After a long illness, Christopher Alexander passed away on March 17, at age 85. He was a major influence in architecture, design and computer science. I never met him, but hopefully some here have heard him speak. I’ll share some links.
I like that his wikipedia page credits him for Wikis. In many ways, he was more influential in computer science than architecture, as he was rather opposed to many aspects of modern architecture. He argued that the ego of the architect should not be put ahead of the needs of users. He sought to create buildings that were part of a living fabric of their surroundings. Buildings that were, in a meaningful sense, alive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Alexander
Here are 12 of his own iconic architectural projects:
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/design-studio-portfolios/a2284-christopher-alexander-12-iconic-projects/
Alexander was a proponent of design science and proposed 15 characteristics of “wholeness,” which he claimed as the basis of design quality. This is a beautiful illustration of the 15 characteristics.
http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~iba/papers/PURPLSOC14_Properties.pdf
This page also articulates the 15 qualities, but focuses on architectural examples.
https://www.archdaily.com/626429/unified-architectural-theory-chapter-11
One of Alexander’s last papers (2009) was specifically focused on how to develop computational algorithms sensitive to wholeness or harmony:
https://patterns.architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-173014
PDF of “a city is not a tree”, in which he attacks sprawling car-centered suburban architecture.
http://www.bp.ntu.edu.tw/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/06-Alexander-A-city-is-not-a-tree.pdf
PDF of “A Pattern Language”, his most famous book, which led to the “design pattern” idea in computer science.
https://arl.human.cornell.edu/linked%20docs/Alexander_A_Pattern_Language.pdf
Hope you find these a nice read.
With appreciation,
Derek
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