Architecture according to Christopher Alexander.

Alexander Christopher, 1979,The Timeless Way Of Building, Oxford University Press, New York.

QWAN or Quality Without a Name initially mentioned by Alexander in his book

The Timeless Mode of Building. In the development of the text, we will continue to mention it.
for its acronym in English, for ease of use.

PATTERN LANGUAGE CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER

Extracted from 'Participation in Urban and Architectural Design in the Social Production of Habitat'
Magazine of the Ibero-American Program of Science and Technology - CYTED

............................................................................................................................................................

Background

Christopher Alexander, an architect and mathematician of Austrian origin, established in the United States since the
In the sixties, he coordinated a research team that developed the method of patterns.
English) at the Center for Environmental Structure, in Berkeley, California.

The three books that present Alexander's proposal are The Timeless Way of Building (1979), A
pattern language (1977) and Urban Planning and Participation: the case of the University of Oregon (1975), all
they translated into Spanish.

The nameless quality and the timeless mode

A room, a building, or a neighborhood is not made in a single act of construction, in one day.
They are the result of a thousand different acts, spread over time and made by unrelated people.
between themselves."14

The proposal by Christopher Alexander, whose intention is to 'describe a completely new attitude towards
regarding architecture and urbanism” has as its foundation two fundamental axes: the first is the
achievement of a quality that he calls the 'nameless quality', and the second is 'the timeless mode'
to build.

According to Alexander, the search for the nameless quality 'is the central search of every person (...) it is the
search for those moments and situations in which we are most alive"17. This quality is objective and
it is essential, and it is what distinguishes a good building from a bad one, a vibrant city from one that is not.

The quality never repeats itself, because it takes its form from the specific context in which it occurs. It is not possible.
put the quality in a place, since it is generated indirectly through a process in which
Several people intervene, various individual acts governed by the same language.

Some of the words used to define places that have the nameless quality are: living,
integral, comfortable, free, eternal; however, none of these terms manages to encompass the meaning of the
quality. According to Alexander, all acts of construction must be guided by the pursuit of this.
quality, so that the environment favors the full development of everyday life.

Regarding the timeless way of building, Alexander says that 'it is a process through which the
The order of a building or a city arises directly from the internal nature of people, animals,
plants and the matter that composes them.

This way of building would be based on tradition, and in it, the presence of architects is not necessary.
planners to help shape a beautiful place, 'as beautiful as the most beautiful place that
you have seen,
person to imagine the ideal place for any activity.

Alexander even describes it as part of a human instinct that seeks to build a fragment of the
environment in harmony with nature to bring a place to life.

The method proposed by Alexander aims to systematize the process through which creations can be made.
spaces in harmony with the timeless mode.

THE PATTERNS OF EVENTS AND SPACES

The nameless quality manifests itself through the character of buildings and cities, and this character is
derives from a series of events that occur regularly in specific places. These are the
patterns. Alexander defines two types of interrelated patterns: event patterns and the
patterns of spaces. The first, according to the author, are not limited to human activities but also include
those events of nature that exert a physical influence on us, such that the
the position of the sun, the flow of a river, or the shadow of a tree can be considered as events
recurring, capable of characterizing a pattern.

The patterns of events are what give reason to be to a building or a city. The amount of
these patterns, according to Alexander, are generally less than we imagine, that is, our life is
governed by a small series of routine activities that are repeated daily. The patterns of
events vary from person to person, from culture to culture, such that each neighborhood is characterized
for the patterns that its predominant culture manifests.

Now, in Alexander's theory, patterns of events are anchored to the space where
they happen. This does not mean that space itself is capable of generating events, but rather only
What events and spaces cannot be separated. A pattern of spaces refers to the characteristics
common, or invariant, in the spaces where similar events occur.

To define a pattern of this type, it is helpful to ask in what way the structure of space supports the
patterns of events that occur there.

In this sense, the pattern refers to a morphological law that establishes a set of complex relationships.
in space (position, dimension, views, materials, lighting, colors, sunlight exposure, etc.). It is
It is important to emphasize that the pattern of space does not cause the pattern of events, just as it does not
pattern of events causes the pattern of space.

"The total pattern, space and events together, is a cultural element." This means that two spaces
apparently similar will host different activities in different cultures and, therefore, will lead to
different patterns.

Patterns involve both the idea of repetition and singularity. In this sense, they aim to emulate the
nature, as the same general characteristics constantly repeat themselves, while each
specific manifestation is never identical to its peers.
Following Alexander, patterns repeat because, under a given set of circumstances, there is always
certain fields of relations better adapted to the existing forces, but at the same time there is always
variation and singularity in the specific way patterns manifest.

The language

El lenguaje es la estructura a través de la cual los patrones se relacionan entre sí, como partes dentro de un
everything. We have seen that the timeless mode of construction is not something that can be fully planned, but
which implies the successive and simultaneous existence of multiple small interventions.

Likewise, the nameless quality cannot be invented and applied to a place, but rather it comes from
constant process of building the environment. Language, then, is what provides coherence to the
individual acts, serving as a genetic code that guides the development of the parts in
accordance with the whole.

In the text, Alexander explains that, from a mathematical point of view, the simplest type of language is a
system with two sets: one that groups elements or symbols and another that specifies the rules of
combination of said elements. Thus, a pattern language defines the set of arrangements of
spaces that make sense in a given culture and convey the rules of possible combinations, at the same time
that teaches how to build combinations that satisfy the rules.

Alexander defines the pattern language as 'a finite system of rules that a person can employ'
to generate an infinite variety of different buildings.

It is worth noting that the author emphasizes the fact that all individuals have their own language of patterns.
which arises from an accumulated knowledge about how to build the environment. The complexity of this
language is what sets the limits to the ability to imagine (or design) a building. In a city with a
living language, says Alexander, the language of patterns is widely shared, so that everyone
they can use it. This way of building the environment implies a direct relationship between the users and the act of
build.

The method

1. Defining patterns

Patterns, by definition, must be communicable. As structures, they must be simple images.

of something, that allow capturing that something as a whole, and must be made with the least possible amount
of elements.
NAME OF
PATRON
RELATION CONTEXT PROBLEM SOLUTION

Each pattern is a rule that establishes relationships between three elements: a context, a problem, and a
solution. The problem is posed as a system of forces that occurs recurrently in that
context, while the solution refers to a certain spatial configuration that allows those forces to
solve themselves. According to the method, in order for the pattern to be made explicit, it is necessary to expose its
structure

a) Define some physical characteristic of the place, a specific spatial relationship that is susceptible to
repetition (morphology).
b) Define the problem or field of forces that this pattern puts in balance (functional purpose).
c) Define the field of contexts where this pattern makes sense (contextualization).
The 'living' patterns are generally discovered through a slow and detailed process of observation and
abstraction. The way to do this is to look for common properties in the spaces that are perceived as
satisfactory for a given pattern of events. What is sought is 'the critical property that makes the
difference." In the definition of this property, in any case, oversimplification should be avoided, weaving
a complex network of spatial relationships (position, dimensions, location, orientation, views, materials,
lighting, colors, etc.

One way to find invariant elements in the spaces is to start from a set of positive examples.
and determine what makes them 'a good space'. Another way is to start from negative examples and
solve them (what characteristics are missing in this space?). However, it is also possible not to start
by concrete observations, but rather to elaborate the invariant through purely abstract reasoning.

The pattern, as we mentioned at the beginning of this section, must be communicable. This implies that it can be
expressed through words and also through diagrams or drawings. In this method, every pattern
It must have a name. Now, Alexander warns that there is no rational way to evaluate a pattern.
Patterns are tested emotionally, not intellectually. In a good pattern, the quality is latent without.
name.

2. The structure of language

Up to this moment, we have provided an overview of how patterns are formed.

Now we need to explain how these patterns combine and give rise to a language.

In principle, not all patterns refer to the same scale; the largest encompass aspects of
regional structure, the medium ones in terms of shape and activity of the buildings, while the smaller ones
they refer to the materials and structures with which buildings are constructed and even encompass aspects
like the decoration of the spaces.

A regional pattern example is the MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES.

The context where this pattern applies is any urban area that contains more than one hundred housing units.
The solution to this pattern refers, broadly speaking, to the subdivision of large groups into smaller ones.
self-contained cells, differentiated from one another, so that they can house communities of
users with a culture and identity distinct from those of the other cells. The problem being addressed is that of
to provide people with an identifiable unit to belong to.

The TRANSITION IN THE ENTRY pattern helps us exemplify the medium patterns.

The context would be any entrance of a home. The solution, a transitional place between the street and the
housing where the level, materials, views, lighting, etc. allow the entrance to be a
place, and not just a void in the wall.

The problem solved by the pattern refers to the act of hosting and accentuating the departures and arrivals.
allowing a change of attitude between the 'street behavior' and the intimacy of the home.

Alexander clarifies that in this method the patterns cannot be isolated, but instead are part of a network.
of relationships that constitute language. In the book A Language of Patterns, 253 patterns are defined.
exposed in decreasing order of complexity and scale. Depending on the type of project in question, it
they will determine a series of patterns and their rules of hierarchy and relationship. Language assumes a series of
sequentially ordered operations that must be gradually resolved until culminating in a
specific solution.
Alexander gives a simple project example of a garden solution. For this, according to the
specific situation of a land, the SEMIOCCULT GARDEN, SLOPE patterns are selected
TERRACE, FRUIT TREES, TREE PLACE, SPONTANEOUS GARDENS, TRANSITION IN THE
ENTRY, PATIOS WITH LIFE, ROOFTOP GARDEN, THE EDGE OF THE BUILDING, PLACE
SUNNY, OUTSIDE ROOM, BALCONIES OF 1.80 meters, CONNECTIONS WITH THE GROUND,
GREENHOUSE, GARDEN BANK.21

In this scheme, the first pattern (semi-hidden garden) needs all the following patterns.
sequence to make sense. Each successive operation, the solution of a specific pattern, implies an adjustment
from the previous steps, so that with the addition of new information, the structure adjusts and
complement. Similarly, although the chosen pattern sequence only covers the garden, it will form
part of a larger space, whether a house, a school, or a neighborhood, in such a way that each small exercise
of specific construction—in this case a garden—fits into a larger process which is construction
collective of the environment.

We see then that language is not just a list of patterns, but encompasses relationships.
necessary for the patterns to form a coherent whole. In this way, language acts as a
código genético que guía tanto las distintas fases de solución de un proyecto específico, como la suma de las
individual actions that lead to a collectively built environment. Unlike traditional design,
where the shape is preconceived, applying a language of patterns to the final form is the result of a
sequence of decisions that go from the whole to the parts and from the parts to the whole.
Catalog of patterns, creation of templates, evaluation of patterns, building of patterns

PATTERN CATALOG
ALCANCE, TIPO NUMBER NAME OF THE EMPLOYER

24 Sacred places.
30 Activity nodes.
43 Schools.
45 Project chain for the community.
47 Hospital.
52 Car circuit and roads.
55 Pedestrian paths.
67 Common fields, parks.
73 Cemetery.
CITY 72 Sports venue.
78 House for a small family.
77 House for a couple.
82 Office connection.
86 Children's house.
89 Corner store.
92 Bus stop.
93 Food stalls.
97 Armored parking lots.
98 Kingdom of Circulation.
99 Main building.
100 Pedestrian street.
 105 South orientation of facades.
106 Positive outdoor spaces, patios.
RELATION 111 Hidden, interior medium gardens.
112 Entry transition.
STREET
118 Hierarchy of open spaces.
120 Streets and goals, destinations.
121 Shape of the street layout.
145 Bulk storage
142 Seating space sequence
140 Private terrace facing the street
138 East-facing rooms
131 Flowing through the spaces
130 Fourth, entrance area
127 Graduality of intimidating

153 Rooms for rent.

156 Housing for teenagers.
TYPOLOGY 155 House-residence for the elderly.
156 Established work, (work from home)
157 Workshop house.
Open stairs.

159 159 Light on both sides of all the spaces.

LIGHTING 161 161 Places, sunny spaces.
162 162 North facade.
164 164 Windows to the street.

171 Places for trees.

VEGETATION 175 Green House.
177 Vegetable Garden.
178 Compost.

181 181 The fire, artisanal kitchen.

182 182 Atmosphere in the food space,
dining room.
184 184 Arrangement of the kitchen.
186 186 Shared rooms.
SPACE 190 190 Variety of ceiling height.
INTERIOR 191 191 The shape of the interior space.
192 192 Balcones.
196 196 Doors at the corners.
197 197 Thick walls.
198 198 closets that separate rooms.
200 200 open shelves.
201 201 Shelves at waist height.

205 Structure of the social spaces they house.

206 Efficient structure.
207 Good materials.
210 Ceiling arrangement (slope; etc.)
211 Thickening of the exterior walls.
 212 Columns on the edges.
213 Final distribution of columns.
215 Ground floor slab.
217 Perimeter beams.
CONSTRUCTION 218 Membrane by the wall.
220 Roofs (Type)
222 Windows (Type)
224 Low doors
227 Connection of columns, beams.
228 Stairs (Type)
233 Floor area.
237 Solid doors with windows.
245 Planted Flowers.
249 Ornaments.
250 Warm Colors.