Christopher Alexander: A Holistic Theory of Architecture – Part II. The West Dean Visitors Center

01/01/2004

Master of Philosophy

The second part of the master thesis, a 39-page section, is on the CES project West Dean Visitor’s Center. It elaborates on the design and construction process, on the management aspects of them, on the involvement of the author being then a student, on the innovative construction material and methods used, as well as on Christopher Alexander’s theory “Fifteen Fundamental Properties” and examines the way the geometry of the building illustrates the 15 geometric properties .

Authors:

Demetrius Gonzalez, The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture (later The Prince's Foundation), London, U.K.

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References

Projects

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 ...