Early and Unpublished Writings of Christopher Alexander Thinking, Building, Writing

This book brings together key works of the noted architect and architectural theorist Christopher Alexander (1936–2022),many of which have not been published before. The book contains twenty-five essays and other works, many chosen from the newly organized Christopher Alexander archive, providing a window into the ideas and thought process of one of the most innovative architectural thinkers of the twentieth century. The items span Alexander’s fifty-year career, beginning with an early version of his PhD dissertation based on fieldwork in India, continuing to fifteen years in the development of A Pattern Language, one of the best-selling books in the history of architecture, and proceeding to the writing of The Nature of Order, Alexander’s four-volume masterwork, and beyond. The writings combine theory and descriptions of practice, and together support a blueprint for the development of a new, humane way of building, while also providing a window into the mind of an extraordinary thinker, teacher and professional.

Preface PART1: THE LARGE AND SMALL DETAILS OF EVERYDAY LIFE 1. Perception and modular coordination 1959 2. Notes on the Synthesis of Form: Contents, Preface and Part One in early draft 1960 3. The Nature of Order, Book One, section on local symmstries 2001 4. On changing the way people see 1964 5. From a set of forces to a form 1966 6. Center for Environmental Structure seminar report, excerpt, 1967 7. Early ideas for the pattern language format 1967-68 8. Major changes in environmental form required by social and psychological demands 1969 9. The atoms of environmental structure 1970 PART2 : FROM THE CENTER TO THE UNIVERSE 10. Value: a reply to Protzen 1977 11. Centering 1977 12. A shrine to color and light 1990 13. OOPSLA lecture 1996 14. Reply to William Saunders 2002 15. Our new architecture and the many world cultures 2002 16. Harmony-seeking computations 2005 17. Conversation with Rem Koolhaas 2006 PART3: THEORY INTO BUILDING 18. The grassroots housing process 1973 19. The growth of order from small acts 1974 20. The architect-builder: toward changing the conception of what an architect is 1977 21. Rebirth of the Inner City: The North Omaha Plan, excerpts 1981 22. The construction of new neighborhoods for Guasare New Town, Venezuela, excerpts 1983 23. Toward a personal workplace, excerpt 1987 24. Construction management contract 1994 25. Battle, unpublished chapter 2010 Bibliography Illustration credits Index

Howard Davis is Professor of Architecture at the University of Oregon. He is the author of three books: The Culture of Building, Living Over the Store: Architecture and Local Urban Life and Working Cities: Architecture, Place and Production. Davis worked with Christopher Alexander for seven years, was the co-author with Alexander and others of The Production of Houses, and is presently an advisor in the development of a comprehensive archive of Alexander’s work.