Tag Archives: Christopher Alexander

Christopher Alexander, R.I.P.

Posted on March 20, 2022 by David Brussat

The great architectural and computer design theorist Christopher Alexander, born in Vienna and of British and American citizenship, died at his home in Binsted, Sussex, U.K. this past week after a long illness. He was 85. His more than 200 … Continue reading →

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Landscape urbanism revisited

Posted on August 25, 2021 by David Brussat

*** Not long ago, in response to my post “Steuteville’s public square,” a pile of emails and comments was generated by my query as to whether something called landscape urbanism still exists. One email called for another look at its … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Landscape Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

An architectural reawakening

Posted on May 16, 2021 by David Brussat

Architect David Rau gave a lecture called “Reawakening” last week, sponsored by the New Vitruvians, the youth wing of the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. He tracks four “awakenings” in the world today, involving … Continue reading →

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“The Art of Classic Planning”

Posted on December 1, 2020 by David Brussat

This comprehensive, fascinating and brilliant volume by Nir Haim Buras, who founded the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, is subtitled “Building Beautiful and Enduring Communities.” So one might well assume that it rejects the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Book/Film Reviews, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Salingaros: How cities heal

Posted on June 19, 2019 by David Brussat

Globetrotting mathematician and theorist Nikos Salingaros hits the nail on the head in his recent analysis of urban ills in “A Schizophrenic Approach to Building Cities,” published on the Meeting of the Minds website. Actually he hits many nails on … Continue reading →

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Joint prize for dynamic duo

Posted on August 29, 2018 by David Brussat

My Traditional Building just arrived and reveals that Nikos Salingaros and Michael Mehaffy have received this year’s Clem Labine Award from the magazine. Congratulations to them both. Much of my education regarding how science affects architecture and urbanism comes from … Continue reading →

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Fine wrinkles on Alexander

Posted on May 6, 2018 by David Brussat

Some very interesting commenters have responded to my post “Chris Alexander’s cosmos.” The title of Alexander’s most celebrated book, A Pattern Language, spoke so directly in a mere three words to my nascent views on architecture long, long ago that … Continue reading →

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Chris Alexander’s cosmos

Posted on May 4, 2018 by David Brussat

Christopher Alexander has been an enigma to me for a long time. He is famous not just for his architectural theories but for his work in computer technology, and how its patterns resemble the patterns of biological life. Common/Edge, the … Continue reading →

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Our eyes poke back at mods

Posted on November 29, 2017 by David Brussat

A thrilling new report on how biometric technologies assess human taste in architecture was published yesterday on Common/Edge. As I’ve said before, good on C/E for running an essay, as it occasionally does, that refrains from trashing new traditional architecture, … Continue reading →

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Left vs. modern architecture!

Posted on November 1, 2017 by David Brussat

“Why You Hate Contemporary Architecture,” by Nathan J. Robinson and Brianna Rennix, is a long essay in the leftwing journal Current Affairs. The authors are its editor-in-chief and its senior editor, respectively. They omit the other typical synonym for ugly … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments