West Dean College Gardens Visitor’s Center: Photographs of model

01/01/1994

Design Process, Model

The only remaining photo of the first wood and cardboard study model. It was made brick by brick –each brick a separate piece ofbalsa wood, which allowed visualizing and working out a coherent structure pattern.

Photographer:

Christopher Alexander/C.E.S., Near Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.

Source:

Digital

Characteristics:

B&W

Content of

Project

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 ...