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| the_timeless_way_of_building [2019-01-18 16:22] – nik | the_timeless_way_of_building [2023-11-06 17:29] (current) – [The breakdown of language] 2600:1700:8ec2:111f:c8df:f95f:4ba0:1656 |
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| But in our time the langauges have broken down. Since they are no longer shared, the processes which keep them deep have broken down; and it is therefore virtually impossible for anybody, in our time, to make a building alive. | But in our time the languages have broken down. Since they are no longer shared, the processes which keep them deep have broken down; and it is therefore virtually impossible for anybody, in our time, to make a building alive. |
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| In the PL every facet of human experience was covered, in one way or another, by the patterns in the language. The stages of ages of man are all covered, and the variety of all possible acts is covered. The entire culture, and the environment which suppports it, form a single unbroken fabric. But by contrast in the early phases of industrial society which we have experienced recently, the pattern language die. | In the PL every facet of human experience was covered, in one way or another, by the patterns in the language. The stages of ages of man are all covered, and the variety of all possible acts is covered. The entire culture, and the environment which supports it, form a single unbroken fabric. But by contrast in the early phases of industrial society which we have experienced recently, the pattern language die. |
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| All the experts as raodplanners and architects and planners do have PL's but they guard their language jealously to make themselves indispensable. Architects guard their recipes, so that they can maintain a unique style to sell. Once people withdraw from the normal everyday experience of building, and loose their pattern languages, they are liturally no longer able to make good decisions about their surroundings, because they no longer know what really matters. And what doesn't. Specific patterns like for instance; THE LIGHT ON TWO SIDES pattern, vanish from peoples knowledge about building. At one time it was unthinkable to build any room, execpt a stable or a workshed, without windows on two side. Now most rooms have light from one side only. As soon as people start to build for "the many', their patterns about what is needed become abstract, theire ideas gradually get out of touch with reallity, because they are ot faced daily with the lliving examples of the paterns say. It is impossible , utterly impossible, to make a building or a town which is alive by control from above. And it is impossible to make the town for themselves with the ashes of the dead language which they now have. | All the experts as road planners and architects and planners do have PL's but they guard their language jealously to make themselves indispensable. Architects guard their recipes, so that they can maintain a unique style to sell. Once people withdraw from the normal everyday experience of building, and lose their pattern languages, they are literally no longer able to make good decisions about their surroundings, because they no longer know what really matters. And what doesn't. Specific patterns like for instance; THE LIGHT ON TWO SIDES pattern, vanish from peoples knowledge about building. At one time it was unthinkable to build any room, except a stable or a work shed, without windows on two side. Now most rooms have light from one side only. As soon as people start to build for "the many', their patterns about what is needed become abstract, their ideas gradually get out of touch with reality, because they are not faced daily with the living examples of the patterns say. It is impossible, utterly impossible, to make a building or a town which is alive by control from above. And it is impossible to make the town for themselves with the ashes of the dead language which they now have. |
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| Each pattern is a three part rule, which expresses a relation between a certain context, a problem, and a solution. It is both a process and a thing; both a description of a thing which is alive, and a description of the process which will generate that thing. | Each pattern is a three part rule, which expresses a relation between a certain context, a problem, and a solution. It is both a process and a thing; both a description of a thing which is alive, and a description of the process which will generate that thing. |
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| Patterns do excist at all scale; for instances; | Patterns do exist at all scale; for instances; |
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| ENTRANCE TRANSITION resolves a confllict among inner psychic forces. | ENTRANCE TRANSITION resolves a conflict among inner psychic forces. |
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| MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES resolves a conflict among social and psychological forces | MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES resolves a conflict among social and psychological forces |
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| WEB OF SHOPPING relsolves a conflict among econonic forces. | WEB OF SHOPPING resolves a conflict among economic forces. |
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| Suppose we are in a place. And we have a general sense that something is 'right'there, something feels good; and we want to identify this "something' concretely so that we can share it with someone else, and use it over and over again. There are three essential things we must identify. | Suppose we are in a place. And we have a general sense that something is "right there", something feels good; and we want to identify this "something" concretely so that we can share it with someone else, and use it over and over again. There are three essential things we must identify. |
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| What, exactly is his something | What, exactly is this something |
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| Why, exactly, is this something helping to make the place alive | Why, exactly, is this something helping to make the place alive |
| And When, or Where, exactly, will this pattern work | And When, or Where, exactly, will this pattern work |
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| You first have to define some physical feature of the plale, which seems worth abstracting | You first have to define some physical feature of the place, which seems worth abstracting |
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| Next , you must define the problem, or the field of forces which this patterns brings into balance. Finally, we must define the range of contexts where this system of forces exists and where this pattern of physical relationships will indeed actually bring it into balance. | Next, you must define the problem, or the field of forces which this patterns brings into balance. Finally, we must define the range of contexts where this system of forces exists and where this pattern of physical relationships will indeed actually bring it into balance. |
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| We see in summary, that very pattern we define must be formulated in the form of a rule which establishes a relationship beteeen a context, a system of forces which arises in that context, and a configuration (onderlinge verhoudingen) which allows these forces to resolve themselves in that context. It has the following generic form: | We see in summary, that very pattern we define must be formulated in the form of a rule which establishes a relationship between a context, a system of forces which arises in that context, and a configuration (onderlinge verhoudingen) which allows these forces to resolve themselves in that context. It has the following generic form: |
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| The statement that the pattern is alive, is not a matter of taste, or culture, or point of view. It establishes, instead, a definite empirical relationship between a limited context, a set of forces which occurs there, and the patttern which resolves those forces. | The statement that the pattern is alive, is not a matter of taste, or culture, or point of view. It establishes, instead, a definite empirical relationship between a limited context, a set of forces which occurs there, and the pattern which resolves those forces. |
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| The statement of the problem and the forces helps us to sharpen the pattern which is responsible for making the system of forces come to equilibrium. | The statement of the problem and the forces helps us to sharpen the pattern which is responsible for making the system of forces come to equilibrium. |
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| Each pattern should be a source of life, a geneative, selfsustaining pattern, and be worth copying. by defining patterns we must rely more on our feelings than intellect. The pattern ALCOVE feels good to us, because we feel the wholeness of the system here. And MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES makes us feel good, because, again , we feel the wholeness of the system there. By contrast, patterns made from thought, without feeling, lack empirical reality entirely. Some designs from architects may exite our intellect, or our imagination; but when we ask ourselves how we shall feel in a place which is really built like this we know that it will not make us feel wonderful. | Each pattern should be a source of life, a geneative, selfsustaining pattern, and be worth copying. by defining patterns we must rely more on our feelings than intellect. The pattern ALCOVE feels good to us, because we feel the wholeness of the system here. And MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES makes us feel good, because, again , we feel the wholeness of the system there. By contrast, patterns made from thought, without feeling, lack empirical reality entirely. Some designs from architects may excite our intellect, or our imagination; but when we ask ourselves how we shall feel in a place which is really built like this we know that it will not make us feel wonderful. |
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| It comes about because our feelings always deel with the totality of any system. If there are hidden forces, hidden conflicts, lurking in a pattern, we can fell them there. And when a pattern feels good to us, it is because it is a genuinely wolesome thing, and we know that there are no hidden forces lurking there. | It comes about because our feelings always deel with the totality of any system. If there are hidden forces, hidden conflicts, lurking in a pattern, we can fell them there. And when a pattern feels good to us, it is because it is a genuinely wholesome thing, and we know that there are no hidden forces lurking there. |
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| When you see a pattern, you will be able to tell almost at once, by intuition, whether it makes you feel good or not; whether, you want to live in a world which has that patttern in it, because it helps you to feel more alive. Imagine someone who proposes that modular aluminium wall panels are of great imortance in the construction of houses. Simply ask him how he feels in rooms built out of them. He will be able to do dozens of critical experimetns which "prove' that they are better, cleaner, healthier"but the one thing he will not be able to do, if he is honest with himself, is to claim that the presence of modular panels is a distinguishing feature of the places in which he feels good. His actual feeling is direct, and unequivocal. | When you see a pattern, you will be able to tell almost at once, by intuition, whether it makes you feel good or not; whether, you want to live in a world which has that pattern in it, because it helps you to feel more alive. Imagine someone who proposes that modular aluminum wall panels are of great importance in the construction of houses. Simply ask him how he feels in rooms built out of them. He will be able to do dozens of critical experiments which "prove' that they are better, cleaner, healthier but the one thing he will not be able to do, if he is honest with himself, is to claim that the presence of modular panels is a distinguishing feature of the places in which he feels good. His actual feeling is direct, and unequivocal. |
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| It is not the same as asking someone his opinion, someones taste or what a person thinks of an idea. In short, the scientific accuracy of the patterns can only come from direct assessment of people's feelings, not from arguments or discussions. | It is not the same as asking someone his opinion, someones taste or what a person thinks of an idea. In short, the scientific accuracy of the patterns can only come from direct assessment of people's feelings, not from arguments or discussions. |
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| The structue of a language | The structure of a language |
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| Each pattern itself is a part of some larger pattern-it is born out of these larger patterns through the forces which occur there, and the conditions which allow these fores to be in ahrmony. And each pattern itself gives birth to smaller patterns which, once again, through forces which must also be in harmony, gives birth to smaller patterns again created by the conditions which put the lower level forces into harmony. | Each pattern itself is a part of some larger pattern-it is born out of these larger patterns through the forces which occur there, and the conditions which allow these forces to be in harmony. And each pattern itself gives birth to smaller patterns which, once again, through forces which must also be in harmony, gives birth to smaller patterns again created by the conditions which put the lower level forces into harmony. |
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| So the real work of any process of design lies in this task of making up the language, from which you can later generate the one particular design. You must make the language first, because it is the structure and the content of the language which determine the design. The individual buildings which you make, will llive, or not. Acoording to the depth and wholeness of the language which you use to make them with. But of course, once you have it, this language is general. If it has the power to make a single building live, it can be used a thousand times, to make a thousand buildings live. | So the real work of any process of design lies in this task of making up the language, from which you can later generate the one particular design. You must make the language first, because it is the structure and the content of the language which determine the design. The individual buildings which you make, will llive, or not. Acoording to the depth and wholeness of the language which you use to make them with. But of course, once you have it, this language is general. If it has the power to make a single building live, it can be used a thousand times, to make a thousand buildings live. |
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