Design studio on “The Nature of Order”

Winter 1983

The focus of the studio was on “The Nature of Order”, at that time being a draft in one volume. Christopher Alexander distributed a xerox copy of his book manuscript to the students, for sharing with them his views on architecture, teaching them the main principles and developing their understanding on what matters in design and building. The major topics addressed in the studio were the following: 1) Production of Order; 2) Function and Ornament; 3) Geometric Properties; 4)Mirror of the Self.

University Program:

Master of Architecture

Course type:

Graduate Design Studio

Course number:

Arch. 201/203

Instructors:

Christopher Alexander

Enrolled students:

Gregory C. Tung, Wei-jen Yang, Michael Robinette, Stuart MacDonald, Carl Sanders, Gunnar Johann Brinck, Tom Carnegie, Jerri Holan

Contents

Course Material

Arch. 201/203, Winter 1983 - Design studio on "The Nature of Order": Student essays on "The Nature of Order" 01/12/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Gregory C. Tung, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Eleven essays by a student, summarizing his/her understanding of “The Nature of Order”, distributed to the students in the form of a xerox copy of the manuscript. The essays are titled as follows: 1) Architecture and the Production of Order ...
Arch. 201/203, Winter 1983 - Design studio on "The Nature of Order": Student essays on "The Nature of Order" 01/12/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Stuart MacDonald, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Four essays by a student, summarizing his/her understanding of “The Nature of Order”, distributed to the students in the form of a xerox copy of the manuscript. The essays are titled as follows: 1) Architecture and the Production of Order; ...
Arch. 201/203, Winter 1983 - Design studio on "The Nature of Order": Student essays on "The Nature of Order" 03/02/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Wei-jen Yang, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Four essays by a student, summarizing his/her understanding of “The Nature of Order”, distributed to the students in the form of a xerox copy of the manuscript. The essays are titled as follows: 1) Architecture and the Production of Order; ...
Arch. 201/203, Winter 1983 - Design studio on "The Nature of Order": Student essays on "The Nature of Order" 01/01/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Michael Robinette, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Three short by a student, summarizing his/her understanding of “The Nature of Order”, distributed to the students in the form of a xerox copy of the manuscript. The essays are titled as follows: 1) Beyond Function and Beyond Ornament: A ...
Arch. 201/201, Winter 1983 - On "The Nature of Order": Essays on "The Nature of Order" 17/01/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Carl Sanders, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Three essays on “The Nature of Order”: 1. Architecture and the Production of Order; 2. Beyond Function and Beyond Ornament; 3. Mirror of Self.
Arch. 201/201, Winter 1983 - On "The Nature of Order": Essays on "The Nature of Order" 10/01/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Michael Leaf, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Eleven essays on “The Nature of Order”: 1. Architecture and the Production of Order, 2. Form and Ornament, 3. Mirror of the Self, 4. Fifteen Properties, 5. The Structure of Wholeness, 6. Creation of Centers, 7. Local Symmetries and S.P. ...
Arch. 201/201, Winter 1983 - On "The Nature of Order": Essays on "The Nature of Order and The Nature of the Universe" 01/01/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Gunnar Johann Brinck, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Eleven essays on “The Nature of Order and The Nature of the Universe”: 1. Architecture and the Production of Order, 2. Function and Ornament, 3. Mirror of the Self, 4. Fifteen Properties, 5. The Structure of Wholeness, 6. Creation of ...
Arch. 201/201, Winter 1983 - On "The Nature of Order": Essay on the Fifteen Properties 01/02/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Tom Carnegie, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

5-page student essay on the concepts of “The Nature of Order” as presented in the manuscript by Chris Alexander, followed by one page personal note to Chris, dated 18-Mar-1983.
Arch. 201/201, Winter 1983 - On "The Nature of Order": Essay on the concepts of "The Nature of Order" 01/12/1983

Student Work, Essays

Authors:

Jerri Holan, University of California Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of Architecture, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

28-page essay presenting a personal understanding and evaluationt. A critical reading of the 11-week course material of Arch. 201, analyzed by week in ten essays; discussing concepts of Cosmology, Order and Geometry, Feeling, Properties, The Structure of Wholeness, Function and ...

SEE ALL Course Material

References

Scientific Research

Geometry and Fifteen Fundamental Properties

Areas of focus:

Structure of Space

Guiding idea:

Centers and Fields of Centers

Christopher Alexander recognized the importance of the geometry of centers and for years he was looking for the common structural features among buildings, paintings, streets, carpets, doors, windows, etc. which have "life" and "wholeness". He identified fifteen structural features which ...
Wholeness as a Tangible and Objective Quality: The Mirror of the Self

Areas of focus:

Quality and Values

Guiding idea:

Wholeness as an Objective Quality

In any process of design or making, the next step which is most structure-enhancing, is that step which most intensifies the feeling of the emerging whole. What ultimately matters in this process is that the work produced generates feeling in ...
Ornament and Function as Products of Unfolding

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Structure Preserving Transformations

Ornament arises as part of the design process, when a person is making and seeks to embellish this "something" while making it. It arises as a result of the latent centers in the uncompleted thing requiring still more centers, requiring ...
Wholeness and the Theory of Centers

Areas of focus:

Structure of Space

Guiding idea:

Centers and Fields of Centers

Christoper Alexander defined and described wholeness as an idea to view and shape space, and searched for ways to formulate and represent wholeness in precise terms, as a structure. He idenfied the entities with 'strength' give structure to what is ...

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Books

The Nature of Order - An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe. Book One - The Phenomenon of Life 2002

Authors:

Christopher Alexander

Publisher:

The Center for Environmental Structure Publishing, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

No of pages:

476 pp

“The Phenomenon of Life”, the first volume of “The Nature of Order” series proposes a scientific view of the world in which all space-matter has perceptible degrees of life and sets this understanding of order as an intellectual basis for ...
The Nature of Order - An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe. Book Two - The Process of Creating Life 2002

Authors:

Christopher Alexander

Publisher:

The Center for Environmental Structure Publishing, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

No of pages:

636 pp

“The Process of Creating Life”, the second volume of “The Nature of Order” series presents a dynamic theory of living structure. It begins with an analysis of transformations, which occur in nature, and the distinction between structure-preserving transformations, responsible for ...