• The specific patterns, out of which a building or a town is made may be alive or dead. To the extent they are alive, they let our inner forces loose, and, set us free; but when they are dead they keep us locked in inner conflict.

    Christopher Alexander: The specific patterns, out of which a building or a town is made
 may be alive or dead. To the extent they are alive, they let our inner
 forces loose, and, set us free; but when they are dead they keep
 us locked in inner conflict.
    Christopher Alexander (1979). “The Timeless Way of Building”, p.10, New York : Oxford University Press