Design patterns

Patterns for places that host big buildings

Ways a large facility can give more to its neighbourhood and its landscape than it takes, each with the evidence that would show it happened. After Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language: each pattern names a problem and the shape of an answer.

1. Pattern 1 · v0.1.1

   Start with the landscape and the neighbourhood

   Large facilities are usually designed from the inside out: halls, power and cooling first, then whatever land is left over becomes setback and car park.

   Draft, not reviewed

2. Pattern 2 · v0.1.1

   Make the public edge useful

   A secure building has long blank walls and fences.

   Draft, not reviewed

3. Pattern 3 · v0.1.1

   Plant for habitat, seasonality and survival

   Landscaping is often specified for the opening photo: fast, uniform and irrigated.

   Draft, not reviewed

4. Pattern 4 · v0.1.1

   Design for an ordinary night and a difficult summer day

   Neighbours live with a facility every night (light, hum, deliveries) and on its worst days (generator tests, heatwaves, outages).

   Draft, not reviewed

5. Pattern 5 · v0.1.1

   Make participation able to change something

   Consultation often arrives after the design is fixed.

   Draft, not reviewed

6. Pattern 6 · v0.1.1

   Design the whole lifespan

   A facility is designed for its opening and assessed on its first stage.

   Draft, not reviewed

Each pattern is meant to be adapted: to a site, a city or another country. A way to adapt them, and to suggest changes, is being designed.