A PATTERN LANGUAGE TOWNS • BUILDINGS • CONSTRUCTION Chris top her Alexander Sara Ishikawa Murray Silverstein with Max Jacobson Ingrid Fiksdahl-King Shlomo Angel NEW YORK OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1977 SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE A pattern language has the structure of a network. This is explained fully in The Timeless Way of Building. However, when we use the network of a language, we always use it as a sequence) going through the patterns, moving always from the larger patterns to the smaller, always from the ones which create structures, to the ones which then embellish those structures, and then to those which embellish the embellishments .... Since the language is in truth a network, there is no one sequence which perfectly captures it. But the se­ quence which follows, captures the broad sweep of the full network; in doing so, it follows a line, dips down, dips up again, and follows an irregular course, a little like a needle following a tapestry. The sequence of patterns is both a summary of the language, and at the same time, an index to the patterns. If you read through the sentences which connect the groups of patterns to one another, you will get an over­ view of the whole language. And once you get this over­ view, you will then be able to find the patterns which are relevant to your own project. And finally, as we shall explain in the next section, this sequence of patterns is also the "base map," from XVII! SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE which you can make a language for your own project, by choosing the patterns which are most useful to you, and leaving them more or less in the order that you find them printed here. + + + We begin with that part of the language which defines a town or community. These patterns can never be "de­ signed" or "built" in one fell swoop-but patient piece­ meal growth, designed in such a way that every indi­ vidual act is always helping to create or generate these larger global patterns, will, slowly and surely, over the years, make a community that has these global patterns in it. I. INDEPENDENT REGIONS within each region work toward those regional policies which will protect the land and mark the limits of the cities; 2. THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOWNS 3· CITY COUNTRY FINGERS 4· AGRICULTURAL VALLEYS 5· LACE OF COUNTRY STREETS 6. COUNTRY TOWNS 7· THE COUNTRYSIDE XIX SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE through city policies, encourage the piecemeal forma­ tion of those major structures which define the city; 8. MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES 9, SCATTERED WORK 10. MAGIC OF THE CITY I I. LOCAL TRANSPORT AREAS build up these larger city patterns from the grass roots, through action essentially controlled by two levels of self-governing communities, which exist as physically identifiable places; 12. COMMUNITY OF 7(XX) IJ. SUBCULTURE BOUNDARY 14. IDENTIFIABLE NEIGHBORHOOD 15. NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARY connect communities to one another by encouraging the growth of the following networks; 16. WEB OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 17. RING ROADS I 8. NETWORK OF LEARNING 19. WEB OF SHOPPING 20, MINI-BUSES establish community and neighborhood policy to con­ trol the character of the local environment according to the following fundamental principles; 21. FOUR-STORY LIMIT SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE 22. NINE PER CENT PARKING 23. PARALLEL ROADS 24. SACRED SITES 25. ACCESS TO WATER 26. LIFE CYCLE 27. MEN AND WOMEN both in the neighborhoods and the communities, and m between them, in the boundaries, encourage the forma­ tion of local centers; 28. ECCENTRIC NUCLEUS 29. DENSITY RINGS 30. ACTIVITY NODES JI. PROMENADE 32. SHOPPING STREET 33· 34. NIGHT LIFE INTERCHANGE around these centers, provide for the growth of housing in the form of clusters, based on face-to-face human groups; 35· HOUSEHOLD MIX 36. DEGREES OF PUBLICNESS 37· HOUSE CLUSTER J8. ROW HOUSES 39· HOUSING HILL 40. OLD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE xxi SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE between the house clusters, around the centers, and especially in the boundaries between neighborhoods, en­ courage the formation of work communities; 4I. WORK COMMUNITY 42. INDUSTRIAL RIBBON 43· UNIVERSITY AS A MARKETPLACE 44. LOCAL TOWN HALL 45. NECKLACE OF COMMUNITY PROJECTS 46. MARKET OF MANY SHOPS 47· HEALTH CENTER 48. HOUSING IN BETWEEN between the house clusters and work communities, allow the local road and path network to grow informally, piecemeal; 49. LOOPED LOCAL ROADS 50. T JUNCTIONS 51. GREEN STREETS 52. NETWORK OF PATHS AND CARS 53. MAIN GATEWAYS 5 4. ROAD CROSS! NC 5 5. RAISED WALK 56. BIKE PATHS AND RACKS 57· CHILDREN IN THE CITY XXII SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE in the communities and neighborhoods, provide public open land where people can relax, rub shoulders and renew themselves; 58. CARNIVAL 59. in each house cluster and work community, provide the smaller bits of common land, to provide for local ver­ sions of the same needs; 67. COMMON LAND 68. CONNECTED PLAY 69. PUBLIC OUTDOOR ROOM 70. GRAVE SITES 7 I. STILL WATER 72. LOCAL SPORTS 73. 74. QUIET BACKS 60. ACCESS I BLE GREEN 61. SMALL PUBLIC SQUARES 62. HIGH PLACES 63. DANCING IN THE STREET 64. POOLS AND STREAMS 65. BIRTH PLACES 66. HOLY GROUND ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND ANIMALS within the framework of the common land, the clusters, and the work communities encourage transformation of XXl!l SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE the smallest independent social institutions: the families, workgroups, and gathering places. The family, in all its forms; 75. THE FAMILY 76. HOUSE FOR A SMALL FAMILY 77. HOUSE FOR A COUPLE 78. HOUSE FOR ONE PERSON 79. YOUR OWN HOME the workgroups, including all kinds of workshops and offices and even children's learning groups; 80. SELF-GOVERNING WORKSHOPS AND OFFICES 8 I. SMALL SERVICES WITHOUT RED TAPE 82. OFFICE CONNECTIONS 83. MASTER AND APPRENTICES 84. TEENAGE SOCIETY 85. SHOPFRONT SCHOOLS 86. CHILDREN'S HOME the local shops and gathering places. 87. INDIVIDUALLY OWNED SHOPS 88. STREET CAFE 89. CORNER GROCERY 90. BEER HALL 91. TRAVELER'S LNN 92. BUS STOP XX!V 1 SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE 9 3, FOOD ST ANDS 94· SLEEPING IN PUBLIC This completes the global patterns which define a town or a community. We now start that part of the language which gives shape to groups of buildings, and individual buildings, on the land, in three dimensions. These are the patterns which can be "designed" or "built"-the patterns which define the individual build­ ings and the space between buildings; where we are deal­ ing for the first time with patterns that are under the control of individuals or small groups of individuals, who are able to build the patterns all at once. The first group of patterns helps to lay out the overall arrangement of a group of buildings: the height and number of these buildings, the entrances to the site, main parking areas, and lines of movement through the com­ plex; 95. BUILDING COMPLEX 96. NUMBER OF STORIES 97. SHIELDED PARKING 98. CIRCULATION REALMS 99. MAIN BUILDING 100. PEDESTRIAN STREET IOI. BUILDING THOROUGHFARE 102. FAMILY OF ENTRANCES 103. SMALL PARKING LOTS xxv SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE fix the position of individual buildings on the site, within the complex, one by one, according to the nature of the site, the trees, the sun: this is one of the most important moments in the language; 104. SITE REPAIR 105. SOUTH FACING OUTDOORS 106. POSITIVE OUTDOOR SPACE 107. WINGS OF LIGHT 108. CONNECTED BUILDINGS 109. LONG THIN HOUSE within the buildings' wings, lay out the entrances, the gardens, courtyards, roofs, and terraces: shape both the volume of the buildings and the volume of the space be­ tween the buildings at the same time-remembering that indoor space and outdoor space, yin and yang, must always get their shape together; IIO. MAIN ENTRANCE l l I. HALF-HIDDEN GARDEN II2. ENTRANCE TRANSITION IIJ. l 14. IIS. CAR CONNECTION HlERARCHY OF OPEN SPACE COURTYARDS WHICH LIVE II6. CASCADE OF ROOFS I 17. SHELTERING ROOF II8. ROOF GARDEN XXV! SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE when the major parts of buildings and the outdoor areas have been given their rough shape, it is the right time to give more detailed attention to the paths and squares between the buildings; II9. ARCADES 120. PATHS AND GOALS l 2 I. PATH SHAPE 122. BUILDING FRONTS r 23. PEDESTRIAN DENSITY 124. ACTIVITY POCKETS 125. STAIR SEATS 126. SOMETHING ROUGHLY IN THE MIDDLE now, with the paths fixed, we come back to the build­ ings: within the various wings of any one building, work out the fundamental gradients of space, and decide how the movement will connect the spaces in the gradients; 127. INTIMACY GRADIENT 128. INDOOR SUNLIGHT 129. COMMON AREAS AT THE HEART l 30. ENTRANCE ROOM 13!. THE FLOW THROUGH ROOMS 132. SHORT PASSAGES r 33· STAIRCASE AS A STAGE r 34· ZEN VIEW 135. TAPESTRY OF LIGHT AND DARK XXVI! SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE within the framework of the wings and their internal gradients of space and movement, define the most im­ portant areas and rooms. First, for a house; 136. COUPLE'S REALM 137. CHILDREN'S REALM 138. SLEEPING TO THE EAST 139. FARMHOUSE KITCHEN I4.0. PRIVATE TERRACE ON THE STREET 141. A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN 142. SEQUENCE OF SITTING SPACES 143. BED CLUSTER 144. BATHING ROOM 145. BULK STORAGE then the same for offices, workshops, and public build- mgs; 146. FLEXIBLE OFFICE SPACE 147. COMMUNAL EATING 148. SMALL WORK GROUPS 149. RECEPTION WELCOMES YOU 150. A PLACE TO WAIT l 5 I. SMALL MEETING ROOMS 152. HALF-PRIVATE OFFICE add those small outbuildings which must be slightly in­ dependent from the main structure, and put in the access from the upper stories to the street and gardens; XXVlll SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE 153. prepare to knit the inside of the building to the outside, by treating the edge between the two as a place in its own right, and making human details there; 159. ROOMS TO RENT 154. TEENAGER'S COTTAGE 155. OLD AGE COTTAGE 156. SETTLED WORK 157. HOME WORKSHOP 158. OPEN STAIRS LIGHT ON TWO SIDES OF EVERY ROOM 160. BUILDING EDGE I 61. SUNNY PLACE 162. NORTH FACE 163. OUTDOOR ROOM 164. STREET WINDOWS 165. OPENING TO THE STREET I 66. GALLERY SURROUND 167. SIX-FOOT BALCONY 168. CONNECTION TO THE EARTH decide on the arrangement of the gardens, and the places in the gardens; I 69. TERRACED SLOPE 170. FRUIT TREES I 7 I. TREE PLACES xxix go back to the inside of the building and attach the neces­ sary minor rooms and alcoves to complete the main rooms; SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE 172. GARDEN GROWING WILD 173. 174. 17 5. GARDEN WALL TRELLISED WALK GREENHOUSE 176. GARDEN SEAT 177. VEGETABLE GARDEN 178. COMPOST 179· ALCOVES 180. WINDOW PLACE I 8 I. THE FIRE r 82. EATING ATMOSPHERE I 83. WORKSPACE ENCLOSURE 184. COOKING LAYOUT I 85. SITTING CIRCLE l 86. COMMUNAL SLEEPING l 87. MARRIAGE BED I 88. BED ALCOVE I 89. DRESSING ROOM fine tune the shape and size of rooms and alcoves to make them precise and buildable , 190. CEILING HEIGHT VARIETY xxx SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE I 9r. THE SHAPE OF INDOOR SPACE 192. WINDOWS OVERLOOKING LIFE 193. 194. 195. 196. give all the walls some depth, wherever there are to be alcoves, windows, shelves, closets, or seats; 197. THICK WALLS 198. CLOSETS BETWEEN ROOMS 199. HALF-OPEN WALL INTERIOR WINDOWS STAIRCASE VOLUME CORNER DOORS SUNNY COUNTER 200. OPEN SHELVES 201. WAIST-HIGH SHELF 202. BUILT-IN SEATS 203. CHILD CAVES 204. SECRET PLACE At this stage, you have a complete design for an in­ dividual building. If you have fallowed the patterns given, you have a scheme of spaces, either marked on the ground, with stakes, or on a piece of paper, accurate to the nearest foot or so. You know the height of rooms, the rough size and position of windows and doors, and you know roughly how the roofs of the building, and the gardens are laid out. The next, and last part of the language, tells how to XXXI SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE make a buildable building directly from this rough scheme of spaces, and tells you how to build it, in detail. Before you lay out structural details, establish a philosophy of structure which will let the structure grow directly from your plans and your conception of the buildings; 205. STRUCTURE FOLLOWS SOCIAL SPACES 206. EFFICIENT STRUCTURE 207. GOOD MATERIALS 208. GRADUAL STIFFENING within this philosophy of structure, on the basis of the plans which you have made, work out the complete structural layout; this is the last thing you do on paper, before you actually start to build; 209. ROOF LAYOUT 210. FLOOR AND CEILING LAYOUT 21 I. THICKENING THE OUTER WALLS 212. COLUMNS AT THE CORNERS 2lj. FINAL COLUMN DISTRIBUTION put stakes in the ground to mark the columns on the site, and start erecting the main frame of the building accord­ ing to the layout of these stakes; 214. ROOT FOUNDATIONS 215. GROUND FLOOR SLAB 2 I 6. BOX COLUMNS XXXII I SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE within the main frame of the building, fix the exact po­ sitions for openings-the doors and windows-and frame these openings; 2I7, PERIMETER BEAMS 2I 8. WALL MEMBRANES 219, FLOOR-CEILING VAULTS 220. ROOF VAULTS 221. NATURAL DOORS AND WINDOWS 222. LOW SILL 223, DEEP REVEALS 224, LOW DOORWAY 225, FRAMES AS THICKENED EDGES as you build the main frame and its openings, put in the following subsidiary patterns where they are appropriate; 226. COLUMN PLACE 227. COLUMN CONNECTION 228. STAIR VAULT 229. DUCT SPACE 230. RADIANT HEAT 231. DORMER WINDOWS 232. ROOF CAPS put in the surfaces and indoor details; 233. FLOOR SURFACE 234. LAPPED OUTSIDE WALLS xxxiii SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE 235. build outdoor details to finish the outdoors as fully as the indoor spaces; 241. SEAT SPOTS 242. FRONT DOOR BENCH 243. 244. 245. 247. PAVING WITH CRACKS BETWEEN THE STONES 248. SOFT TILE AND BRICK complete the building with ornament and light and color and your own things; 249. ORNAMENT 250. WARM COLORS 251. DIFFERENT CHAIRS 252. POOLS OF LIGHT 253. SOFT INSIDE WALLS 236. WINDOWS WHICH OPEN WIDE 237. SOLID DOORS WITH GLASS 238. FILTERED LIGHT 239. SMALL PANES 240. HALF-INCH TRIM SITTING WALL CANVAS ROOFS RAISED FLOWERS 246. CLIMBING PLANTS THINGS FROM YOUR LIFE XXXIV