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The whole article is based on the failed idea that the burbs are the way to go. Many people who have read A Pattern Language understand that the neighborhood is
by niels_olson 18y ago
The whole article is based on the failed idea that the burbs are the way to go. Many people who have read A Pattern Language understand that the neighborhood is also key, though they often can't realize it alone, so they instead build really fancy and eclectic single-family two-story homes, (how novel /sarcasm).
I would be interested in connecting with more people who understand and want to realize Christopher Alexander's ideas, and encourage anyone who reads Hacker News to get A Pattern Language. It's not really made to be a straight read. It's more like a library of architectural functions with comments on how to apply them. Good to have at hand. The problem is that to fully realize what is clearly a better solution than the burbs, you would need to collaborate with dozens of other people, who all understand the ideas.
Here's a couple of starting points for those unfamiliar with the architectural ideas:
http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/
https://www.patternlanguage.com/ https://www.patternlanguage.com/
- gojomo 18y agoI can't resist posting some patterns observed by a neighbor at Alexander's actual residence in Berkeley: "Another Pattern Language: Real Life Patterns Chez Christopher Alexander" http://internettime.com/Learning/alexander.swf http://internettime.com/Learning/alexander.swf
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- DabAsteroid 18y agoFrom that Jay Cross flashpaper: Alexander goes beyond the drought-resistant, no-maintenance yard to the maintenance-free, barren yard. Natural as a hippy’s armpit, this hardscrabble, lifeless expanse, especially in the midst of neighboring houses with specimen plants and lush yards trumpets the owner’s iconoclastic avant-guard design sensibility. It screams, “I’m different.” ... Alexander does both himself and his neighbors a favor by dumping the detritus of past projects in his front yard. Neighbors report that property values (and therefore property taxes) are lower when they have line-of-sight to the Alexander home. ... Pattern No. 12: DISHEVELED ENTRANCE You know you can get away with wearing blue jeans inside when you pass by this funky collection of neglected plants and broken fence just before getting to the door.
- niels_olson 18y agoFor some reason, I can't imagine he'd be terribly proud of that. Do you think he's just really stupid? I wonder if maybe he's working on other stuff, or found he couldn't afford everything he wanted on a professor's salary, or maybe this is what the house looked like two weeks after he moved in? I'm not an apologist for the guy, but that flashpaper is basically some guy trying to gain some reputation by lampooning someone better known than himself, which belies a moral corruption that far exceeds the unfortunate physical corruption of Mr Alexander's house. Have you read the book? Its merits are fairly self-evident if you read a few pages, regardless of the author's choice of paint colors for his own house.
- gojomo 18y agoI don't see the 'Another Pattern Language' presentation as any sort of serious critique of Alexander's oeuvre. It's just a bit of humor generated by the contrast between Alexander's professional image and personal circumstances. I know the creator of the presentation, and do not see him as someone who tears down the famous for cheap notoriety, as you accuse. He truly lives not far from Alexander; his professional reputation as an author/consultant/educator is secure; he hasn't promoted his wry little parody widely. I suspect neighbors did resent the 'curb appeal' of Alexander's property (and still do if circumstances remain similar). The Berkeley hills are fairly upscale real estate.