A Pattern Language

A Pattern Language is a book written by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein and published in 1977 by Oxford University Press. It is a guidebook for town planning, architecture, and environmental designing that is based around the concept of a "pattern language," a set of pieces of information integral to the building of cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The book created a new way of thinking that emphasized the value of each individual person’s contribution to creating a better living environment.

At the heart of A Pattern Language is the idea that a pattern languages is a practical and creative tool for designing and building a better place to live. The book explains how to use a pattern language to evaluate, design, and create a better environment for everyone. Alexander and his coauthors identified 253 distinct patterns that organized the overall pattern language into 15 sets or subsystems. Each pattern describes a problem or a quality of the environment, its conditions of satisfaction, and methods for achieving those conditions within the context of its surrounding environment.

The book focuses mainly on city planning, street patterns, housing, and commercial buildings. It provides step-by-step instructions for designing a neighborhood in a way that enables it to come to life and make positive environmental changes. Additionally, the book offers guidance on how to use these patterns to create bioregional diagrams that help to inform of the nature of the physical, cultural, and economic environment surrounding the intended design. This can be seen as a method of urban design that places emphasis on the importance of understanding the region’s history and context in order to plan, design, and develop the desired neighborhood.

Each of the 253 patterns has a description, illustration(s), advice on where to apply it, and fully developed instructional guidelines. The authors created each pattern as a single element or system, but also a part of a larger, self-contained system that could be applied to a variety of contexts. Each of the patterns was designed to build upon the experiences of those around it in order to create a stronger and more sustainable system.

A Pattern Language builds upon the concept of self-regulation, which means that users must pay attention to their patterns in regards to how they are affecting the environment. This helps to create a stable and vibrant living environment that is both resilient to disruptions and beneficial to its inhabitants.

The purpose of A Pattern Language is to establish a set of operational intentions and present a practical method of dealing with global problems with local solutions. It outlines a framework for approaching problems on the basis of the existing environment and using existing resources instead of creating something entirely new. It encourages architects, planners, environmental engineers, and ordinary citizens to think holistically and proactively about the environment and their patterns of living and to evaluate how their patterns might affect the environment in the future. The book provides readers with tools for assessing the entire environment and developing specific strategies for creating sustainable living spaces.

A Pattern Language has been influential in the development of urban planning, architecture and environmental design, and still remains a useful reference today. Its presence has introduced substantial changes to the way that people and society approach designing and constructing urban and rural areas with the idea of sustainable, livable habitats and neighborhoods. The book is not just a set of instructions, but a commentary on the role of human involvement in the design and construction of cities, towns and other spaces and the responsibility that we must have for preserving and improving them.