Some cities are like stories. Others are more like poems. But every city has a kind of narrative structure that people experience as they move along the streets and past the buildings, first with anticipation, followed by the fulfillment of arrival and then a summary of the story upon departure.
The building blocks of these stories are patterns – each pattern is a particular solution to an architectural problem. For example, how do you make the shoreline accessible to the greatest number of people?
One solution would be to apply a pattern such as PROMENADE – Encourage the gradual formation of a promenade at the heart of every community, linking the main activity nodes and placed centrally, so that each point in the community is within 10 minutes’ walk of it. Put main points of attraction at two ends to keep a constant movement up and down.
This idea of using patterns to organize and structure towns, cities and buildings was first proposed by Christopher Alexander and a team of researchers in the book The Timeless Way of Building.
Ventura is One City, Many Stories
If you enter the city of Ventura from the 101 freeway at the California Street offramp you are instantly faced with two distinct stories and two very different experiences. One story is that Ventura is a modern tourist destination. The other story is anchored in the early days of the 20th century when Ventura established itself as the financial center of a thriving agricultural region.
The view to the south tells you that you are about to enter a seaside resort. Palm trees line the streets, hotels loom as destinations, surf shops beckon with the promise of adventure.
The view to the north tells you that you are approaching a city that values history, architecture, and commerce. The view of City Hall, originally built as the Ventura County Courthouse, tells a story about 19th century reverence for civic virtue.
The way that multiple stories overlap and intertwine within any given city are what make patterns play out like poetry. The more complex and “intertwingled” the patterns are, the more poetic they become.
What is a Pattern Language?
Alexander and his associates studied the architectural structures in traditional cities, towns and villages to better understand what made a place feel “alive.” They identified 253 distinct patterns of organization that ranged from the layout of streets to the size of balconies. They codified these patterns in their book A Pattern Language.
These patterns are designed to work together, the way nouns, verbs and prepositions work together to form a sentence.
For example the pattern PROMENADE mentioned above can be strung together with other patterns such as ACTIVITY NODES, DANCING IN THE STREET, and PEDESTRIAN DENSITY. These patterns can guide builders to construct a walkway that connects shops and restaurants, is wide enough to accommodate street fairs and concerts, and has pathways to handle a large number of people.
What makes this a language is the fluidity in which the patterns can be recombined. For instance, in 1995 when the city of Ventura widened the sidewalks on Main Street they used the pattern PROMENADE in a very different way, this time in connection with SHOPPING STREET, PEDESTRIAN STREET and NIGHT LIFE.
A Pattern Language for the City of Ventura
While Alexander’s catalog of 253 patterns is comprehensive he makes a careful point to say that the patterns aren’t definitive. The patterns can be changed and the language will evolve. Every city will have its own language or dialect of patterns.
Every society which is alive and whole, will have its own unique and distinct pattern language; and further, that every individual in such a society will have a unique language, shared in part, but which as a totality is unique to the mind of the person who has it. In this sense, in a healthy society there will be as many pattern languages as there are people – even though these languages are shared and similar. – A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander et al.
This means that the city of Ventura, California will have a different language from Paris, Mexico, Madrid and the other cities that Alexander and his team looked at.
Over the next couple of months I’m going to be exploring the city of San Buenaventura and the unique pattern language that makes up the city. As I uncover patterns I’ll share them and link them together.
The great thing about a pattern language is the way it can be used not just by architects and urban planners, but by people who are planning events, shopping for homes and redeveloping living spaces.
To Learn More about Pattern Languages:
Pattern Language on Wikipedia
Will Larsen’s Notes on The Timeless Way of Building
Building Beauty where you can see the principles in action
