by Christopher Alexander FOREWORD The following commentary is based upon a letter I wrote in response to William Saunders of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Saunders wrote a review of Book I of The Nature of Order that I felt completely failed to grasp the ideas behind it. Indeed he did not even discuss those […] read more
Author of Notes on the Synthesis of Form, A City is Not A Tree, A Pattern Language and The Nature of Order by Michael Mehaffy Michael Mehaffy: We’re seeing some astonishing things coming out of the sciences just now. Geometry seems to be the hot topic – the complex structure of proteins, the unfolding processes of […] read more
SAVE THE DATE (Event in Italian) OPEN DAY Introduction to Biourbanism. Theory, activities, projects. November 17th 2012, Rome, Italy 9:30 am The International Society of Biourbanism 10:00 Urban project, according to Biourbanism 11:15 Discussion Roma Tre University | Faculty of Architecture – Argiletum/Aula Ponzio, 2nd floor via della Madonna dei Monti nr. 40 (Metro station B “Cavour”) […] read more
by Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros The words “living” and “technology” do not often occur in the same sentence. We think of technology as something mechanical, inert, dead — very different from life, and even dangerous to living systems. And yet the word “technology” simply means “the knowledge of making” — that is, how to create […] read more
Anti Architecture and deconstruction is a collection of essays on deconstructivist architecture. This book raises questions about how the public can be indoctrinated to accept an architecture that is hostile to human sensibilities, and which often causes physiological and psychological distress. In trying to understand the adoption of an architectural fashion, writers often focus only on aesthetic points, and ignore psychological conditioning and the role of the media. I look at the dark underside of contemporary architecture, and the world that promotes and sustains it.and precedents, while distancing themselves from basic human needs and cultural contexts. read more