Patterns

The concept of patterns was introduced by Alexander, Ishikawa, Silverstein, King, Angel and Jacobsen in their seminal book ‘A pattern language: Towns, Buildings, Construction’ (1976), that presented an ‘archetypal language’ to universal problems found in the built environment. Patterns involve a generic set of ingredients and possible solutions, translatable to a wide range of conditions. Alexander (et al) wrote of some 253 patterns concerning the built environment. This systemic approach breaks down complexity into easily understood blocks of knowledge. The patterns facilitate constructive and solutions-oriented discussions amongst people with very different expertise and knowledge without either devaluing the richness of a topic or getting lost in detail. 

To define the patterns, we synthesised our research into a list of elements, until each could be translated into a hypothesis with a tangible solution. This process was reviewed and refined over a series of iterations, resulting in fifty individual patterns. The patterns were then developed further through discussion with local stakeholders and design based research to test the relevance of each pattern, resulting in regular adaptations to the titles and contents. Each pattern description consists of the context it is embedded in, problems that it tackles, forces that might influence it and at the core of the pattern ideas for possible solutions.

Patterns never stand on their own. They are linked to other patterns in terms of complementarities (solutions) or in terms of possible tensions (forces). Alexander (et al) referred to this as a pattern language. For example, the ambition to reuse waste will inevitably be linked to logistics, accessibility and particularly types of jobs which could represent some six to nine different patterns.

The patterns follow a standard structure for consistency and clarity. Their contents consist of an interpretation of fieldwork observations, interviews and spatial analyses and attempt to make the descriptions as specific as possible while rendering them transferable. Some of this is supported by quantitative data, while in other cases the descriptions are based on qualitative experiences or comments received from stakeholders in various cities. Regardless, the contents of these patterns must be interpreted according to the context where they are applied.