This is the third part of an extensive four part essay by Christopher Alexander, exploring the deep fundamentals of architecture, especially what gives a building a transcendent feeling of being “alive.”
In this third book he presents practical examples of projects that he has participated in. He shares experimental processes and methods.
At the heart of this book is a treatise on how architecture must be changed to be more deeply integrated with the construction process. In order for a building to have a deep sense of wholeness and life it must be built in a way that adapts to its site and its community.
Whereas master-planned buildings may be more effecient and cost-effective to produce in the short run, they will have hundreds, if not thousands of errors or places of “bad fit,” where the building does not accomodate the needs of the users, the site, or the community.
An example of “bad fit” would be a building that has balconies and view windows that look stunning in the planning phase but actually face the blank wall of a neighboring building.
Constructing buildings that strengthen their communities and add life to a neighborhood would require architects to be “architect-builders” who focus on the making of a living site, rather than imposing their vision on an empty piece of land.
The Nature of Order, Book Three, A Vision of a Living World
by Christopher Alexander
Amazon Link
Other Books in the Series
The Nature of Order, Book One, The Phenomenon of Life
