Upham House: Concrete frieze

1992

Work of Art for Project, Ornament

Concrete wall frieze with star octagon repetitive design; chosen after testing it against the alternative lily frieze design and finalized after mockups of different size octagons.

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Randall Schmidt

Content of

Project

House for Chris Upham and Stephanie Upham 1989 to 1994

37 Poppy Lane, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in 1994

Client:

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher and Stephanie Upham

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Randall Schmidt, Carl Lindberg, Gary Black, James Maguire

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$439,000

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

Two-story family house, with 2,400 square feet floor area, designed with the participation of the clients. The construction of a massive 15 high foot high retaining wall and sewer reconstruction caused by unusual hill condition added $96,000 to the house ...

Contents

Models & Mock-ups

The Upham House: Concrete Frieze; wooden stamp 01/01/1992

Construction Mold

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Randall Schmidt, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA

Medium:

Array

Size:

5"x5"

Scale:

1'=1'

Wooden stamp, with a low-relief star octagon pattern, used on the concrete wall frieze.

Photographs

The Upham House: Concrete Frieze - Photographs of mock-up 01/01/1992

Mock-up, Construction Process

Photographer:

Christopher Alexander/C.E.S., Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Source:

Digital

Characteristics:

Color

One photograph of testing and comparing the star octagon ornament against the lily tile ornament, for the wall frieze; and a second one of checking the lily tile ornament as part of the frieze below the balcony balustrade.

References

Scientific Research

Books

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 ...

Book Chapters

Appendix. A Small Example of a Living Process, 38 / Balustrades of the Upstairs Balconies and the Concrete Frieze

Publication,

Book title:

The Nature of Order – An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe.
Book Two – The Process of Creating Life

Pages:

620-621