unofficial blog for course ARCH210

Lehigh University
Art Architecture and Design
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Bethlehem, PA 18015

Vasilij

The City (Part 1 of 3)

              Architects from around the world envision the ideal city. They plan the layout of a city, dissect the city from the city’s center to its suburbs and connect the areas to transport goods and people every day. The planning of the ideal city for architects has become a language according to Alexander’s A Pattern of Language. (Alexander 1977)

              The basic components of a city are considered as patterns of how a city will be designed, based on the population of the city, the terrain that is located and spreading the city into districts or suburbs. These patterns are also used to include what the city needs, such as parks, highways to connect suburbs and where businesses can be located. Patterns can categorize housing for the citizen based on his preferences.

Therefore, the patterns create the language of what would everyone need from a house, to a neighborhood to a city. The patterns are used as building blocks that can shape or modify the ideal city. The patterns tailor the best living space for a person that wants to settle in the city or in the suburbs. This is considered as the perfect tool of communication that people and architects design the perfect area. Everything can be put on the table and the only thing that is left is for the clients to point and choose for their ideal living space.

This ideology of patterns creates a language that can communicate from a person to an architect. The patterns design from a house to a neighborhood to a city. They can plan of how a city should be laid out throughout the given space and the patterns can be removed or changed at any time.  

References

Alexander, Chrstopher. 1977. A Pattern Language.

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