th...more
This book is a classic in architecture and urban planning. It is a huge 1,200 page guidebook/manual for designing every aspect of the built environment. The approach is what we might call today object-oriented. In fact, I have read in a few reviews that this is a popular book for computer programmers.
The book describes 253 "patterns", that can be uniquely instantiated and combined to envision, articulate, and ultimately create the fabric of our surroundings. Th...more
I found Christopher Alexander's book A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction absolutely and brilliantly insightful in its examination of what works in towns, buildings, and construction -- what, historically, is both pleasing and functional for the people who inhabit them. When (if ever) I design my next house, I will slavishly follow many of the prescriptions in the book. Some of the book was ridiculous and romantic in the most idiotic way; Alexander recommends building a bench nea...more
This has long been on my must-read list, partly because someday we'd like to build our own house, but also partly because of Alexander's surprising influence on computer science via folks like Ward Cunningham and Kent Beck. In that way, this book illustrates a compelling way of thinking about problem-solving within a discipline of study.
I have mixed feelings about some of the large-scale patterns, both in terms of their correctness and also whether they are realistic in a free society...more
I have mixed feelings about some of the large-scale patterns, both in terms of their correctness and also whether they are realistic in a free society...more
Anyone with the luxury of designing their own home should jump at the chance to get this book. It's a bit dated, but at 1100+ pages it surely describes most of the details you'll need to think about.
I took it home from the library because it's a fascinating book about architectural design in general, everything from the optimal size of a public square (70 feet wide) to the best place for a garden seat. I learned that my house has a good "intimacy gradient" (spaces meant to ...more
I took it home from the library because it's a fascinating book about architectural design in general, everything from the optimal size of a public square (70 feet wide) to the best place for a garden seat. I learned that my house has a good "intimacy gradient" (spaces meant to ...more
This architecture classic from 1977 approaches architecture in a way that's altogether new to me: it provides 253 archetypal elements of design that together form a "language" to speak of an infinite variety of designs, from the large scale (regional metro plans) to the small scale (individual homes).
I loved how this book was very easy to pick up and put down--the 1000 or so pages don't have to be read all at one go for it to make sense.
What I hate about this book...more
I loved how this book was very easy to pick up and put down--the 1000 or so pages don't have to be read all at one go for it to make sense.
What I hate about this book...more
I'm with Goodreader Sonny here -- http://apps.new.facebook.com/good_reads/... This is a tough book to review. Not dull outright (although I thought its formula of problem statement - all-too-brief analysis - conclusion quickly grew tedious), I have to confess I finally gave up on this one after 560 pgs. and the library unearthed my next reserve. This utopian monster runs close to over 1000 pages of proposed ideal "patterns" of organizing every kind of human space from international to...more
a revolutionary book on making: cities, spaces, buildings, places. human-scaled and highly personal. essential for anyone interested in the relationship between humans and the built-environment.
I have to give it 5 stars because there is no other way to describe it but as amazing. Forgive me the long review, but it was a library checkout and I want to refer back to it.
I was initially annoyed that there wasn't an idex where I could look up "office space" and quickly read their recommendations for the best layout. Yet now I love the way each pattern refers to all the other patterns it is connected to, and you find yourself flipping from garden benches to farmhouse ki...more
I was initially annoyed that there wasn't an idex where I could look up "office space" and quickly read their recommendations for the best layout. Yet now I love the way each pattern refers to all the other patterns it is connected to, and you find yourself flipping from garden benches to farmhouse ki...more
This is the classic among architectural books. Some might find in quite dry, but for me, it was like reading a suspenseful novel. I gobbled up every last page.
This book formed the basis of one of the most interesting classes I took in university.
The underlying concept is that different types of places have different patterns of being. Like, farmhouses in Ontario have a different layout/ form than Victorian townhouses of the same era. Having lived and worked in various places, I have found this to be very true. This book talks about the larger patterns as they apply to public spaces and town planning, more than individual buildings.
...more
The underlying concept is that different types of places have different patterns of being. Like, farmhouses in Ontario have a different layout/ form than Victorian townhouses of the same era. Having lived and worked in various places, I have found this to be very true. This book talks about the larger patterns as they apply to public spaces and town planning, more than individual buildings.
...more
If A New Theory of Urban Design is the summation of the theoretical developments in Christopher Alexander's work, this is the practical how-to guidebook vision of building integrated and human centred spaces, of building spaces that blend internal and external physical environments. I was introduced to this by an architect friend and neighbour when I was doing some writing about topography and (our) community: it is an inspirational and exciting book, although at 1200 pages of architectural and ...more
In full disclosure I only read chapters that I was interested in. A great book for space planning and ways to make the most of your home, community, etc. Alot of "so true!" statements. Chapters are very specific and short. Liked "lights on two sides" and the home sections on how to encourage coziness. Book is about "patterns" created by our behavior that affects space. A must read for an architecture student or if you are remodeling or building a house. Or just int...more
Who would have thought that one of my favorite books of all time would be about . . . architectural planning? One of my life dreams is to design and build my own home. In my research on home design I heard about this book and thought it might be a good resource, so, I bought it, started reading it, and realized I had found a real treasure! I’m hard pressed to think of another non-fiction work longer than 1000 pages that I’ve found so interesting and practical.
“Classic,” “seminal,” an...more
“Classic,” “seminal,” an...more
I didn't actually read all of this book. In fact, I only got as far as chapter 13, Subculture Boundary. I found it very interesting and compelling. That is, unless you happen to place a high premium on private property rights. Looking back on my notes on the first 13 chapters, they all have a similar feel. Yes, that's great. But forcing it on people won't necessarily work. It's been tried, you know. Certainly none of those experiments were as well thought out as this book things things o...more
This is an amazing book. A must for anyone building anything as small as garden beds to as large as a city.
Alexander extracts patterns (what you might think of trends) in building from ancient to contemporary architecture that create "living" buildings, places that are alive and energetic and used.
For instance, one that sticks with me is the pattern of Transitions. Thick walls in a home and well defined doorways, give you a sense of transition between rooms....more
Alexander extracts patterns (what you might think of trends) in building from ancient to contemporary architecture that create "living" buildings, places that are alive and energetic and used.
For instance, one that sticks with me is the pattern of Transitions. Thick walls in a home and well defined doorways, give you a sense of transition between rooms....more
Back in my first life as a masters student, I was planning my thesis around the codification of the city on the Hollywood road film. I blame (or perhaps credit) this wacky idea on my long commutes. See, UCLA is in Westwood and I lived in Pasadena at the time. There is no straight shot between the two locations thanks to the Hollywood Hills. That means I had a fifty mile commute in typical L.A. traffic (gridlock) and plenty of time to ponder stuff while I started at the dashed white line blipping...more
I marked this as "read" but really it's a a book I graze through, with an eye to home improvement. Some bits are impracticably utopian, but on the whole there are a lot of really thoughtful, useful ideas for how to arrange things to enhance living, including small practical things (a deck should be at least six feet deep, and have some measure of privacy, or no one will actually use it). I've focused on the sections about the neighborhood and home, and haven't read much of the city st...more
This Book has been so valuable to me for so long that it has it's own special pocket in my library.
It has informed many of my decisions and I have been delighted to see it's principles applied to numerous domains and disciplines such as education, organizational transformation, ecological prioritization, software development, etc.
In issues of The Whole Earth Catalog this was the only book to review a full-page review.
Highly recommended along with the other volumes in by this ...more
It has informed many of my decisions and I have been delighted to see it's principles applied to numerous domains and disciplines such as education, organizational transformation, ecological prioritization, software development, etc.
In issues of The Whole Earth Catalog this was the only book to review a full-page review.
Highly recommended along with the other volumes in by this ...more
Brian
is currently reading it
Recommended by Tim O'Reilly. A bit off-the-edge in terms of it's utopian planning/thinking, but a useful book for learning about how to think about use cases. Since I work with people and systems, and people and furniture, etc., thinking about how people *use* things is important, and this book inculcates that type of thinking. More, perhaps, on this when I've done with the reading. That's going to be a while, it's better to read this in chunks (and easily read that way, too).
Pattern Language I rate slightly less useful for me than A Timeless Way of Buildingby Christopher Alexander and still call it a truly powerful book. It resonates well beyond the architecture and planning fields into computer thinking so has far greater reach. both are must reads for architects. I first read it in 1977 as a new book and have also referenced it in research projects during the past decade so review it regularly. PL sits among my favorite books.
A truly awe-inspiring book that has influencing thinking in areas far beyond architecture. Alexander calls into question the entire system of architects handing down designs to the masses, contrasting it with the age-old process of people incrementally building things around them that fit 'just right'. If you feel much is wrong with today's built environment, this book (and Alexander's others) can help you in thinking about a different, better way.
This is another textbook highly worth mentioning, though it wasn't really intended as a formal textbook, more like the beginning of a cultural, architectural movement. A Pattern Language is the genesis of the software engineering, user interface, social, and other design pattern compendia that have become popular. It isn't really a book to read from beginning to end. You flip through it and learn the relationships.
I looked into this book because it held up as the predecessor of the idea of "Design Patterns" in programming. I have to confess that I only gave it a quick skim, but I wasn't really impressed at what I found. The patterns are a weird muddle of descriptive and prescriptive thoughts; the descriptive aspect seems fairly culture-specific, and the prescriptive bits are backed up mostly by anecdotal evidence at best.
This book is the I Ching of space and spatial relationships in architecture, but without being cryptic. I pick it up and read it at random whenever I need inspiration. Alexander and his team are visionaries and have sparked a movement in how to make livable homes, communities and cities. A must. This is one of my top ten books of all time.
This is one of the most important books in my life. Systems thinking in architecture: a way to think environments as an interlinked pattern, which consists of smaller parts, and those parts are developed to support and create social and psychological wellbeing. This way of thinking can be adapted in many other fields as well!
This book is a gem. Not only does it articulate what we all seem to innately know about design, it does so in a readable manner that conjures up images of times spend relaxed and enjoying others in our homes and workplaces. I come back to this book regularly for both the design rules and the relaxing images presented.
This was recently on someone's "this book changed the way I think" list, so I OhioLINKed it. It clocks in at 1200 pages and has countless 5-star reviews on Goodreads, from architects and regular folk alike. It's a little much for me right now, but I hope to give it a try someday.
Emily
is currently reading it
Fascinating in a very theoretical, hard to connect to any given place on Planet Earth, kind of way.
Which is to say, I stalled on about p.50 and it's been sitting on my nightstand ever since. Maybe I'll be able to get more into it when I'm unemployed?
Which is to say, I stalled on about p.50 and it's been sitting on my nightstand ever since. Maybe I'll be able to get more into it when I'm unemployed?
Somehow I never read this in architecture school. It is dated, but the way the authors conceive of a design approach that spans from the scale of a region and city down to building details is pretty cool. See also Jan Gehl's Cities for People...
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