A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander

http://www.sunlighthomes.com/t.patlang.html

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Several months ago a neighbor invited me over to see the (slow) progress he was making on his house remodel. His day job had slowed down his remodel work and he remarked that friends had kidded him that he could have built a new home in the time it had taken to remodel this 1920's vintage home. "I know they are right, he said, but a new home just wouldn't have the charm that this one does".

His remark struck me. What is it about the "feel" of older homes that new homes lack today? The answer to this question lies in a remarkable book by Christopher Alexander; A Pattern Language.

Christopher Alexander is credited for writing one of the most important books on home design this century. In his book, A Pattern Language, he cites many design "patterns" that make homes feel comfortable. His simple but profound observations identify what give places "soul". Keeping Alexander's ideas in mind as you design your own home will, no doubt, result in a more comfortable place...a home that is hard to leave!

We have studied Alexander's work for decades now, and incorporate his way of "seeing" and his design theories into every home we create. When you learn Alexander's patterns you see spaces in a different way and once you have lived in a home designed with these sensitivities, it would be difficult to ever again settle for less. We always recommend that our clients consider Alexander's ideas as we work with them on the design of their new home. You can get an idea of his "timeless way of building" from reading the patterns below, and if you enjoy these ideas, we recommend buying his book. Follow the link at our Sunlight Bookstore to amazon.com for the best price we've seen on this classic book.

[Note: Good book list! ^ Link above. ]

Alexander says that the placement of the main entrance is very important and should be seen immediately from the main access direction. It should stand out and be bold.

Indoor sunlight can add to the comfort of the home if the right rooms are facing south. If the wrong rooms are facing south, the house is dark and gloomy. Alexander says to place the most important rooms along the south edge of the building, and spread the building out along the east-west axis. Bedrooms can be on the north, as can the garage.

Alexander's Common Areas At The Heart pattern explains that social groups, including families, need informal contact among its members. The design of the home can encourage this contact by having a single common area that is located at the center of the home. The movement between rooms is as important as the rooms themselves and has as much effect on social interaction in the rooms, as the interiors of the rooms. He recommends avoiding the use of corridors and passages if possible.

Light On Two Sides Of Every Room is a pattern which we at Sunlight Homes find particularly important. Alexander says that when people have a choice, they will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides. In designing a home it's best to locate each room so that it has outdoor space on at least two sides, with ample windows to capture natural light in every room from more than one direction. (Think about the place in your home that you tend to go to relax. It probably has light coming in from two sides! Now think of a place that feels creepy. Does it have only one window?)

Another pattern is called Half-Hidden Garden. Alexander says that outdoor space where you spend time needs to be situated in an area of the yard where you are half hidden and half exposed. If the space is fully exposed to the street it isn't private enough and if it's too far from the street it's too private. An outdoor space that offers some privacy and some connection to the neighborhood feels the most comfortable to people.

There is no substitute for fire, says Alexander. Place the fireplace or wood stove in a common space, perhaps in the kitchen, where it provides a natural focus for talk and dreams and thought.

These are but a few of Alexander's ideas. He expands his thoughts to thoughtful ideas for designing a community as well. A Pattern Language is available in bookstores, and an excellent investment if you are planning to design a custom home.

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Many of these are just good Feng Shui principles as well.

Diane

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2000

Answers

Amazon.com:
A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander

Above all others, this book has been our "design bible" for most of our professional home design/build career. The home design "patterns" described in this book are nothing short of profound and brilliant. How do you design a home so that it feels comfortable? These simple patterns make a big difference. ...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ ASIN/0195019199/sunlighthomesA/104-5481392-9338858

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2000

From a friends e-mail...

[snip]

Pattern 24 "Sacred Sites", and here is a short excerpt:

"...Once the sites are chosen and preserved, embellish them in a way which intensifies their public meaning. We believe that the best way to intensify a site is through a progression of areas which people pass through as they appproach the site. This is the principle of "nested precincts," discussed in detail under the pattern HOLY GROUND (66).

A garden which can only be reached by passing through a series of outer gardens keeps its secrecy. A temple which can only be reached by passing through a sequence of approach courts is able to be a special thing in a man's heart. The magnificence of a mountain peak is increased by the difficulty of reaching the upper valleys from which it can be seen; the beauty of a woman is intensified by the slowness of her unveiling; the great beauty of a riverbank -- its rushes, water rats, small fish, wild flowers -- are violated by too direct an approach; even the ecology cannot stand up to the too direct approach - - the thing will simply be devoured.

We must therefore build around a sacred site a series of spaces which gradually intensify and converge on the site. The site itself becomes a kind of inner sanctum, at the core. And if the site is very large -- a mountain -- the same approach can be be taken with special places from which it can be seen -- an inner sanctum, reached past many levels, which is not the mountain, but a garden, say, from which the mountain can be seen in special beauty...."

[snip]

Well... that should be enough to yield a flavour. I'm quite impressed with this author (and group). They work from the sense that architectural patterns are ways in the world and should wrap around human endeavour so as to support that endeavour, so they have this set of "patterns" which are notes on things to consider when embodying a spatial construct for use by people. Great range in detail from (2) The Distribution of Towns, and (3) City Country Fingers, to (87) Individually Owned Shops, (95) Building Complex, and down to room sized details (183) Workplace Enclosure, (191) The Shape of Indoor Space, to actual building features such as (205) Structure Follows Social Spaces, (222) Low Sills, (225) Frames as Thickened Edges down to the final two patterns (252) Pools of Light and (253) Things >from Your Life.

The metaphor is that of a language that if "spoken" by individuals constructing the spaces that they live and work in - will result in a harmonius languaging/existing. The ones we incorporated in our house really work.

[snip]

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2000