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What is a Generative
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ACTION & PRACTICE : A Generative Code for Neighborhoods
1. Startup & Vision
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jump to nature of order      jump to monographs, papers, articles, interviews

ARCHIVE

THE PROCEDURES THAT APPEAR ON THIS WEBSITE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FROM THE FINDINGS OF RIGOROUS INVESTIGATIONS IN MANY FIELDS. For those who wish to look into the source material, we provide access to books and papers and newly written monographs.
 
Manuals, papers, and draft texts by Christopher Alexander and his colleagues are provided to show how the concepts laid out in The Nature of Order can be implemented in neighborhoods, under a huge variety of circumstances, in many different parts of the world. In addition, there are papers below that show how these concepts relate to other fields of endeavor, including computer science, biology, anthropology, complexity theory, mathematics, and ecology.
 

MONOGRAPHS, PAPERS, ARTICLES, WORK IN PROGRESS, AND INTERVIEWS

These are at present freely available, and may be downloaded.


GENERATIVE CODES The Generative Master Plan for Harbor Hills, Oregon  

A Plan for Pedestrian London (In progress)

Generators for Layout of Streets and Houses in Colombia

The Generative Code for Strood Riverside

Unfolding the Plan of Strood from its Generative Code

Theory of Generative Codes for Neighborhoods  


APPLICATIONS OF THEORY TO ARCHITECTURAL AND PLANNING PRACTICE

The Schumacher Lecture: Sustainabilty and Morphogenesis 17MB. For easier downloading, download in it three segments

  • Pages 1-28 5MB
  • Pages 29-58 8MB
  • Pages 59-79 4MB

    The Heart of the City Work in progress.  

    The Grass Roots Housing Process Valuable insight regarding the cost of interest.  

    Reference Guide to The Nature of Order The guide (only just begun) will give a listing of case-studies, discussions of implementation, and examples of neighborhood building in the four books of The Nature of Order, under various headings. They can help you to use The Nature of Order as a reference work, and better understand how the implementation process works. 

    Watch examples of unfolding on the screen:

     


  • THEORY: EXTENSION OF CONCEPTS FROM The Nature of Order Harmony-Seeking Computations
    (REVISED AND UPDATED) (mathematics, computer science)
     

    Empirical Findings from the Nature of Order   NEW

    New Concepts in Complexity Theory (complex systems theory) 

    Many World Cultures (anthropology)


    PODCASTS

    Recorded conversations, speeches, lectures

    Chris Alexander Speaks to Jill Eisen 


    INTERVIEWS

    Personal conversations dealing with deeper subjects beyond the written word

    The Link between the Layout of a Neighborhood and Human Stress, May 2005  

    Interview: The Battle for Ordinary Human Existence in our Time, Fall 2005  

    A Glimpse of God in Matter, Science and Theology News, November 2005  


    CONVERSATIONS WITH CHRIS ALEXANDER

    Personal conversations dealing with deeper subjects rarely covered in Chris's writings

    Introduction to these conversations by Maggie Alexander, March 2006  

    Why I don't want to hear about green buildings anymore, December 2003  


    REVIEWS Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
    Part 1 - Architect starts with idea that space makes life possible.htm
     

    Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
    Part 2 - To be a good builder, you need a feel for what surrounds you.
     

    J.P.Delaporte, Review of Notes on the Synthesis of Form: Preview of Innovations in Science and Mathematics that were to come in later decades  

    Biologist Mae Wan Ho, Review of The Phenomenon of Life - Book 1 of The Nature of Order: The Architect of Life.  

    Ecologist Stuart Cowan reviews The Nature of Order: Unfolding a Sustainable World.  


    INDEX Partial Index of References to topics dealt with in the Nature of Order

    We apologize that this index is rudimentary, and we have only recently started building it. With time, we hope it will be improved.




    BOOKS

    The four books of The Nature of Order may be bought singly, or together.


    THE NATURE OF ORDER

    The capacity to generate life in a neighborhood, comes from issues that are discussed in the four volumes of The Nature of Order. We strongly suggest that you make yourself familiar with the materials in these books, in order to get a solid foundation for the use of generative code, and for the ability to make buildings which please people.

    BOOK 1: THE PHENOMENON OF LIFE
    Book 1 sets out the geometric structure of wholeness in the physical world, and in neighborhoods and buildings in particular. It shows what physical qualities things -- buildings, streets, gardens -- need in order to interact successfully with one another, and in order to form successful wholes. To purchase

    BOOK 2: THE PROCESS OF CREATING LIFE
    Book 2 sets out an outline theory of unfolding: the necessary processes which allow living geometry to be formed. It defines the background of the processes needed to make healthy buildings, outdoor space, and neighborhoods. To purchase

    BOOK 3: A VISION OF A LIVING WORLD
    Book 3 sets out examples at almost every scale of plans and buildings -- showing case studies of actual cases in which one can trace the use of living processes, see how they were implemented, and then see how they led to buildings and neighborhoods which are ecologically sound, life-giving and habitable. To purchase

    BOOK 4: THE LUMINOUS GROUND
    Book 4 describes the deep cosmological structure in things and processes, which is responsible for the human connection to the world that successful, living neighborhoods all have. It describes the origin of the spiritual dimension in our built neighborhoods, and in works of art, in terms which give you a solid underpinning for action in these difficult realms. To purchase

    BOOKSHOP

    To buy any of the four books, visit our online bookstore. Discounts are available. A Vision of a Living World is possibly the best starting point for practical work in building successful neighborhoods. The Nature of Order provides much of the intellectual background for this website. Published by Center of Environmental Structure Publishing, Berkeley, California, four volumes, 2001 to 2005.

    Please note: in order to allow us to make new results available as quickly as possible, many of the available papers are in draft form; others are in final form. If you need further information, please contact us by e-mail at CES

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