Christopher Alexander’s spatial architecture and design patterns can be easily overlooked by most of us living in them, but once you consider the profound impact his concepts have had on our neighborhoods and communities, it is impossible to unsee. As someone once oblivious to how housing is set up and the impact location has on our way of living, it is enthralling to connect our fundamental human behaviors and desires to the digital space. Different people want to lead different lives, and so the way work communities and housing is set up ensures that we can each find our perfect environments, and these concepts don’t change once we come online. Alexander’s pattern #36: Degrees of Publicness relates to the dichotomy of introversion and extraversion. It details how there should be an equal amount of houses that are placed farther apart and on windier roads as there should be houses clustered together and close to busy areas. This concept can be applied to almost any form of social media, in which the desire to keep a private account versus a public one may arise. Much like a house near more activity, users of Facebook or Instagram can choose whether to make their account public and use hashtags to gain traction, or to simply share their photos and thoughts with immediate followers. More notifications generally indicates more social interactions, and those who would generally prefer a secluded, private existence might be turned off by this.
The pattern #148: Small Work Groups is one which I wholeheartedly agree with and understand. It states that work groups should be neither too big nor too small, and because this has been reflected so heavily throughout my education, I had never thought about it before. While working alone can be beneficial sometimes, I’ve found that sometimes even just having another person in the room, regardless of whether you’re discussing the same task with them or not, can help keep you accountable. This is partially why I feel libraries are such an effective workspace, as seeing others in a working mindset can help you shift into yours more easily. On the flip side, too many people can lead to a loss of individual expression and feeling of identity. Group chats on Instagram are typically limited to a certain number of people, and it works because no one’s thoughts or messages overshadow another. A balance of ideas and expression leads to fruitful conversations.
Pattern #41: Work Community is another pattern which I never noticed, but definitely feel is relevant. The idea behind it is that if people spend so much of their days working, their workplaces should be comfortable. There should be an easy access to various amenities and areas conducive to socialization, and this is probably why shopping malls, plazas, and centers are so popular. Most people do not wish to feel secluded most of their days, so common restaurants, cafes, and libraries facilitate a much more pleasant working environment. While this concept can be applied to many individual workspace applications such as Slack or Discord, I believe this is one of the main appeals of the internet in general. We have access to so much material and so many types of experiences. Having the ability to create whatever type of environment you wish to be in whenever you want (whether it is secluded or social) is the most powerful aspect of the internet as a whole, and it can definitely provide a working experience like no other.
