The Timeless Way of Building

By Christopher Alexander

Everyone's heard about A Pattern Language but less people seem to have read this inspiring book. It's a philosophical look at a theory of building revolving around life, beauty, and wholeness. It changed the way I see the world.

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A new definition of "repair"

Generally when we use the word “repair” we use it to mean restoring something to its original state. This kind of repair is patching, conservative, static. But Alexander says that when we repair something we are at the same time making something new—not just restoring the old thing.

...at every moment we use the defects of the present state as the starting point for the definition of the new state.

You're not just bringing something back to its original state, you are transforming it into something new. The entire whole which is being repaired will become a different whole as a result of the repair.

This reminds me that the goal should not just be to restore what was already there. The goal should be to gradually make it better through a more visionary process of repair. There is room for improvement.

When forms are first built there are always gaps and things that are left unwhole. There are so many “in between” places—places that are in-between where you are meant to be. Through the process of repair we can heal the in-between places and make the thing more whole.

The breakdown of language

In American culture the language of building is fragmented. Different people build different things and use their own languages to do it. Because the languages they use aren't shared or in the open, people lose touch with their intuition about what is good. A good language is rooted in the feelings that real people have, but now people don't have enough contact with builders and designers to influence the languages they use.

Thoughts on patterns

...of course, it is not possible to make something beautiful, merely by combining fixed components.

...we tend to think of patterns as “things,” and keep forgetting that they are complex and potent fields.

Alexander wasn’t talking about design systems here but I am reminded that every component that exists in a system gets placed into a complex field of relationships. Even a button takes on more meaning when placed into a specific context.

Reference

Alexander, C. (1979). The Timeless Way of Building. Taiwan: Oxford University Press.