From Rules to Patterns

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FROM RULES TO PATTERNS

AR3AP010 Border Conditions & Territories <student> Athina Papadopoulou <tutors> Henriette Bier Klaske Havik 22.01.2013

CONTENTS

Begin; Show how rules lead to patterns; Define order; Representing order; End; References;

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// begin; Human societies are constructed upon sets of rules. These rules impose appropriate human behavior within an established sequence of actions and effects. More rigid rules infuse repetitive behaviors that are described as behavioral patterns. Such patterns are generated through a repetitive structure of events. Now suppose that these events influence our living environment. That leads to an analogy between behavioral patterns and spatial patterns. Our living environment can therefore be expressed through the underlying structure that indicates a system of rules and regulations. These rules generate repetition of spatial elements together with repetition of relationships between these elements. In these terms each pattern can be interpreted as a morphological law, a morphological law that defines sets of relationships realized in space. A repetition of relationships can in other words be described as order. Spatial patterns induce order, an order that emerges from natural and human laws. Breaking the laws brings disorder. Disorder is the instant interruption of the established order. When the rules become looser and indistinct, when the established order overlap other states of order the spatial relationships will appear out of order. Order can be found in two levels: in the underlying rules, the causality, or in the spatial patterns that these rules generate, the produced effect. In order to analyze space as a dynamic interconnected entity rather than a synthesis of individual elements, I will refer to three architects that share a similar perception of space. Christopher Alexander, Bernard Tschumi and Stan Allen have within their own trajectory developed an understanding of space as a complex system of relationships between actions and objects. Such a concep-

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tion requires an introduction of a new system of analysis and representation. Therefore notation systems will be described as representational tools to anticipate new organizations of space. The above evolutionary thought process, from rules to patterns and from order to notation diagrams will be developed through the current essay. It will be analyzed in three sections that will be investigated separately and in relation to each other.

// first _ show how rules lead to patterns;

------------------------------------------------------rules → behavioral patterns → spatial patterns -------------------------------------------------------

<rules>

<Boeri in Daidalos 69/70, p.104> ------------------------------------------------------------...zenithal morphology, the view form above, which only attributes meaning to figures that can be expressed in full forms with visible, two dimensional outlines. (…) It is hypocritical, because it shields the observer from his responsibilities; it shows us the surface of the earth from afar, while it continually tells us that the laws and rules of the phenomena appearing before us are elsewhere, behind or “beneath” visible space, in the economy, in society, in deeply underlying structures. -------------------------------------------------------------

The way we behave in space is regulated. It is ruled by forces that predefine our movements and influence our decisions. The controlling forces can be hidden, lying in the unconscious, or they can be distinguishable, applied by the authorities. In any case they classify human behavior either as appropriate or as restricted. It is these restrictions that give rise to repetition.

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<behavioral patterns> There are different ways to classify our living environment. We can either divide it according to objects, which can be counted, measured and later composed into a whole, or we can approach it according to phenomena. In the second case the phenomena are not considered as individual entities of observation but rather as the binding forces between the elements. Christopher Alexander developed such a methodology that was reflected in his book A Pattern Language. <Burckhardt 1980> ------------------------------------------------------------Christopher Alexander did not draw his line between houses, streets, and newspaper stands, in order to build better houses, street and newspaper stands. Instead, he divides the integrated complex street corner form other urban complexities: after all, the newspaper stand thrives when my bus doesn’t arrive, thus giving me time to buy a newspaper, and the bus stops exactly here because various paths and commuters have direct access to connecting routes. -------------------------------------------------------------

The ‘street corner’ described is an example of a phenomenon. The phenomena are the components that construct space. They indicate an organizational system that is based on actions and movements. The phenomena are restrained and therefore repetitive. We refer to them as patterns of events where “each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice.” (Alexander 1977, p.x) The notion of repetition in patterns does not refer to a production of identical copies but rather to an occurrence of a repetitive behavior. These repetitive behaviors are the ones establishing the relationships between the objects. They induce a reading of the space in terms of its invisible components.

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<spatial patterns> <Alexander 1979, p.x> ------------------------------------------------------------Every place is given its character by certain patterns of events that keep on happening there. These patterns of events are always interlocked with certain geometric patterns in the space. -------------------------------------------------------------

Classifying the environment according to phenomena leads to an investigation of spatial relationships. We can distinguish relationships of resemblance and relationships of indifference, relationships of conflict or reciprocity. In every case it is about a comparison of elements. According to Michel Foucault “there exist two forms of comparison, and only two: the comparison of measurement and that of order� (Foucault 1966, p.52). The comparison of measurement can be related to the division of the environment according to objects while the comparison of order is more an understanding of the environment according to phenomena. In the first case, measurement enables the analysis of things it relation to their calculable form. It requires a common unit, a unit from outside according to which the elements can be measured. Each element still acts independently within its own rules. In the second case, that of order, there is no reference to exterior units. We recognize the relationship between the elements by comparing them directly to each other. We don’t consider anything apart from them. Order is investigated within their coexistence and not in their isolated nature. Spatial patterns take shape through the repeating relationships between elements. The elements do not repeat themselves in an absolute way. What is repeating is the relationships that these elements develop with other components. There is an endless variety of combinations that constructs these set of relationships from which space is made of. The spatial pat-

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terns are therefore defined by morphological laws. <Alexander 1979, p.90> ------------------------------------------------------------Each one of these patterns is a morphological law, which establishes a set of relationships in space. This morphological law can always be expressed in the same general form: X --> r (A,B,‌), which means: Within a context of type X, the parts A,B,‌ are related by the relationship r. -------------------------------------------------------------

A morphological law illustrates the cultural context, in which a pattern emerges together with the elements that compose it and the relationship between these elements. The phenomena that give rise to the patterns become the tractive force that creates the dynamic relationships between the elements in space. Bernard Tschumi shares a similar understanding of space proposing a dynamic and inseparable relationship between event, space and movement. <Tschumi 1990, p.99> ------------------------------------------------------------Event: an incident, an occurrence; a particular item in a program. Events can encompass particular uses, singular functions or isolated activities. Space: a cosa mentale? Kant’s priori category of consciousness? A pure form? Or rather, a social product, the projection on the ground of a socio-political culture? Movement: the action or progress of moving. Also: the inevitable intrusion of bodies into the controlled order of architecture. -------------------------------------------------------------

In the Manhattan Transcripts Bernard Tschumi creates an architectural experience that is based on the reconstruction of the relation between event, space and movement. The Transcripts deconstruct reality in order to reform it according to a new

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set of principles. The new reality becomes a composition of internal relationships that are not yet visible. They appear only within the prescribed process of analysis and representation. They maintain the contradictions between object, man and event in a dynamic manner. When space is analyzed in these terms what matters is not the form of isolated objects but the form between the objects. <Allen 1999, p.92> ------------------------------------------------------------Overall shape and extent are highly fluid and less important than the internal relationships of parts, which determine the behavior of the field. -------------------------------------------------------------

Stan Allen refers to these internal relationships within the notion of the field. Field conditions propose the transition from the understanding of the world as distinct objects to an understanding of the world as a spatial matrix capable of associating diverse elements. The rules are applied in a local level generating interconnectivity between the elements while patterns emerge on a global level. The internal relationships are the ones determining the behavior of the field. “What is intended here is a close attention to the production of difference at the local scale, even while maintaining a relative indifference to the form of the whole.� (Allen 1999, p.97) Repetition and seriality becomes important. Building up relationships leads to a unification of diverse elements while respecting the identity of each. An alternative way of analyzing space is overall suggested, a way that will bring up the invisible factors. The internal structure becomes important. The laws of society determine the behavior of the individuals while the overall effect is reflected in patterns emerging in space.

The Manhattan Transcripts, Bernard Tschumi

Field Conditions Diagrams, Stan Allen

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// second _ define order;

------------------------------------------------------order → disorder → out of order -------------------------------------------------------

order |ˈôrdər| Patterns embrace order as a result of repetition. Repetition is either in the sequence of actions that generate form or in the visual interpretation of form itself. It is either in the underlying rules or in the generated spatial patterns. Order is a passage from one element to the other by an uninterrupted movement. It is not a sequence of independent entities but rather a series of related ones. Each element follows strict rules. These rules define the quality of the relationships, they are the connection between the separate entities. There is a continuous rhythm, there is hierarchy and therefore there is balance. Most important there is predictability. Equilibrium is established, fault and error is eliminated. Order in space imposes and internal organization that is established within a practice of discipline. No interactions, no unpredictability. The space is segmented and controlled while ritualistic behavior is induced. <Foucault 1977, p.197> ------------------------------------------------------------This enclosed, segmented space, observed at every point, in which the individuals are inserted in a fixed place, in which the slightest movements are supervised, in which all events are recorded, in which an uninterrupted work of writing links the centre and periphery, in which power is exercised without division, according to a continuous hierarchical figure, in which each individual is constantly located, examined and distributed among the living beings, the sick and the dead - all this constitutes a compact model of the disciplinary mechanism. The plague is met by order; -------------------------------------------------------------

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Order requires effort. Certain amount of energy is necessary to achieve consistence. Order demands energy to be preserved. Internal control is essential as well as a defensive mechanism against the external threats. disorder |disˈôrdər| Disorder is a suspension of the rules. It steps in unexpectedly, where the rules are instantly interrupted. It creates opposition. The level of control and predictability is reduced. The abeyance of the regulations produces looser relations. On a local level the order is broken but on the global level it is still visible. Uniformity is broken and a new hierarchy is temporarily introduced. Balance has to be redefined. out of order |out əv ˈôrdər| Out of order is an establishment of more complex relationsips between elements. It rises where disorder sovereign, where the previously established order becomes invisible, where different orders coexist, and when the regulations becomes indistinguishable. It can be a mix of several states of order, a space where several equilibriums coexist. Simultaneity matters but not hierarchy, juxtaposition emerges and non-linearity appears. No distinct rules. No fixed patterns. The difference between exception and regularity disappears. A state out of order is a formless state. It has no parameters. The form is indeterminate. The relations are broken. It is on the edge of falling apart. <Balmond 2002, p.111> ------------------------------------------------------------Delight, surprise, ambiguity are typical responses; ideas clash in the informal and strange juxtapositions take place. Overlaps occur. Instead of regular, formally controlled measures, there are varying rhythms and wayward impulses. Uniformity is broken and balance is interrupted. The demand for Order! in the regimental sense is ignored: the big picture is something else. -------------------------------------------------------------

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Out of order is a decaying order. It is a process that reduces the state of order of the initial system. Moving from order, to disorder and finally out of order is moving from a concentration of energy to a dispersal of energy. The level of predictability is reduced while permanence gives its place to temporality. Complexity increases while the relation between causality and effect become non-linear. Additional information is needed to specify the exact state of the system. Analyzing space in terms of patterns, events and fields requires a new vocabulary that can qualify these phenomena. Order, disorder and out of order are ways to describe these dynamic relationships. Following, notations systems will be introduced as a way to engage the invisible aspects of architecture into drawings and visual representations.

// third _ representing order;

------------------------------------------------------levels of order → notation systems -------------------------------------------------------

<levels of order>

<Deleuze 1994, p.22> ------------------------------------------------------------It is essential to break down the notion of causality in order to distinguish two types of repetition: one, which concerns only the overall, abstract effect and the other, which concerns the acting cause. -------------------------------------------------------------

The two types of repetition described by Gilles Deleuze impose two types of order: the order of causality and that of the effect. In other words, the order of the underlying rules and the order of the emergent patterns. The first one found on a local level and the second apparent on a global level.

Increasing Disorder in a Dining Table Diller & Scofidio

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The first one is static and works on an abstract level defining the relationships between the elements. It describes relationships in such a way that the solution is never identical but expresses regularity. The causality consists of a finite set of operating rules. Order is codified. It is represented in numbers and symbols. It incorporates instructions, definitions, equations, restrictions, actions and reactions. They describe the state of the system in the future. Given an initial position, it is possible through this series of rules to determine all future positions by simply repeating the process. The rules produce variability with process-driven techniques. Once the input is given the rules evoke with the regularity of a clockwork: for each input there is only one possible outcome. The second level of order is in the effect. This order is dynamic. It is the response given by the system to a specific input. As long as the rules stay the same the structure of the outcome is the same while the form introduces variability. The relationship between the codified instructions and the form is not proportional nor can it be reduced to a simple analogy between causes and effects. The behavior of the system is difficult to predict. It is dynamic. It works with parameters that control relationships on a local level while the global level remains dynamic and unpredictable. In order for these complex relationships of our environment to be analyzed and represented there is a need of a system that can stretch this interaction between cause and effect, between the underlying rules and the emergent patterns, between the patterns of events and their spatial reflections. <notation systems> When we search for order in the underlying structures we need to move away form the visual perception of space. Notations

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are used to represent the invisible factors of our living environment. <Allen 2000, p.41> ------------------------------------------------------------Unlike classical theories of mimeses, notations do not map or represent already existing objects or systems but anticipate new organizations and specify yet to be realized relationships. -------------------------------------------------------------

Notations emphasize on the meaning of the phenomena in order to reproduce their spatial effect. The visual information of drawings is combined with numerical and textual information. The drawing is converted into a notation diagram, it is not anymore a reduced picture of reality but rather a new construction of reality. The notations and the symbols, the numbers and the textual explanations construct a mass of information that has to be conveyed as a formal of language. <Merleau-Ponty 1964, p.88> ------------------------------------------------------------The reason why a language finally intends to say and does say something is not that each sign is the vehicle for a signification which allegedly belongs to it, but that all the signs together allude to a signification which is always in abeyance when they are considered singly, and which I go beyond them toward without their ever containing it. -------------------------------------------------------------

The local relationships have to be described in such a way that they can give rise to a global entity. Notations can therefore include time and social context. They can include the invisible connections of elements and work as digital systems. They can communicate a state of order or disorder. When there is order the only thing that needs to be conveyed is the finite set of rules together with the given inputs. When there is disorder there is a need to represent the whole internal complexity. Each state has its own level of complexity that requires specific ways of representation.

Military Formations, Denis Diderot

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// end; <Tschumi 1994, p.176> ------------------------------------------------------------Much of the practice of architecture - composition, the ordering of objects as a reflection of the order of the world, the perfection of objects, the vision of a future made of progress and continuity - is conceptually inapplicable today. For architecture only exists through the world in which it locates itself. If the world implies dissociation and destroys unity, architecture will inevitably reflect these phenomena. -------------------------------------------------------------

Bernard Tschumi states that the order of the world is perceived in the ordering of space. Michel Foucault gives a literal example of this observation in his book Discipline and Punish. He describes how the Plague was transgressed in space and more specifically how the insertion of regulation into the smallest details of human conduct and the mediation of the complete hierarchy assert the functioning power. This describes a state of emergency, when the regular norms are suspended introducing a new, temporary state of order that leads to new spatial configurations. Therefore an analysis of space under terms of order and disorder allow the mirroring of society in space. Order in the built environment becomes a strictly mathematical rule that organizes space and conveys meaning. The ordering of objects steps beyond efficiency and functionality in order to state the underlying social structure. If order is a clear establishment of signs, disorder is the disturbance of these signs. It is an instant interruption of the established order. Disorder imposes decay. It refers to a state of ambiguity, where the rules decline and lose their meaning. A dynamic relationship between human behavior and spatial configurations is proposed. Not only is space adaptable to the changing needs and behavioral patterns but the structure of

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the environment can in a reverse manner give rise to social order. In such a way architectural design has a certain impact on human interactions. The current research proposes a way to administer space of superseded orders. It is an investigation of rules in extreme presence or in absolute absence. A relationship between behavioral and spatial patterns is proposed either within a strict analogy or on a looser level allowing meanings to rise independently from the predefined rules.

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// references; Alejandro Zaera-Polo, ‘Forget Heisenberg’, in: Cynthia Davidson (ed.)(1997): Anybody The MIT Press, Cambridge/ London Andrea Gleinigeer, Georg Vrachliotis (2009): Pattern: Ornament, Structure and Behavior, Birkhäuser, Berlin, Germany Bernard Tschumi (1990): Questions of Space: Lectures on Architecture, E.G. Bond Ltd, London Bernard Tschumi (1994): Architecture and Disjunction, The MIT Press, Cambridge Cecil Balmond, Jannuzzi Smith (2002): Informal, Prestel, Munich Charles Jencks, Karl Kroph (editors) (2006): Theories and Manifestoes of Contemporary Architecture, Artmedia Press, London Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein (1977): A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction, Oxford University Press, New York Christopher Alexander (1979): The Timeless Way of Building, Oxford University Press, New York Gilles Deleuze (1994): Difference & Repetition, Columbia University Press, New York Lars Spuybroek (ed.) (2009): The Architecture of Variation, Thames & Hudson, London

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Lucius Burckhardt, Design is invisible (1980) Manuel DeLanda (2004): Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy, Continuum, London Mario Carpo (2011): The Alphabet and the Algorithm, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1964): Signs, Northwestern University Press, Evanston Michael Drolet (ed) (2004): The Postmodernism Reader: Foundational Texts, Routledge, London Michel Foucault (1961): Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, Routledge, Great Britain Michel Foucault (1966): The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences, Routledge, Great Britain Michel Foucault (1977): Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Penguin Books, London Michael Parker Pearson, Colin Richards (1994): Architecture & Order: Approaches to Social Space, Routledge, London Neil Leach (1997): Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory, Routledge, London (Postscript on the Societies of Control, Gilles Deleuze) Neil Spiller (ed.) (2002): Cyber Reader: Critical writings for the digital era, Phaidon Press, London

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Nicholas Mirzoeff (2002): The Visual Culture Reader, Routledge, London N.J. Habraken (1998): The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and Control in the Built Environment, MIT Press, Cambridge Stan Allen (1999): Points + Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City, Princeton Architectural Press, New York Stan Allen (2000): Practice, Architecture, Technique and Representation, G+B Arts International imprint, Singapore Stefano Boeri: ‘Eclectic Atlases’, in: Daidalos, no. 69/70 Thomas Y. Levin, Ursula Frohne, Peter Weiber (eds) (2002): CTRL Space: Rhetorics of Surveillance from Bentham to Big Brother, The MIT Press, Graz, Australia Tomoko Sakamoto, Albert Ferre (2007): From Control to Design: Parametric/Algorithmic Architecture, Actar, Barcelona

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