Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language: analysing, mapping and classifying the critical response

Abstract

A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander is renowned for providing simple, conveniently formatted, humanist solutions to complex design problems ranging in scale from urban planning through to interior design. This text is also believed to be the most widely read architectural treatise ever published. Despite this, there is also little acknowledgement in its popular reception that it is only one part of a trilogy of works documenting Alexander's 'second theory' of architecture. Thus, while A Pattern Language is widely referenced in architectural scholarship, most of these references simply acknowledge its existence and fail to engage with its content. Furthermore, the literature that does critically engage with Alexander's theory, challenging its ideas and assumptions, is often difficult to find, and the criticisms are diverse and complex. The intent of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of these criticisms and the relationships between them. The 28 criticisms identified in past research are organised hierarchically in this paper into three tiers representing those associated with the: (i) conceptualisation, (ii) development and documentation and, (iii) implementation and outcomes of Alexander's theory. The relationships between these criticisms are then mapped diagrammatically thereby forming the basis for thematic groupings within each hierarchical tier. This organisation reveals that only two criticisms relate to the concept of pattern languages in isolation, while the remainder arise, directly or indirectly, from Alexander's idiosyncratic ontological and epistemological positions. The conclusion analyses the relationships between the criticisms to develop a holistic and understanding of where the problems in Alexander's theory might lie.

An analysis of digital competence as expressed in design patterns for technology use in teaching

“…In this context, design patterns are utilised. The design pattern model was originally created by the architect Christopher Alexander with colleagues () and in spite of being criticised for bearing weaknesses (Dawes & Ostwald, ), design patterns are extensively utilised in software engineering and has also been adapted for educational purposes (Fincher, ). Academic scholars agree on the potential of design patterns for education (Falconer et al , ; Goodyear, ; McAndrew, Goodyear, & Dalziel, ; Retalis et al , ; Winters & Mor, ), and references to the famous definition given by the originator are frequent:

Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice.

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Towards a pattern language for cycling environments: merging variables and narratives

“…We have addressed the two specific criticisms of the pattern language approach: testing and ease of use (Dawes and Ostwald 2017). We also address a third concern noted by others: any urban fabric is composed of "fat nodes" where we are sedentary and "axial spaces" for movement.…”

“…We are aware that the original formulation of an architectural pattern language by Alexander et al (1977) has received a number of academic criticisms, as summarised by Dawes and Ostwald (2017). They state that there are two criticisms that pertain to pattern languages (within wider criticism of Alexander's work).…”

“…A pattern is a hypothesis. In the critical reviews (again referring to the summary by Dawes et al 2017), Alexander is seen as unscientific, however, it behoves us to read the original work more carefully. In the original work, there is a deep concern for validation and the difficulty of validation.…”

“…The language itself helps connect individuals within a biking community and becomes germane to the evolution of the common habits of a cycling culture. As recognized by Dawes and Ostwald (2017), the published compilation of 253 patterns, A Pattern Language, gives short shrift to practical instructions on how users should proceed. Other publications, such as Alexander's Timeless Way (1979) and other authors, notably Nikos Salingaros (2000), have fleshed out the concept of a pattern grammar (containment, generalization, completion, levels of scale, complementarity, either-or, etc.…”