The Morphology of Living Architecture, 2 / A Collection of Examples

Book title:

The Nature of Order – An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe.
Book Three – A Vision of a Living World

Pages:

641-654

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Content of

Book

The Nature of Order - An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe. Book Three - A Vision of a Living World 2005

Authors:

Christopher Alexander

Publisher:

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

No of pages:

697 pp

“A Vision of a Living World”, the third volume of “The Nature of Order” series, presents, for the first time, a full spectrum of Alexander’s and CES built and unbuilt works. The book describes hundreds of buildings, plans, neighborhoods, drawings, ...

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 ...
Strong Centers in all Levels of Scale

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Structure Preserving Transformations

A building can only amount to something as a living thing when the various physical elements which appear in it are profound centers. The dominant feature of the process that is working correctly is that new centers are formed, and ...

Projects

Etna Street Cottage 1974

Etna Street, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in 1974

Client:

Center for Environmetal Structure

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander with his students in the 1974 Spring studio class Arch. 209, including Walter V. Wendler and Donald Corner

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$3.000

Project stages:

Pattern language for the project by C.E.S. Layout on the site No drawings were produced Users involved in the construction Innovative construction methods

Experimental building project, two-story 400 sq. ft. cottage, with a hollow wooden structure filled with concrete and featherweight concrete vaults. Completed in ten weeks, without a building permit at the back of the C.E.S. office on Etna Street, and was ...
Linz Café 1980

Linz , Austria

Commercial, Realized , Construction completed in Jul-1980

Client:

Forum Design; Österreichisches Institut für Visuelle Gestaltung - Angela Hareiter

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander

Contractor:

Construction management by the Center for Environmental Structure with local subcontractors

Project cost:

$35.000

Project stages:

Layout on the site by C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development drawings done after layout Direct construction management and on-site design decisions

Built as part of the international exposition "Forum Design" and designed to be "portable". Wooden building overlooking the Danube, with the first floor of the building raised to clear the ten-foot-high river embarkment. Yellow and red exterior, three stories, 2,300 ...
House for John and Mara Lighty 1981 to 1989

2675 Harness Drive, Berryessa Estates, Pope Valley, Napa County, CA, U.S.A.

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in Aug-1989

Client:

Mr. & Mrs. John and Mara Lighty

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black, Gernot Mittersteiner

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$72,788

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout Use of full scale mock-ups Direct construction management and on-site design decisions Users involved in the construction Innovative constructi

Terraced house built for a couple; the house consists of six building volumes, gracefully positioned on a wooded slope among white oak trees, and includes the living room - kitchen volume, the studio volume, the bedroom - library volume, a ...
Eishin Campus - High School: Campus Pedestrian Streets Network 1986 to 1989

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

Educational, Realized , Construction completed in 1989

Client:

Higashino High School - Hisae Hosoi, Managing Director

C.E.S. staff:

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

Contractor:

Center for Environmental Structure, Japan

Project cost:

$1,500,000

Design and construction process:

The design of the landscape for the Eishin School Campus is created by, and influences the buildings on the site. The intent was to create a complete environment to compel learning and creativity in the most positive and beautiful way. Various elements designed into the landscape work to create this harmonious atmosphere, of which the following are examples. Gates were designed to invite the visitor to continue along the paths and streets of the site, as well as to create an act of entrance and passage. The main homebase street is formed by the individual homeroom buildings. It is a wide, lively, sunny street, which creates a forum where the students can come together outdoors, as a larger group, and where lively activity can unfold. In between the buildings, small gardens are created, separated from the activity of the street by fences. Other gardens are formed along the galleries which connect the rooms of the faculty hall. In front of the lounge is a teacher's garden for resting and enjoyment. The lake was created as a major element of the campus. In the early phase of design for the school, teachers and students indicated that one element they felt most important to be a part of the school, was a body of water. It is a focus for activity, with ducks and boats accessible by students, as well as for quiet reflection and beauty. A wooden bridge arches over the lake, making the entire campus accessible.

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Direct construction management and on-site design decisions Budget and subcontractors under C.E.S. control

The Eishin Campus pedestrian network includes a main square connected to the homebase wide street, narrow streets, arcaded alleys, paths and courtyards, fences, gates and terraces. It starts with a small square in front of the small gate, continues with ...
Julian Street Inn - Shelter for the Homeless 1986 to 1990

Julian St. & Montgomery St., San Jose, CA, U.S.A.

Civic, Realized , Construction completed in 1989; final interior painting in 1990

Client:

Housing for Independent People - Al DiLudovico, Executive Director

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Gary Black, Artemis Anninou, Carl Lindberg, James Maguire, Eleni Coromvli, Kleoniki Tsotropoulou

Contractor:

Oliver and Company, with Center for Environmetal Structure as major specialty subcontractor

Project cost:

$1,700,000

Project stages:

Pattern language for project by clients and C.E.S. Layout by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Building Permit drawings Direct Construction management and on-site design decisions Budget and subcontractors under C.E

Design and construction of a shelter for homeless people, to serve 50 to 100 people, on a site of 13,000 sf. The building of 15,000 square feet includes offices, living areas with a dining hall, sleeping rooms, courtyards and gardens. ...
Nyingma Buddhist Monastery 1988 to 1989

Kathmandu, Nepal

Civic, Designed , Not built

Client:

Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center - David A. French Construction Mgr. and Ann M. Bergfors Coordinator

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Ismet Khambatta, Keiko Inoue

Project cost:

Expected construction cost: $1,500,000

Project stages:

Preliminary Design

Tibetan Buddist Study Center, a monastic and educational facility for 300 monks, at the outskirts of Kathmandu, to be built by the monks themselves using 70% self help and 30% professional labor. Approximate area of construction 122,000 square feet, ...
Exhibition Galleries: Ancient Color and Geometry, De Young Museum 1990

San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.

Other, Realized , Construction completed in Oct-1990

Client:

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum - Mr. Harry Parker III

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Bob Theis, Annie der Bedrossian

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$7,000

Project stages:

Layout on the site by C.E.S. Preliminary Design drawings done after layout Direct construction management and on-site design decisions.

Four gallery reconstruction and installation in the De Young Museum, San Francisco, including interior construction, color, lighting, and installation and hanging of the carpets.
Neighborhood of Five Houses: Goddu House 1992 to 1996

Lake Travis, Austin, TX, U.S.A.

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in 1995

Client:

Mr. & Mrs. Michael and Patricia Goddu

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Saul Pichardo, Randall Schmidt

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure with Carl Lindberg

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout Direct construction management and on-site design decisions Budget and subcontractors under C.E.S. control

Design and construction of a family house for Mike and Patricia Goddu, with an area of 2.500 square feet.
West Dean College Gardens Visitor's Center 1994 to 1996

Near Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.

Civic, Realized , Construction completed in Nov. 1995

Client:

Edward James Foundation

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, John Hewitt, students from "The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture", students from Portsmouth University

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure, as Management Contractor and General Contractor of record, with John Hewitt as Project Manager

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout Direct construction management and on-site design decisions Budget and subcontractors under C.E.S. control Innovativ

The West Dean Center is a simple one-story masonry building with a large red-tiled roof and intricate brickwork for its thick walls. The building is surrounded by gardens, and its south facing wall has large arched windows overlooking the garden ...

SEE ALL Projects

Works of Art

Tile with white slips on black glaze 1980

Personal Work of Art, Hand-glazed Tilework

Created by:

Christopher Alexander

Porcelain tile glazed in black with white slips; made at the same tile with the Linz café and resembles the painting on its interior walls.
Series of drinking glasses for Dutch Glassworks 1997

Personal Work of Art, Glasswork

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Katalin Bende, Henk Werveg

Series of drinking glasses commissioned by Stichting Glasmanifestatie at Leerdam in The Netherlands in 1996, following an international glass event focused on the drinking glass.

Construction Innovations

C.E.S. Office - Martinez House: Fireplace 1981

Work of Art for Project, All Concrete Fireplace

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Jonathan Fefferman

Count Rumford all concrete fireplace, has a flat and broad fire chamber, a very wide opening and a curved fire back; the flatness results form the exceptionally narrow hearth, which is the cause for the high heat effectiveness.
Sala House: Ornaments on the east and south facing walls of the house 1982

Work of Art for Project, Ornament

Created by:

Christopher Alexander

White precast concrete ornaments embedded in the rose colored concrete walls; secured on the formwork during the concrete pouring. A series of small ornaments spaced in equal intervals in the rose perimeter concrete band running on top of the windows; ...
Eishin Campus - High School: Roof eave detail for the homeroom buildings 1985

Building Detail, Roof & Eave

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Hansjoachim Neis, others

Heavy concrete cornice on the Homeroom buildings, when roof meets wall.
Julian Street Inn - Shelter for the Homeless: Exterior wall made of repetitive recessed bays framed by massive columns 1987

Building Detail, Wall Treatment

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Gary Black, Carl Lindberg, James Maguire

A long wall along the main street; the first floor wall is organized as an alternating repetition of cast concrete columns and plain recessed wall bays, all on a thick wall base, in contrast with the second floor wall, all ...

SEE ALL Construction Innovations