Chapter 15. All Building as Making, 12 / Wabi-to-Sabi: The balance of Rough and Smooth

Scientific Research

Design and Construction is one Integrated Making Process

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Construction Process

The design process of a project and its construction process are united into one continuous and intertwined making process, unfolding in a step-by-step sequence. Design ends together with the completion of the construction process. "Making" is a conception of the ...

Projects

Eishin Campus - High School: College Buildings D and E 1982 to 1987

Nihongi 112-1, Iruma-shi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Educational, Realized , Construction completed in Jun-1987

Client:

Higashino High School - Hisae Hosoi, Managing Director

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Hans-Joachim Neis, Gary Black, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Artemis Anninou

Contractor:

Fujita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

Project cost:

$1,500,000

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Construction Drawings done after layout Construction management along with on-site design decisions Innovative construction methods

The two college buildings on the north side of the College Complex were incorporated into the High School; they are located to the right and left of the Central Hall, flanked by the Arts and Science buildings. Each two-storey college ...
Neighborhood of Seventy Low Cost Houses 1986 to 1991

Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, Colombia

Low Cost Housing, Realized , Construction completed in 1993; C.E.S. involvement ended in 1991

Client:

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) - John A. Neilson, Professional Advisor; "Construyamos" La Camara De Vivienda Popular Por Autogestion Communitaria - Mr. Hernan Mesa, President

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Artemis Anninou, Kleoniki Tsotropoulou, Fanta Lawrence, Seth Wachtel, Jeannie Radcliffe

Contractor:

Built by the families and local subcontractors under the management of Constuyamos and the Center for Environmental Structure

Sponsor:

World Bank; Canadian Government (CETA); University of California

Design and construction process:

The step-by-step process on design consisted of discrete design phases, in the following order. 1) Site: The overall configuration of the project arose from the qualities and features of the land.The layout was done directly on the site, working with stakes and earth-moving equipment, in parallel to working with models. Common space in the form of central terraces, formed the central axis across the contours. Roads run on contours, perpendicular to the axis. The final layout was surveyed and presented as an initial subdivision map. 2) Streets: The forming of the streets was tightly connected to the "contribution" of each house to the formation of a larger whole, this being a public space --street, alley, terrace. Simple rules were followed with regards to the location of the main volume of each house and the determination of main levels -- sidewalk, front garden and main floor. As a result, the house volumes form a continuous street wall behind a front garden, while both house volume and width of parcel vary. The result of this phase was, besides giving shape to the streets and open public space, the plan and sections of foundation and retaining wall for each lot, and consequently the levels of the streets. This process was conducted with stakes on the site by the members of C.E.S. with representatives of Construyamos and the housing group. The detailed layout and lot subdivision was surveyed and presented. 3) House Design: Individual families working with a C.E.S. "layout coordinator" took over, working with stakes for the layout of their house directly on the individual site. Phase One of the House Layout: The first phase involves designing "five major centers": garden, veranda, comedor, final configuration of exterior volume, final configuration of front yard. Phase Two of the House Layout: The second phase is devoted to the interior layout of the house in detail: entering sequence, kitchen, sala, main stair, etc. 4) Construction: Members of the families were involved in the construction of the project. The first house was completed in Nov. 1990 to serve as a prototype house for the project as a whole.

Project stages:

Pattern language for the project by clients and C.E.S. Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Layout on the site by the families and C.E.S. Generative rules for urban growth process Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout D

Seventy low-cost houses in 4,2 acres, designed by families, and partially built by families, as part of the self help construction process of Construyamos, the largest self help cooperative in Colombia, with a total construction volume of 50,000 houses per ...
Emoto Apartment Building 1986 to 1989

Tokyo, Japan

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in 1989

Client:

Mrs. Sugiko Emoto

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Hansjoachim Neis, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Miyoko Tsutsui

Contractor:

Kibe Construction Company, with subsidiary management by Center for Environmental Structure, Japan

Project cost:

$1,500,000

Project stages:

Use of full scale mock-ups Preliminary Design and Design Development drawings Direct Construction management along with on-site design decisions Subcontractors under C.E.S. control

An apartment building laid out to enhance the two streets of the Komagone neighborhood, not far from downtown Tokyo. The site is surrounded with large buildings, and a local neighborhood behind, with lower buildings and much narrower streets. It is ...

Construction Innovations

Eishin Campus - High School: College Buildings classroom window shaping 1984

Building Detail, Window Shaping

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Gary Black, Hansjoachim Neis, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Artemis Anninou

Windows in the largest classrooms of the College Buildings, with harmonious internal organization in panes and glazing bars. Full-size mockups with various soft materials were developed until shapes and sizes worked harmoniously.