Notes on the Synthesis of Form (eng)
Language: English
Published by Harvard University Press, 1964
- Softcover
- New
Seller: Brook Bookstore On Demand, Napoli, NA, ItalyBrook Bookstore On Demand
AbeBooks seller since October 11, 2022
Condition: New
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Add to basketSeller Inventory # 6bd06ba0f54a8adc8d62eb376b76b0ac
- Title
- Notes on the Synthesis of Form (eng)
- Author
- Alexander, Christopher
- Publisher
- Harvard University Press
- Publication year
- 1964
- Condition
- new
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0674627512
- ISBN 13
- 9780674627512
- Item weight
- 0.27 kilograms
“These notes are about the process of design: the process of inventing things which display new physical order, organization, form, in response to function.” This book, opening with these words, presents an entirely new theory of the process of design.
In the first part of the book, Christopher Alexander discusses the process by which a form is adapted to the context of human needs and demands that has called it into being. He shows that such an adaptive process will be successful only if it proceeds piecemeal instead of all at once. It is for this reason that forms from traditional un-self-conscious cultures, molded not by designers but by the slow pattern of changes within tradition, are so beautifully organized and adapted. When the designer, in our own self-conscious culture, is called on to create a form that is adapted to its context he is unsuccessful, because the preconceived categories out of which he builds his picture of the problem do not correspond to the inherent components of the problem, and therefore lead only to the arbitrariness, willfulness, and lack of understanding which plague the design of modern buildings and modern cities.
In the second part, Mr. Alexander presents a method by which the designer may bring his full creative imagination into play, and yet avoid the traps of irrelevant preconception. He shows that, whenever a problem is stated, it is possible to ignore existing concepts and to create new concepts, out of the structure of the problem itself, which do correspond correctly to what he calls the subsystems of the adaptive process. By treating each of these subsystems as a separate subproblem, the designer can translate the new concepts into form. The form, because of the process, will be well-adapted to its context, non-arbitrary, and correct.
The mathematics underlying this method, based mainly on set theory, is fully developed in a long appendix. Another appendix demonstrates the application of the method to the design of an Indian village.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
Christopher Alexander has outlined an ambitious proposal that could revolutionize the approach to architectural design... His method cannot help but become 'a very powerful tool indeed' for those who would deal with projects of the complex present and the growing complexity of the future.--Progressive Architecture
The success or failure of the designed environment will remain, as always, a human responsibility... Alexander's assertions are not only challenging and stimulating but informative.--American Institute of Architects Journal
An important book for the urban designer and planner...stimulating and certainly controversial... It may one day prove to be a landmark in design methodology.--Journal of the American Institute of Planners
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Brook Bookstore On Demand
Napoli, NA, Italy
AbeBooks seller since October 11, 2022
Shipping rates from Italy to U.S.A.
| Item | 25 to 40 business days | 60 to 60 business days |
|---|---|---|
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Brook Bookstore On Demand offers a wide selection of books with a continuously updated catalog and fast shipments all over the world. We hold distribution rights with all of the publishers we promote and are in continuous search of new interesting titles to propose to our customers. We are part of Brandon Group SRL (an Italian company) and all of the orders are shipped from Europe. Depending on availability orders will be picked from our different warehouses.
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