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This is a project that has good intentions but at best ambiguous outcomes. Low-density housing without plumbing is an ecological disaster. Besides, the idea of

by sedachv 15y ago

This is a project that has good intentions but at best ambiguous outcomes. Low-density housing without plumbing is an ecological disaster. Besides, the idea of single-family dwellings is becoming less relevant with the current trend of urbanization. If you really want to provide housing for the poor, you need to revisit the ideas of Le Corbusier in light of the findings of Christopher Alexander.

dreamdu5t 15y ago
Agreed. People need to give up the fetish with having their own little castles for us to move forward with substantive change in urban planning and housing construction.
dataman85 15y ago
Can you point to a webpage/book discussing "the ideas of Le Corbusier in light of the findings of Christopher Alexander"? Google didn't really help, and it sounds like you have something specific in mind.
- sedachv 15y ago
  Owen Hatherley's _Militant Modernism_ is a good overview of what modernism (Le Corbusier's side) was supposed to be about, what went wrong, and some ideas for the future. I helped Owen translate some documents for the research behind the book, but I don't agree with him on many of the conclusions in the book. Where I think Alexander's work comes in is where the Modernism movement started - rationalism in architecture. _A Pattern Language_ is essentially a set of inductive inferences about what works in urban planning and what doesn't. A lot of what went wrong with modernist projects stem from ignoring reality. I think project cities like Germany's Vauban (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.htm...) embody this spirit. Soleri's Arcosanti is also built with very much the same intentions. I think Soleri's work can actually be a good example of "Corbusier meets Alexander," but most people seem to only remember him for the arcologies in Blade Runner...

by sedachv 15y ago

dreamdu5t 15y ago

Agreed. People need to give up the fetish with having their own little castles for us to move forward with substantive change in urban planning and housing construction.

dataman85 15y ago

Can you point to a webpage/book discussing "the ideas of Le Corbusier in light of the findings of Christopher Alexander"? Google didn't really help, and it sounds like you have something specific in mind.

sedachv 15y ago
Owen Hatherley's _Militant Modernism_ is a good overview of what modernism (Le Corbusier's side) was supposed to be about, what went wrong, and some ideas for the future. I helped Owen translate some documents for the research behind the book, but I don't agree with him on many of the conclusions in the book. Where I think Alexander's work comes in is where the Modernism movement started - rationalism in architecture. _A Pattern Language_ is essentially a set of inductive inferences about what works in urban planning and what doesn't. A lot of what went wrong with modernist projects stem from ignoring reality. I think project cities like Germany's Vauban (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.htm...) embody this spirit. Soleri's Arcosanti is also built with very much the same intentions. I think Soleri's work can actually be a good example of "Corbusier meets Alexander," but most people seem to only remember him for the arcologies in Blade Runner...