Modern architects eschew his ideas, and yet the best architecture can be viewed as following Alexander's method. Notes On The Synthesis Of Form, defined his calculus of design. His later Pattern Language is rich with applications.
In his book, Alexander shows that in the design process, a design stabilizes when there are no more "misfit variables". The only (practical) way that this will happen is for the design to stabilize within each strongly connected component before stabilizing among more weakly connected sets of components.
In his Epilogue, he states: "My main task has been to show that there is a deep and important underlying structural correspondence between the pattern of a problem and the process of designing a physical form which answers that problem."
In Appendix I, he shows a worked example from "The determination of Components for an Indian Village". An agricultural village of six hundred people is to be reorganized to make it fit present and future conditions developing in rural India. (The full paper appears in Conference on Design Method, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1963, Christopher Jones, Ed.) He lists all the needs, assertions, rules, etc. as potentially misfit variables. Then he tabulates all the interactions between variables. He then analyzes in detail the decomposition of the resulting graph, showing the tree structure of the village and an account of each diagram and associated village functions.
Appendix II gives the mathematical treatment of his design algorithm. In 1963 Alexander published reports describing "the hierarchical decomposition of systems which have an associated linear graph". These four HIDECS computer programs were written in IBM 7090 assembly code! It would seem that these algorithms merit being incorporated into design tools. Good Project! (Reference: M.I.T. Civil Engineering Systems Laboratory, Research report R63-27 and Publication No.160). I have a copy of this bulletin.
Does anyone know of modern versions of this with a graphical interface?
This book of 253 patterns was compiled over a period of years by a team of six. The paternes are numbered and named. One or more assertions are made about each pattern and discussed. At the end of each discussion, related patterns are cross-referenced.
To give you an idea of the range, here are only the names of ten of my favorite patterns: INDEPENDENT REGIONS, THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOWNS, IDENTIFIABLE NEIGHBORHOODS, INDIVIDUALLY OWNED SHOPS, STREET CAFE, CORNER GROCERY, BEER HALL, TRAVELER'S INN, SUNNY COUNTER and STAIR SEATS.
As I said, each pattern has a page or more of discussion following assertions made about particular patterns. Consider the assertion about IDENTIFIABLE NEIGHBORHOODS, following from an observation about implementing the pattern of identifiable neighborhoods in the light of an request by the City of San Francico for citizen input on the location of all future major arteries within the city:
Help people to define the neighborhoods they live in, not more than 300 yards across, with no more than 400 or 500 inhabitants. In existing cities, encourage local groups to organize themselves to form such neighborhoods. Give the neighborhoods some degree of autonomy as far as taxes and land controls are concerned. Keep major roads outside these neighborhoods.
I have been working on a World Model since about 1977. One of my next steps is to develop a pattern language to describe it systematically. I consider all of the patterns in Pattern Language applicable!
I invite you to develop your own pattern language for whatever you like -- computer network infrastructure, for example.
Center for Environmental Structure Series (some below were written with other authors)
A full bibliography is in CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER, The Search for a New Paradigm in Architecture by Stephen Grabow, Oriel Press, 1983.
Alexander's latest work is in four volumes, entitled The Nature of Order, 2000-2001, Oxford Press, some ready for publication, others not quite? I have the first volume, THE PHENOMENON OF LIFE, autographed! You can order via the pattern language web site.