We shall now discuss the nature of the pattern language, and the way in which it may be used to generate buildings. [....]
Let us establish one thing at the outset. the language, and the cascade, are two different things. The language contains far more structure than is captured in the cascade; the cascade is merely a partial representation of the language. However, we shall not discuss the additional structure in this report. Here, we confine ourselves, entirely, to those features of the language which are captured by the cascade.
Now we establish a second point. Although the cascade is a partial representation of the language, it is not intended that a person use this cascade as a flow chart during the actual design process. You cannot speak French by painstakingly following an open grammar book; in order to speak French, you must internalize the French grammar; when you have it in your head, and it has become automatic, then you can speak French.
Just so with the pattern language. You cannot design multi-service centers by painstakingly following the cascade with your finger; nor by following any other form of representation. In order to design with the language, you must formalize the structure of the language; once yo have it in your head, and it has become automatic, then you can use it to design. [p. 51]
[....] Let us imagine a large 3-dimensional block of transparent space, which represents the building and its surroundings. Now imagine the patterns are represented by transparent colored clouds, floating within this block of space, interpenetrating and overlapping one another. The overall size and shape of each colored cloud, corresponds to the "domain of influence" of the pattern in question.
Thus, Pattern 4 influences the whole building: it therefore has a very large cloud. The clouds for small services (5), office flexibility (40), activity pockets (20), and necklace of community projects (16) and others, are floating within this larger cloud. Then again, arena diameter (39) is floating within activity pockets, service layout (35) is floating within office flexibility (40). Some of the clouds have specific shapes, and specific geometrical relationship to one another. Thus, necklace of community projects (16) is a long necklace like cloud curled around the perimeter of community territory (4); activity pockets is inside the circle defined by this cloud, but does not penetrate it at all.
Some clouds overlap; that is, a part of one cloud is identified exactly with a part of another cloud. [....]
Some clouds appear many times. [...]
We now make the following assertion.
<u>A person understands the pattern language for multi-service centers, when he can completely visualize this system of clouds in three dimensions</u>. [....]
[....] We have ... chosen to draw some of the arrows, which seem to be particularly helpful; but have left many others out. And of course, the cascade is drawn in such a way as to make the arrangement of the arrows as simple as possible. Two properties of the cascade follow at once:
1. The higher the pattern is, in the cascade, the "larger" it is. Thus, Pattern 1, which refers to the city-wide organization of target areas, is the largest pattern, and heads the cascade.
2. If two patterns have parts in common, they will be near each other horizontally -- since there will be arrows going from both of them, to other "smaller" patterns which detail this part. [p. 53]
Thus, it turns out that the cascade is an abstract two dimensional picture of the system of clouds described above. The vertical dimension in the cascade represents the size of the cloud; and the horizontal dimension represents the distance between clouds, and the extend of their overlap. [pp. 53,55] [....]
We finish by discussing the variety of buildings which the language can produce. [....]
<u>First</u>, not all of the patterns are relevant to any given building. [....] [p. 55]
<u>Second</u>, each pattern allows all kinds of voluntary variation, over and above the relationship which it specifies. [....]
<u>Third</u>, many patterns are explicitly defined to vary according to the specified conditions in the context. [....]
In conclusion, we wish to emphasize the tentative character of the multi-service center pattern. [....]
The theory of the language is itself incomplete. [....] [p. 56]