Customer Reviews

The Language of School Design: Design Patterns for 21st Century Schools Fully Revised 2nd Edition

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The authors follow architect Christopher Alexander's classic book "A Pattern Language". They develop a language or vocabulary of aspects of an educational model and show clear and vibrant examples of each.
It's not a common occurance to get such an effective synthesis of theory and concepts with practical applications.
I highly recommend this publication as a great resource for administrators planning new facilities and struggling with how to bridge the gulf between existing aging and inappropriate facilities and the new educational models being discussed and implemented.
An easy summer "beach-read" that will leave you energized and seeing possibilities for how exciting a school can really be.

Nair and Fielding's assemblage of profound school design patterns are an inspiration to planners, architects and educators around the globe. Colorful, innovative, and easy to digest, this book has come a long way from the schoolhouse most of us, sadly, know today. I recommend the book for any school administration, designer or design researcher looking to take a step forward in the field of educational facility planning. An absolutely wonderful collection of images and ideas!

This book is based on Christopher Alexander's idea of Pattern Language, and the authors applied the idea into school design. The book includes graphics, illustrations, and basic descriptions, which are easy to follow and understand. Unlike other school design books, it does not focus on case studies, but centres on the design principles, which the authors called patterns. As the authors said, the 25 patterns shown in the book are as a starting point for development, it is reasonable to say that the book is not a comprehensive pricinples for school design, but a good starting point to approach school design projects.

I checked the first edition of this book out from the library while doing research for my thesis. I liked it so much that I bought it! I love the second edition updates, and I will be sure to keep this book as a staple of my reference library for years to come.

A must buy for those who are researching and designing schools.
Highly recommended.
Only unsatisfactory part of it is that the fonts are too huge.

it is very easy to read and follow unlike some other book si have come across, and its breaks down and explains the theorys very well. the application from sketches to real case studies is also a great help.