4 ms·

The Timeless Way of Building (1979)

84 points by r41nbowcrash 11y ago

skilesare 11y ago
His nature of order is an amazing read as well: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=nature%20of%20order&linkCode=ur2&tag=everybase-20&url=search-alias%3Daps&linkId=4ETR7YAFN3D74Z7D http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&camp=... Reading this besides something like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a good exercise in seeing the world a little more clearly.
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  Why is it like 80$? This isn't college...
andyjohnson0 11y ago
Also on Archive.org is Alexander's A Pattern Language [1]. Although that book is also about the architecture of buildings, it inspired the idea of software design patterns [2]. [1] https://archive.org/details/APatternLanguage https://archive.org/details/APatternLanguage [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_design_pattern#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_design_pattern#Histor...
- falsedan 11y ago
  It also influenced Steward Brand's HOW BUILDINGS LEARN: What Happens After They’re Built. The BBC's adaptation includes some interview with Alexander [1]. [1] https://youtu.be/ZSaWdp833YM?t=12m57s https://youtu.be/ZSaWdp833YM?t=12m57s
  - jalfresi 11y ago
    I especially like the concept in that video: "A building is not something you finish, it is something you start" This is no more truer than with software. Anyone who has had to write in-house software will appreciate that sentiment!
  - andyjohnson0 11y ago
    An excellent book that I'd highly recommend. I have a copy on a bookshelf not far from where I'm sat, and your mention of it has prompted me to pull it out to dip-into later. Thanks! And Stewart Brand is one of my intellectual heroes.
- ojbyrne 11y ago
  My understanding is that both books influenced software design patterns (and the wikipedia article is unclear on that). This book is really a continuation of the ideas in A Pattern Language.
- mironathetin 11y ago
  A Pattern Language is a gorgeous book. We are currently redesigning our home, and this is worth its weight in gold. I always had the notion though, the software pattern way was a misinterpretation of Alexanders ideas. Alexander doesn't stop to emphasize that a pattern can (and should) have an uncountable number of slightly different implementations, as the special situation requests. He is outspokenly against reusing an implementation without adequate modification for the situation in architectural applications. I always understood the highest goal in software engineering is to write code that can be reused without modification. I never could agree that this is a good idea for the users of software. It is only more economical to build. Just what Alexander defines as the most evil thing ever, because in architecture this leads to faceless homes. The idea to reuse implementations of patterns is one that in another context delivers us cars that are more or less all VW Golf (Rabbit) underneath.
blueatlas 11y ago
"If I build a fireplace for myself, it is natural for me to make a place to put the wood, a corner to sit in, a mantle wide enough to put things on, an opening which lets the fire draw. But, if I design fireplaces for other people - not for myself - then I never have to build a fire in the fireplaces I design. Gradually, my ideas become more and more influenced by style, and shape, and crazy notions - my feeling for the simple business of making fire leaves the fireplace all together."
yellowapple 11y ago
What is this supposed to be? All I'm getting is some doorslam about Archive.org's new site design.
- 21echoes 11y ago
  Click "try it out" or whatever that big link in the middle says
jngreenlee 11y ago
I find this one more useful for residential building design, by the same author: http://www.iwritewordsgood.com/apl/set.htm http://www.iwritewordsgood.com/apl/set.htm Available in hardcover on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441310086&sr=8-1&keywords=a+pattern+language http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Constructio... ATWoB is more philosophical, and lest about specific implementation. APL includes nuggets along these lines: "Therefore: Make a public square much smaller than you would at first imagine; usually no more than 45 to 60 feet across, never more than 70 feet across. This applies only to its width in the short direction. In the long direction it can certainly be longer." "When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty.[...]Therefore: Locate each room so that it has outdoor space outside it on at least two sides, and then place windows in these outdoor walls so that natural light falls into every room from more than one direction." There are 253 patterns in the book, covering governed regions down to building wall details.
- sthorn 11y ago
  Thumbs up for APL. Most of the patterns are based on common sense and practical experience. What's novel is that they're written down and cross-referenced. I find myself frequently nodding my head in agreement while reading - it's immensely satisfying to see ideas in concrete form that have been floating about in my head for years.
akkartik 11y ago
To all the Christopher Alexander recommendations I'll add Notes on the Synthesis of Form. It's his best book in my not-so-humble opinion, and it's been under-rated ever since Richard Gabriel called it 'juvenalia': https://www.dreamsongs.com/Essays.html https://www.dreamsongs.com/Essays.html
- jalfresi 11y ago
  'Notes..' is my all time favourite book. I have a 10 year old, well worn, note riddled copy that I take with me on every holiday :)
- theoh 11y ago
  Gabriel misspelt "juvenilia", but it's an odd criticism anyway, since Alexander seems to have got progressively more cranky and messianic as he got older. He is a complete outsider in the architecture world, which is actually quite tolerant of small-scale, community-based building (see Walter Segal)
pja 11y ago
For those who are unclear on the significance of this, Christopher Alexander’s works were foundational to the pattern movement in software architecture & design. There are some links on Ward Cunningham’s software patterns wiki: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ChristopherAlexander http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ChristopherAlexander
carapace 11y ago
This site is what made me realize that minimal unit for planning had to be at least "Neighborhood"... http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ See also https://www.patternlanguage.com/ https://www.patternlanguage.com/
applecore 11y ago
Christopher Alexander's A City is Not a Tree is another great essay on systems thinking. http://www.bp.ntu.edu.tw/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/06-Alexander-A-city-is-not-a-tree.pdf http://www.bp.ntu.edu.tw/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/06-Alexa...

84 points by r41nbowcrash 11y ago

His nature of order is an amazing read as well: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=nature%20of%20order&linkCode=ur2&tag=everybase-20&url=search-alias%3Daps&linkId=4ETR7YAFN3D74Z7D http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&camp=... Reading this besides something like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a good exercise in seeing the world a little more clearly.

oh_sigh 11y ago
Why is it like 80$? This isn't college...

andyjohnson0 11y ago

Also on Archive.org is Alexander's A Pattern Language [1]. Although that book is also about the architecture of buildings, it inspired the idea of software design patterns [2]. [1] https://archive.org/details/APatternLanguage https://archive.org/details/APatternLanguage [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_design_pattern#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_design_pattern#Histor...

falsedan 11y ago
It also influenced Steward Brand's HOW BUILDINGS LEARN: What Happens After They’re Built. The BBC's adaptation includes some interview with Alexander [1]. [1] https://youtu.be/ZSaWdp833YM?t=12m57s https://youtu.be/ZSaWdp833YM?t=12m57s
- jalfresi 11y ago
  I especially like the concept in that video: "A building is not something you finish, it is something you start" This is no more truer than with software. Anyone who has had to write in-house software will appreciate that sentiment!
- andyjohnson0 11y ago
  An excellent book that I'd highly recommend. I have a copy on a bookshelf not far from where I'm sat, and your mention of it has prompted me to pull it out to dip-into later. Thanks! And Stewart Brand is one of my intellectual heroes.
ojbyrne 11y ago
My understanding is that both books influenced software design patterns (and the wikipedia article is unclear on that). This book is really a continuation of the ideas in A Pattern Language.
mironathetin 11y ago
A Pattern Language is a gorgeous book. We are currently redesigning our home, and this is worth its weight in gold. I always had the notion though, the software pattern way was a misinterpretation of Alexanders ideas. Alexander doesn't stop to emphasize that a pattern can (and should) have an uncountable number of slightly different implementations, as the special situation requests. He is outspokenly against reusing an implementation without adequate modification for the situation in architectural applications. I always understood the highest goal in software engineering is to write code that can be reused without modification. I never could agree that this is a good idea for the users of software. It is only more economical to build. Just what Alexander defines as the most evil thing ever, because in architecture this leads to faceless homes. The idea to reuse implementations of patterns is one that in another context delivers us cars that are more or less all VW Golf (Rabbit) underneath.

blueatlas 11y ago

"If I build a fireplace for myself, it is natural for me to make a place to put the wood, a corner to sit in, a mantle wide enough to put things on, an opening which lets the fire draw. But, if I design fireplaces for other people - not for myself - then I never have to build a fire in the fireplaces I design. Gradually, my ideas become more and more influenced by style, and shape, and crazy notions - my feeling for the simple business of making fire leaves the fireplace all together."

yellowapple 11y ago

What is this supposed to be? All I'm getting is some doorslam about Archive.org's new site design.

21echoes 11y ago
Click "try it out" or whatever that big link in the middle says

jngreenlee 11y ago

I find this one more useful for residential building design, by the same author: http://www.iwritewordsgood.com/apl/set.htm http://www.iwritewordsgood.com/apl/set.htm Available in hardcover on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441310086&sr=8-1&keywords=a+pattern+language http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Constructio... ATWoB is more philosophical, and lest about specific implementation. APL includes nuggets along these lines: "Therefore: Make a public square much smaller than you would at first imagine; usually no more than 45 to 60 feet across, never more than 70 feet across. This applies only to its width in the short direction. In the long direction it can certainly be longer." "When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty.[...]Therefore: Locate each room so that it has outdoor space outside it on at least two sides, and then place windows in these outdoor walls so that natural light falls into every room from more than one direction." There are 253 patterns in the book, covering governed regions down to building wall details.

sthorn 11y ago
Thumbs up for APL. Most of the patterns are based on common sense and practical experience. What's novel is that they're written down and cross-referenced. I find myself frequently nodding my head in agreement while reading - it's immensely satisfying to see ideas in concrete form that have been floating about in my head for years.

akkartik 11y ago

To all the Christopher Alexander recommendations I'll add Notes on the Synthesis of Form. It's his best book in my not-so-humble opinion, and it's been under-rated ever since Richard Gabriel called it 'juvenalia': https://www.dreamsongs.com/Essays.html https://www.dreamsongs.com/Essays.html

jalfresi 11y ago
'Notes..' is my all time favourite book. I have a 10 year old, well worn, note riddled copy that I take with me on every holiday :)
theoh 11y ago
Gabriel misspelt "juvenilia", but it's an odd criticism anyway, since Alexander seems to have got progressively more cranky and messianic as he got older. He is a complete outsider in the architecture world, which is actually quite tolerant of small-scale, community-based building (see Walter Segal)

pja 11y ago

For those who are unclear on the significance of this, Christopher Alexander’s works were foundational to the pattern movement in software architecture & design. There are some links on Ward Cunningham’s software patterns wiki: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ChristopherAlexander http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ChristopherAlexander

carapace 11y ago

This site is what made me realize that minimal unit for planning had to be at least "Neighborhood"... http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ See also https://www.patternlanguage.com/ https://www.patternlanguage.com/

applecore 11y ago

Christopher Alexander's A City is Not a Tree is another great essay on systems thinking. http://www.bp.ntu.edu.tw/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/06-Alexander-A-city-is-not-a-tree.pdf http://www.bp.ntu.edu.tw/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/06-Alexa...