A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series)

Christopher Alexander was known for his theories on bringing humanity into architecture. He believed everyone possessed the ability to create and design a space that he called alive. His book, Pattern language, is based on core belief that people should design their own communities. Observation is that some of the best places in the world were desi

‘The more living patterns there are in a place—a room, a building, a town—the more it comes to life as an entirety, the more it glows.’12

To generate exuberant diversity in a city’s streets and districts, four conditions are indispensable: 1. The district, and indeed as many of its internal parts as possible, must serve more than one primary function; preferably more than two. These must insure the presence of people who go outdoors on different schedules and are in the place for dif