2013.11.20
The Takashi Iba Laboratory at the Faculty of Policy Management is launching "The 4th Place: The Fourth Place to Shape Yourself" (http://www.the4thplace.jp), a new type of web service that uses Pattern Language.
"The 4th Place: The Fourth Place to Shape Yourself" (http://www.the4thplace.jp) is a web service for chronicling impressive events around you and the feelings you had at the time with photos and words. Users create "works" that express their own experiences based on the patterns of "Generative Beauty Patterns"*1.
The works created are posted on a "Wall." On the Wall, you can see not only your own works but also those created by others, and you can also draw inspiration from them to create related works.
The Generative Beauty Patterns referenced when creating works are a Pattern Language*2 for "living vividly and beautifully." Based on such patterns, realizing what it means to "live vividly and beautifully" and expressing that quality in your own way leads to honing your sense (sensitivity) for it. "The 4th Place" provides such a "place to shape yourself."*3
*1 What are Generative Beauty Patterns?
The Generative Beauty Patterns used in "The 4th Place" are a Pattern Language that describes hints for "living vividly and beautifully." It does not provide direct, concrete "answers." Instead, it helps each reader think about their own way of "living vividly and beautifully" based on their own situation and personality.
*2 What is a Pattern Language?
A Pattern Language is a method for describing and sharing practical knowledge for creating good designs. Its creator, architect Christopher Alexander, called the recurring relationships found in towns and buildings "patterns" and devised this method as a way to share them as a "language." His goal was a method that would allow anyone to participate in the design process. Since then, the Pattern Language method has spread as a way to support software development and creative activities in general.
*3 About the concept of "The 4th Place" (the fourth place)
In creating this new web service, we named it "The 4th Place" (the fourth place) to propose a new kind of "place" different from what has come before.
About 20 years ago, sociologist Ray Oldenburg called places of social interaction like "cafes" and "bars" the "third place." He focused on these places of social interaction, such as cafes and bars, as a "third place," distinct from the "first place" (home) and the "second place" (school/work).
While these places are certainly important, we believe that to live as one's true self, a "place to shape yourself" is necessary—one that is neither home, nor school/work, nor a place for social interaction. We have positioned this as the "fourth place." It is a "hideaway" of sorts, a place to step away from the busy daily routine, spend time alone, cherish what you feel in your heart, and let quiet time flow.
● At the Keio University SFC Open Research Forum (ORF) held at Tokyo Midtown on November 22 (Fri.) and 23 (Sat./Holiday), 2013, a corner will be set up where you can experience this service in person (Booth D12: "The 4th Place: The Fourth Place to Shape Yourself," Generative Beauty Project). For more details about ORF, please visit http://orf.sfc.keio.ac.jp/.
Comment from Associate Professor Takashi Iba
"Generative Beauty Patterns," which was very well-received at last year's ORF (Open Research Forum), will be back at ORF with a new system. I hope you will step away from the busy, fast-flowing timeline and take some quiet, unhurried time to reflect on and express your recent self. Please give it a try.