Episode 18: A Design Language

Fireside Chats with Empathic Futures Lab

This week we got the conversation kicked off with a segway from Molly Wright Steenson's Architectural Intelligence. Here she introduced both of us to a fresh take on the work of Christopher Alexander, and because of this we decided to dedicate a full episode to exploring the structure of A Pattern Language. We initially looked at the comparison drawn between Alexander's approach to objectivity in design and Eisenman's approach. From there we discussed what it means to make a public critically aware and engaged with their physical environment and which approach was better at accomplishing this goal. This discussion then led us to consider how a language evolves and changes over time. Chris raised the point about how slang and new words are adopted into a language and how that adoption is applicable in the architectural realm. Given that we have more parameters in just the last 20 years that we now have to facilitate in design how should a pattern language continue to evolve and augment itself over time, and what agency to individuals have to make this change in their own design decisions.

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Pattern Language Website:

https://www.patternlanguage.com/

Christopher Alexander Lecture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98LdFA-_zfA

Molly Wright Steenson Architectural Intelligence:

http://www.girlwonder.com/papers-articles

Empathic Futures Lab Blog by Christian Pepper - Evolved Pattern Language - 1:

https://empathicfutures.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/advanced-pattern-language-1/