Protocols Don’t Build Pyramids

Drew Austin argues that protocols mediate between the fast-changing "software" of cities and their rigid physical "hardware," and that apparent protocol failure may sometimes be a protocol working as intended. The essay says protocol failure is especially visible in the built environment's inability to accommodate change over time. It also states that an accompanying "pattern language," modeled on Christopher Alexander's work, presents protocol design as a way to improve and maintain the built environment.