Building an Outdoor Room with a Few Simple Rules
July 27th, 2003 by Hal
Dad knows best…not! While finishing the outdoor room we got to the point of laying the pavers. My son worked concentric circles using a variety of squares and keystone shapes. The rest of the family kept feeding him those blocks as he called for them. He finished the 18 foot circle with a row of darker pavers to give it a crisp visual edge. Up next…laying two walkways to the circle.
The pavers for the walkways were 6″x9″ and 6″x6″ in the ratio of 4 to 3, respectively. This is equivalent to an 18″x18″ space. I wanted to work out a pattern that would be repeated throughout the two walkways. One walkway was 42″ wide. The other was 84″ wide narrowing to 42″ as it approached the circle. To further complicate it the brothers decided to build the two walkways at the same time, one working from the driveway to the circle, the other working from the deck to the patio. (Bear with me here.) To me it looked like a mess about to unfold. My landscape architect student son had another idea. He would let a pattern emerge.
Working with a few simple rules the two boys could independently approach the circle. Their rules: use 4 rectangles for every 3 squares; bridge 3 rows with 2 rectangles every once in awhile. The rest of us fed the pavers in batches of 4 rectangles and 3 squares. Randomness evolved.
Here's my lesson: first, trust competence; second, autonomous agents acting in accord with a few simple rules will produce something functional and unexpected. The circle and the walkways are beautiful…far superior to Dad's repeated pattern. Have a look.
Tomorrow, I'll tell you about another lesson in emergent/organic processes…my participation in a day-long open space planning session for Coachville.
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July 31st, 2003 at 10:11 pm
Give me a day or two…