Notes on Chapter 4

Pattern of Events

• Every place is given character by the events that occur there.
• Events that move us – saying good bye, Christmas memories
• The events are not necessarily human – sunlight on a window sill, wind in the grass
• The life of a house or a town by shape of buildings, ornament and plan – but by the quality of events encountered there.
• All events counts both human and natural.
• The character of a town is determined by the events that keep on happening there.
• Our lives are made up of about a dozen patterns of events.
• If these few patterns are good for me I live well if not I live badly.
• Each town has a set of patterns that correspond to its culture.
• These patterns of events give the world a structure – the patterns are anchored in space
• Patterns require certain structures – sleeping require a bed.
• In order to “watch the world go by” a raised area above a public place is required – a porch or a café terrace.
• The pattern of event is dependant on the space in which it occurs.
• The names of spaces tell us what goes on there – they suggest what happens there and what people do there eg rooftop, alley, parking lot, freeway etc.
• They are not just dead pieces of architecture, they have a entire life associated with them.
• Space does not cause events – different cultures respond differently to spaces.
• Sidewalk in NY is for walking on. Sidewalk in Jamaica is for sitting and chatting.
• People respond in terms of what they expect to happen there.
• We cannot separate the stream from the stream bed.
• A building is a living thing.
• Try to see the pattern of events and the space as one.