Chapter 5. The Practical Matters of Forging a Living Center, 6 / Detailed Design of the Structural Columns

“The Luminous Ground” is the fourth and last volume of “The Nature of Order” series. In this volume, Alexander attempts to show the cosmological underpinning of the nature of order. The book has two goals. First, to show that the ...

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 ...

One of the main topics of research, included in every building project, was to identify, early on in the design process, the material and techniques of construction. This would re-establish building as an art, and allow rapid shaping and adaptation, ...

Columns to support the arches in the cross-walls; low columns with simple capitals resting on the thick walls. Arriving at the proper shape and size of the column capital was an arduous process, since the arches are low, with their ...

Tables of various shapes and sizes, chairs and benches designed and made specifically for the restaurant and its upper gallery. Cardboard and wooden mock-ups of the furniture were designed while the building was stil in construction, for reconciling the feeling ...

The window shapes in relation to the treatment of surrounding wall formed strong centers. The window itself, beautifully shaped and specially made with curved sash. The window surround, cast concrete; beyond the cast concrete herringbone brickwork. Below the window, emphasizing ...