The Battle for the Life and Beauty of the Earth: A Struggle Between Two World-Systems (Center for Environmental Structure)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.12 (775 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0199898073 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 520 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-09-15 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Here he introduces a way of building that includes the best current practices, enriched by a range of new processes that support the houses, communities, and health of all who inhabit the Earth.. The book outlines nine ways of working, each one fully dedicated to wholeness, and able to support day-to-day activities that will make planning, design and construction possible in an entirely new way, and in more humane ways. But in recent decades, while our buildings are technically better--more sturdy, more waterproof, more energy efficient-- they have also became progressively more sterile, rarely providing the kind of environment in which people are emotionally nourished, genuinely happy, and deeply c
"Alexander, again, does what he does so well: in the process of adult argument, weave biology, theology, art appreciation, and geometry, plus cultural call outs from Jung to Fellini, into his tale." - Architect's Newspaper
Christopher Alexander's series of groundbreaking books--including The Timeless Way of Building and A Pattern Language--have illuminated fundamental truths of traditional ways of building, revealing what gives life and beauty and true functionality to buildings and towns.HansJoachim Neis is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Oregon in Portland, and the Director of the Portland Urban Architecture Research Laboratory.Maggie Moore Alexander serves on the Center for Environmental Structure Board of Directors.
Sue Ellen Wolcott said another book that is very much more than the sum of its words. I am not a professional architect, although when I was young, that was my aim. I could not hope to write a better review than Mr. Mahaffy's about this book. I do, however, own every book Amazon sells (and some they didn't) by Christopher Alexander. They are never-ending sources of wisdom and hope for me. They live on my wisdom shelf, apart from the majority of my thousands of other books, and I turn to them for the sort of deep-seeing that is found in this book. I also find myself near weeping for joy at the depth of seeing, expressed in car. "Winning the battle but maybe losing the war" according to David Dennis. Christopher Alexander's theory that our system of building creates lifeless, cheerless mediocrity seems proven simply by looking around at our buildings as they exist.At the same time, most of his problems seem to come from specific situations he faced in this project, which quite honestly seem pretty unique to it. For example, he wanted to start onsite design work before the land purchase was nailed down, by putting flags on the property. Understandably, landowners didn't much like this, and negotiators for the University felt it was distur. Patrick J. Quinn said He put it all together. Ever since Christopher Alexander produced NOTES TOWARD A SYNTHESIS OF FORM, his publications and lectures have been both provocative and constructively valuable to architects, students and theorists. You cannot be neutral when it comes to his strong, clear positions on questions of architecture. He can antagonize you intellectually, inspire you professionally, or assist you to escape into a different zone of the creative spirit. This reviewer has had both difficult and delightful encounters with Alexander's thoughtful assertions about how an