A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series)

This book talks specifically about what works and doesn't work when building cities and towns and how to take the human element into consideration when doing so. However, I found its conclusions and most of its patterns applicable to software engineering. There are good books on software design patterns such as "Head First Design Patterns", and there are some good books on user interface design such as "Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design", but this book really helped me merge the idea of software design patterns with the user perspective in a way that other books I have read have not.

If you are a software designer, read the book all the way through, make notes as you go, and see if it doesn't help you write better organized code that is more responsive and coherent to a user who walks up to your user interface completely uninitiated in your method of design. I know it helped me.

This was an extremely helpful book in using to decide what house or town home to buy, why spaces might work, what needs to be added to them, etc. I am very glad I bought this book.

This is an amazing book for anyone interested in building, remodeling or buying a home. It points out basic tenents of architecture that go across cultural lines. It is easy to read and retain.

I knew nothing about this book before the purchase other than it was something I might want to read in preparation for building a house.
Originally published in 1977 by the Center For Environmental Structure, Berkeley, Calif, A Pattern Language is #2 in a series of 3 and reviewed as a working document for a new theory of architecture, building and planning.

It definitely is that and so much more. In fact, the total tonnage of information contained in this book would stop a team of oxen in it's tracks.

As a practical purchase, this book definitely fills the bill. At half the cost at publication, you can't go wrong.

A must read for anyone designing their own house. I talks about the functional relationships in a house rather than the construction itself. Every community or home architect should read this book.