A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure)

"Patterns," the units of this language, are answers to design problems (How high should a window sill be? How many stories should a building have? How much space in a neighborhood should be devoted to grass and trees?). More than 250 of the patterns in this pattern language are given: each consists of a problem statement, a discussion of the problem with an illustration, and a solution. At the core of the books, too, is the point that in designing their environments people always rely on certain "languages," which, like the languages we speak, allow them to articulate

Great Reference Book Bought this as a gift for a friend. Since its original publication, I have purchased numerous copies as gifts and to have in multiple locations for reference. Written in a series of short 1-2 page chapters, the book goes through an array of critical "place making" criteria based on human behavior. As an architect/urban designer, it is one of my top 5 reference books when thinking through an new project. Although not a book. Noir said Great Informative Book. I am an architecture student and I purchased this book for a weekly project we had. My class refers to this book as the architecture bible (because of the small text and thickness of the book, approx. 1150pgs). It is extremely helpful and informative. The only thing I would have to say was a disappointment was the sacristy of images and photographs to enhance the understanding of each concept or point they were making thro. "Worth its weight in molybdenum for those who value it" according to Prison Librarian. Classic book from the 1970's written by a Berkley, CA and Oregon of University Professor. It is for serious architects or engineers who wish to be challenged by values in the way things are built. This man is the Archimedes of city planning. It is a dense read but will fire you up with dreams of a better way to plan humans enjoying each other, living together in balance with resources. It is over 1,000 valuable pages of ho

Extraordinarily thorough, coherent, and accessible, this book has become a bible for homebuilders, contractors, and developers who care about creating healthy, high-level design. . The second of three books published by the Center for Environmental Structure to provide a "working alternative to our present ideas about architecture, building, and planning," A Pattern Language offers a practical language for building and planning based on natural considerations. The reader is given an overview of some 250 patterns that are the units of this language, each consisting of a design pro