Alexander does not take a conceptual approach to design, rather he designs from "feel". In his book, "A Pattern Language" he and his colleagues collected over 200 categories of habitual space, ranging from whole cities to the corner of a garden. These categories, or "patterns" as he calls them, are found whereever a human being or group of human beings feel "alive" and comfortable and in their skins.
This approach does not mean that Alexander is not theoretical or conceptual at all. His ideas are underpinned by scientific and mathematical principles, but he uses these principles as a springboard from which to work intuitively.
I have been trying to work through some of the patterns in an attempt to explore them. There is really no short cut. You have to experience the place or space you are working in and relate to its uniqueness in relation to the patterns. It is a gradual process. I tried to capture the essence of some of the patterns by making simple 3d models, but that way was too abstract and not in the spirit of the pattern language. The approach is place specific.
So I focussed on my own garden both for real and in models. Then started playing with drawings of the models. Here are some riffs on Christopher Alexander's pattern "Half Hidden Gardens" # 111 in his book. All drawings done with charcoal and paint on paper and about A3 in size. I had tried to be very analytic and conceptual, but the drawings ran off with me into a different place altogether. This is probably in the spirit of Alexander's work.
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