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9.2 Introduction to Wholeness
An introduction to wholeness is encapsulated in the work of physicist Henri Bortoft, who argues that
the whole cannot be explained through some analytical, sequential approach that puts parts together
as in a mechanical system (Bortroft, 1996; Stefanovic, 1991). Instead, the whole can only be understood by analysing its parts through careful, intuitive and encounter thinking, feeling and perception.
This means that there is a way to experience how the whole is present throughout its parts so that it
can be found. Bortroft explains as follows:
As one finds ways to better understand the parts, so the whole to which they belong becomes better defined; in
turn, this progressive clarity of the whole sheds additional light on the parts, which become yet more understandable and say more about the whole; and
If a part is to be an arena in which the whole can be present, it cannot be any old thing. Parts are not bits and
pieces, because a part is only a part if it is such that it can bear the whole. There is a useful ambivalence here: “to
bear,” in the sense of “to pass through” and “to carry”; and “to bear” in the sense of “to suffer,” where this is taken
in the sense of “to undergo.” By itself the part is nothing, not even a part, but the whole cannot be whole without
the part. The part becomes significant itself through becoming a bearer of the whole (Bortroft, 1971 in Seamon,
2007, p. 3).
Bortroft’s explanation of parts and the whole has a direct relationship to the works of Alexander,
because throughout his life the latter tried to find ways to understand wholeness by attempting to
identify the parts, or the patterns that connect them all together. This is best known through his works
including: A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (1977) and The Timeless Way of
Building (1979), and A New Theory of Urban Design (1987). During the ‘pattern language period’,
Alexander and his colleagues tried to find the right parts by gathering examples of buildings and
places that created a sense of order, identifying and explicating underlying physical qualities, with
patterns that were constellations of the environment and human experience relationships (Grabow,
1983, p. 109). Alexander’s The Nature of Order (2001–2005a, 2001–2005b) is a further attempt to
provide more clarity on the importance of pattern language and wholeness. Alexander also provides a
mathematical explanation of wholeness, of which a further description is provided in Appendix 1.
This effort to incorporate life-evoking geometry and design methods into a process of place-making
that sustains environmental wellbeing was fundamental in my approach to develop a contemporary
regenerative- adaptive design and pattern language theory.
In the mammoth four-volume publication The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building
and the Nature of the Universe (2001–2005a, 2001–2005b), Alexander described the formula that
leads to a liveable and sustainable built environment as a set of patterns, a system of explicit steps for
creating living structures within the fabric of a place. These ‘generative codes’ are specific to the
environment, and can be found in nature through the process of morphogenesis. Alexander’s theory
defines the word ‘generative’ as a process where there is always a sequence, an order, and instructions
that follow the rule of centres, which appear within the larger whole as distinct and noticeable parts
(Alexander, 2001–2005a, 2001–2005b). He argues that generative codes are capable of driving the
organic unfolding of a place in such a way that the people who live and work in that place have an
opportunity to be sustainable and flourish personally, economically and ecologically. The theory further argues that by creating a living structure, a place is created that is ‘alive’. Living structures like
this are referred to as places that have ‘soul’, and have an inherent pattern language that is part of a
generative process. Places with soul inevitably arise whenever living structures are used, and should
provide for long-lasting sustainability and resilience. Similar to places with place character and ‘sense
of place’, people living there experience deep connections with nature, and refer to these as healthy
environments.
9.2 Introduction to Wholeness
9.2 Introduction to Wholeness
An introduction to wholeness is encapsulated in the work of physicist Henri Bortoft, who argues that
the whole cannot be explained through some analytical, sequential approach that puts parts together
as in a mechanical system (Bortroft, 1996; Stefanovic, 1991). Instead, the whole can only be understood by analysing its parts through careful, intuitive and encounter thinking, feeling and perception.
This means that there is a way to experience how the whole is present throughout its parts so that it
can be found. Bortroft explains as follows:
As one finds ways to better understand the parts, so the whole to which they belong becomes better defined; in
turn, this progressive clarity of the whole sheds additional light on the parts, which become yet more understandable and say more about the whole; and
If a part is to be an arena in which the whole can be present, it cannot be any old thing. Parts are not bits and
pieces, because a part is only a part if it is such that it can bear the whole. There is a useful ambivalence here: “to
bear,” in the sense of “to pass through” and “to carry”; and “to bear” in the sense of “to suffer,” where this is taken
in the sense of “to undergo.” By itself the part is nothing, not even a part, but the whole cannot be whole without
the part. The part becomes significant itself through becoming a bearer of the whole (Bortroft, 1971 in Seamon,
2007, p. 3).
Bortroft’s explanation of parts and the whole has a direct relationship to the works of Alexander,
because throughout his life the latter tried to find ways to understand wholeness by attempting to
identify the parts, or the patterns that connect them all together. This is best known through his works
including: A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (1977) and The Timeless Way of
Building (1979), and A New Theory of Urban Design (1987). During the ‘pattern language period’,
Alexander and his colleagues tried to find the right parts by gathering examples of buildings and
places that created a sense of order, identifying and explicating underlying physical qualities, with
patterns that were constellations of the environment and human experience relationships (Grabow,
1983, p. 109). Alexander’s The Nature of Order (2001–2005a, 2001–2005b) is a further attempt to
provide more clarity on the importance of pattern language and wholeness. Alexander also provides a
mathematical explanation of wholeness, of which a further description is provided in Appendix 1.
This effort to incorporate life-evoking geometry and design methods into a process of place-making
that sustains environmental wellbeing was fundamental in my approach to develop a contemporary
regenerative- adaptive design and pattern language theory.
In the mammoth four-volume publication The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building
and the Nature of the Universe (2001–2005a, 2001–2005b), Alexander described the formula that
leads to a liveable and sustainable built environment as a set of patterns, a system of explicit steps for
creating living structures within the fabric of a place. These ‘generative codes’ are specific to the
environment, and can be found in nature through the process of morphogenesis. Alexander’s theory
defines the word ‘generative’ as a process where there is always a sequence, an order, and instructions
that follow the rule of centres, which appear within the larger whole as distinct and noticeable parts
(Alexander, 2001–2005a, 2001–2005b). He argues that generative codes are capable of driving the
organic unfolding of a place in such a way that the people who live and work in that place have an
opportunity to be sustainable and flourish personally, economically and ecologically. The theory further argues that by creating a living structure, a place is created that is ‘alive’. Living structures like
this are referred to as places that have ‘soul’, and have an inherent pattern language that is part of a
generative process. Places with soul inevitably arise whenever living structures are used, and should
provide for long-lasting sustainability and resilience. Similar to places with place character and ‘sense
of place’, people living there experience deep connections with nature, and refer to these as healthy
environments.
9.2 Introduction to Wholeness