Christopher Alexander and A Pattern Language

Christopher Alexander is an architect noted for his design of building complexes in California, Japan, and Mexico. Alexander was a licensed contractor and architect in England until 1958, when he moved to the United States. He is professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reasoning that users know more about the buildings they need than any architect could, he produced and validated (in collaboration with Sarah Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein) a method designed to empower any human being to design and build at any scale. This method, dubbed a pattern language, describes good design practices in traditional architecture by naming common problems, describing the key characteristics of effective solutions, and allowing for many different paths through the design process.

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction originated from an observation that many medieval cities are attractive and harmonious. Its authors said that this occurs because these cities were built to local regulations that required specific features, but freed the architect to adapt them to particular situations. A Pattern Language describes exact methods for constructing practical, safe, and attractive designs at every scale, from entire regions and cities down to furniture and fixtures such as doorknobs. The system consists only of classic patterns tested in the real world and reviewed by multiple architects for beauty and practicality.

Adapted from the Wikipedia entries on Christopher Alexander and pattern language

Copyright ©2007 Timber Press, Inc. Text excerpts from A Pattern Garden copyright © Valerie Easton. Photographs copyright © Jacqueline Koch, except photos on Bridges, Gates, and Shelters pages copyright © Allan Mandell; and photo on Water page copyright © Richard Hartlage. All rights reserved. Posted with permission of the publisher.