Reading Alexander
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I read what we agreed to read :)
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proposal: design a space following the example in the introductory material? 10-20 patterns combined.
- [[xxxv]] for example
- [[xxxviii]] for [[procedure]]
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[[code]] a generator?
- fit between patterns seems represented by recommended patterns at higher and lower level?
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[[armengol]] some problems perhaps
- we need to imagine a need for building something? what would be the context for the exercise?
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[[andreas]]
- would probably recommend people just go to [[a pattern language]] directly, it seems to be self-contained
- did something with [[a pattern language]] ~1y ago
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it just seems like previous reading wouldn’t help learning how to write your own patterns?
- [[jonathan]] what would you recommend?
- the ideological component sometimes doesn’t resonate; the patterns themselves, which can be used and changed regardless of ideology, seem more generally useful.
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[[simon]] this is framed as one big project (the three books). what’s interesting: there is some goal of trying to provide a set of tools to shape one’s environment.
- [[notsof]] could almost be computed by a machine
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whereas [[apl]] is very much grounded
- topic: what is [[timeless]] and [[beautiful]]. how the environment shapes us as much as we shape the environment.
- the weakest patterns are the strongly [[utilitarian]]. the stronger ones are "spiritual"
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some contradictions between patterns
- he loves dense cities and lively areas
- but he wants height limits and only building on 50% of the area
- units per building
- in a contemporary context a lot of the patterns are very difficult to achieve
- aside: would be interesting to model fit/misfit between patterns even as we swap in/out some of them
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pattern: [[filtered light]]
- mentions how the perception of light gets softened if it’s filtered; less high contrast, which is a nice quality. for living spaces softness is nice.
- film makers think it makes objects more lively: e.g. leaves casting moving shadows.
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third reason: speculative. stimulates us biologically (?)
- could be socialized aesthetics instead.
- when planning windows, this pattern is recommended.
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[[armengol]]
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pattern: [[window place]]
- thought about this pattern within his home
- previous place had an obviously amazing view — you could see the [[sagrada familia]]
- [[zen view]] is mentioned as related to this pattern, though, and it relates with something interesting that happened in the old place. the view was [[normalized]]. it became part of the background; like alexander says.
- now have to go to a specific place to look at a view now.
- [[q]] when trying to differentiate between the list of patterns
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[[jonathan]]
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[[four stories limit]]
- ideology aside: main thing that bothered me in general. trying to justify things as [[natural]].
- "want to find a pattern that looks ridiculous"
- in zurich: like [[hardau]] towers
- some justification for this pattern has to do with mental health issues
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people who live in high rises are less likely to go out into the world
- feeling connected to the city life
- [[andreas]] it seems very opinionated, it depends on one’s preferences. you might not care about the misfits and have fits with your lifestyle.
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[[simon]] four floors doesn’t seem high density enough for city life. attitude towards skyrises changes a lot across cultures. singapore for example has a very different disposition towards them.
- most sustainable density is about six floors.
- the most antisocial aspect of high rises is to have parking-lot-to-living-floor.
- isolation in high rises is a big problem though.
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[[andreas]] there is a huge grey area between four floors and high rises
- zurich proposed having public rooftops and bike lanes between them
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[[simon]]
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[[bus stop]]
- liked: both describing a set of objects and activity/life that emerges around those objects
- "if the knit together" the system is a good one
- view things like traffic lights as items of public living
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[[alice]]
- [[interior windows]]
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[[pedestrian street]]
- social glue in society
- streets that are "too wide" are antisocial — but of course nowadays with covid-19 that might be outdated
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[[eduardo]]
- [[ttwob]]
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[[lorand]]
- found himself reading in a less analytical way
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[[armengol]]
- the structure itself seems to encourage this
- "I need to read it fast" yields a different kind of reading too, perhaps
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[[lorand]] some pieces seem to be a bit rough. but interesting questions
- the observation that people feel calm in nature -> homogeneity in aesthetics
- ad hoc/rushed at the end: processes for using patterns for differentiation of space. differentiation vs accumulation
- some vagueness
- a bit tragic perhaps: towards the end, neighbors working together to make their houses beautiful. seemed a bit utopian in a modernist sense.
- a [[pattern]] has a [[context]], a [[problem]] and a [[solution]] that resolves the set of conflicting forces.
- embodiment as crucial vs the software patterns
- [[kowloon walled city]]
- [[tokyo 1960]]
- [[wabi sabi]]
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