Pattern (architecture)

Pattern (architecture)

Pattern in architecture is the idea of capturing architectural design ideas as archetypal and reusable descriptions. The term "pattern" in this context is usually attributed to Christopher Alexander, an Austrian born American architect. The patterns serve as an aid to design cities and buildings. The concept of having collections of "patterns", or typical samples as such, is much older. One can think of these collections as forming a pattern language, whereas the elements of this language may be combined, governed by certain rules.