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

by Christopher Alexander (Author), Sara Ishikawa (Author), Murray Silverstein (Author),

219 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195019193

ISBN-10: 0195019199

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You can use this book to design a house for yourself with your family; you can use it to work with your neighbors to improve your town and neighborhood; you can use it to design an office, or a workshop, or a public building. And you can use it to guide you in the actual process of construction.

After a ten-year silence, Christopher Alexander and his colleagues at the Center for Environmental Structure are now publishing a major statement in the form of three books which will, in their words, "lay the basis for an entirely new approach to architecture, building and planning, which will we hope replace existing ideas and practices entirely." The three books are The Timeless Way of Building, The Oregon Experiment, and this book, A Pattern Language.

At the core of these books is the idea that people should design for themselves their own houses, streets, and communities. This idea may be radical (it implies a radical transformation of the architectural profession) but it comes simply from the observation that most of the wonderful places of the world were not made by architects but by the people.

At the core of the books, too, is the point that in designing their environments people always rely on certain "languages," which, like the languages we speak, allow them to articulate and communicate an infinite variety of designs within a forma system which gives them coherence. This book provides a language of this kind. It will enable a person to make a design for almost any kind of building, or any part of the built environment.

"Patterns," the units of this language, are answers to design problems (How high should a window sill be? How many stories should a building have? How much space in a neighborhood should be devoted to grass and trees?). More than 250 of the patterns in this pattern language are given: each consists of a problem statement, a discussion of the problem with an illustration, and a solution. As the authors say in their introduction, many of the patterns are archetypal, so deeply rooted in the nature of things that it seemly likely that they will be a part of human nature, and human action, as much in five hundred years as they are today.

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

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Editorial Reviews

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The second of three books published by the Center for Environmental Structure to provide a "working alternative to our present ideas about architecture, building, and planning," A Pattern Language offers a practical language for building and planning based on natural considerations. The reader is given an overview of some 250 patterns that are the units of this language, each consisting of a design problem, discussion, illustration, and solution. By understanding recurrent design problems in our environment, readers can identify extant patterns in their own design projects and use these patterns to create a language of their own. Extraordinarily thorough, coherent, and accessible, this book has become a bible for homebuilders, contractors, and developers who care about creating healthy, high-level design.

Review

"A wise old owl of a book, one to curl up with in an inglenook on a rainy day.... Alexander may be the closest thing home design has to a Zen master."--The New York Times

"A classic. A must read!"--T. Colbert, University of Houston

"The design student's bible for relativistic environmental design."--Melinda La Garce, Southern Illinois University

"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

"The most important book in architecture and planning for many decades, a landmark whose clarity and humanity give hope that our private and public spaces can yet be made gracefully habitable."--The Next Whole Earth Catalog

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Product details

Series: Center for Environmental Structure (Book 2)
Hardcover: 1171 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (1977)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195019199
ISBN-13: 978-0195019193
Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 2 x 7.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (219 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Criticism
- #4 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Urban & Land Use Planning
- #8 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Drafting & Presentation

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Customer Reviews

219

4.7 out of 5 stars

5 star		84%
4 star		11%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top Customer Reviews

One of the Most Unique Books I've Ever Encountered

ByJLJon August 11, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book is insightful and fun to read. It is also a book that is easy to pick up and read a bit, and put it
down and come back later to pick up where you left off, because it is broken into many very short chapters,
each of which contain a key idea. It's hard to describe this book, because it is so unique in its approach
to telling the reader "how things ought to be" concerning everything from civil planning and city layout,
to floor-plans, to architectural design, to furnishing. The author is very opinionated and does not shy away
from boldly telling you what is wrong with the physical constructs of our urban, suburban, and rural areas,
and how all of that should be properly done in his imagined ideal world.

In some ways, this book is like reading the professional diary of your crazy uncle who is constantly ranting
about what's wrong with the world, and how he thinks it should be set right. However, after reading it for
a while, you get the impression that the author is not really crazy, so much as he is a brilliant eccentric
whose experience and understanding is based on an extremely broad appreciation of how human beings choose
to craft their surroundings, and how we get it right, and how we get it wrong, and why.

Be forewarned... you are not going to agree with everything the author says.
I don't agree, for example, with his outlandish claim that living in a home that is more than four stories
about the ground will eventually make you crazy, because I have loved living on the top floor of my
high-rise condo for the past ten years. I also don't agree with his idea that all kitchen cabinets should
be open shelves with no doors, because the doors just get in the way, hide what is contained therein,
and are essential useless. I must admit, however, that I love reading the author's insights on things
with which I disagree with him, and I have to admit that even on such issues... he's got good points!
Many times I find myself saying "Almost, thou persuadest me."

To be fair, I actually do agree with the author's views regarding the vast majority of his observations,
as they are all just good common-sense approaches, and I must admit they often leave me thinking
"Yes, that's such a beautifully simple truth... why don't we always build it that way, or do it that way?"

This book gives you the benefit of the sage wisdom of an author who is genuinely worth reading
and considering. Even though this book is decades-old, most of its observations are timeless.
It's so hard to classify the book. Is it a Western approach to Feng Shui ... without all the questionable
Eastern Spiritualism, and more of practical philosophy on how to best craft your environment?
Or is it better described as foundational reading for everyone from a City Planner, to an Architect,
to anyone building a house, to anyone one looking to make their home a more pleasant place?

However you choose to classify it... this book is a unique, delightful treatise on how things should
ideally be in order for human beings to be more comfortable, productive, and happy in their surroundings.

11 comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Think of it as a "Physicians Desk Reference" for ailing spaces...

ByChristopher T. Dahleon June 28, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

There are subtle elements or patterns that make some spaces work, and others give you the creeps. Well trained, or gifted designers can sniff this stuff out and correct or avoid the sorts of problems that make spaces uncomfortable or forbidding and propose changes to mundane spaces into attractive and delightful spaces to treasure. But the rest of us, especially me, are often baffled about why a certain piece of furniture, or a room, or a streetscape "works", while one which seems quite similar, fails.

Imagine this: There is a park in your town. By all appearances, it is an attractive place, well kept and apparently furnished with all the expected amenities. Inexplicably, no one uses it. A place that should be filled with children, families, citizens, and activities is empty and forlorn. You've visited it and you feel ill at ease, but you can't figure out why. Visit it again, but bring this book. Find a comfortable place to sit and read through the patterns that make for good public spaces, you just might discover why, and perhaps you can inspire the change that makes it into a beloved and thriving space.

Or perhaps it's your office, or a room in your home, or the library in your child's school...I am not saying that this book is the cure for all that ails bad spaces in the built environment, but it is a good starting place, a way to discover and consider elements that elevate your mood, or just make a space work better.

You don't have to agree with everything Mr. Alexander and his team propose, and some spaces, towns, streets, buildings, work even without fitting the patterns they have noted, but they get it right more often than not. So whether you are a home owner, a member of the planning commission, or just a citizen who wants the town to pay better attention to the pedestrian experience on main street, this is a book which will help you speak intelligently and articulate ideas to make the built environment just a bit more comfortable, practical, productive, or inspiring for the people who live in it.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great Reference Book

ByDM3147on March 1, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Bought this as a gift for a friend. Since its original publication, I have purchased numerous copies as gifts and to have in multiple locations for reference. Written in a series of short 1-2 page chapters, the book goes through an array of critical "place making" criteria based on human behavior. As an architect/urban designer, it is one of my top 5 reference books when thinking through an new project. Although not a book intended to be read cover to cover, some of his other publications are written in a way to show how these "place making" elements can be combined to create a livable human habitat.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great Informative Book

ByNoiron September 25, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I am an architecture student and I purchased this book for a weekly project we had. My class refers to this book as the architecture bible (because of the small text and thickness of the book, approx. 1150pgs). It is extremely helpful and informative. The only thing I would have to say was a disappointment was the sacristy of images and photographs to enhance the understanding of each concept or point they were making throughout the book. There was only about one photo or in some cases no photo for each topic, and it would have helped to have more for certain topics to really understand the point that was being made. Overall, the photos aren't a huge deal, so don't let that stop you for purchasing this book.

Here is an example of one of the chapters and how it is laid out:

Introduction chapter page:
(Title)
(Image)

Following pages in the chapter:
(Lead into chapter)
(Quick understanding / main point)
(Detailed analysis)
(Some graphics/illustrations to express concept)

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Book condition corresponded to the description. Also, this book is a joy to browse. You can skip around (or go sequentially) and read the various guidelines that C.Read more

Published 5 days ago by Drew

Timeless. For anyone interested in Urban Planning or creating ...

Timeless. For anyone interested in Urban Planning or creating community on any level...

Published 9 days ago by mossarden

She really enjoyed reading it

This was a gift for my daughter. She really enjoyed reading it!

Published 27 days ago by Amazon Customer

Best book

Best Architectural book ever. Love the writing. Fascinating. I read the whole book.

Published 28 days ago by murre books

Inspiring

Philosophy, human relationships and architecture are always interdependent - this book takes notice of the importance of each.

Published 3 months ago by Jennie

Five Stars

Great

Published 4 months ago by Susieq

Five Stars

Clean and in a good condition

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer

Never has a book so radically changed my view of the world

Never has a book so radically changed my view of the world. This book is essential reading for architects, designers, homeowners and really all humans on the planet.Read more

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

If I were marooned on a desert island and could have only one book, this would be my choice.

Published 4 months ago by Clifton R. Brittain

Five Stars

This is a very insightful book that is a delight to read.

Published 5 months ago by Sj Tews

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