The Process of Creating Life: Nature of Order, Book 2: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe (The Nature of Order)(Flexible)

The processes of nature can make an infinite number of human faces, each one unique, each one beautiful. The same is true for daffodils, streams, and stars. But man-made creations-especially the towns and buildings of the 20th century-have only occasionally been really good, more often mediocre, and in the last 50 years have very often been deadly. What is the reason for the difference?In Book 2, Alexander explains in detail the kinds of process that are capable of generating living structure. The unfolding of living structure in natural systems is compared to the unfolding of buildings and town plans in traditional society, and then contrasted with present-day building processes.The comparison reveals deep and shocking problems which pervade the present day planning and construction of buildings. Pervasive changes are needed to create a world in which living process-and hence living structure-are possible; these are changes which are ultimately attainable only through a transformation of society.It is the use of sequences which makes it possible for each building to become unique, exactly fitted to its context, and harmonious. And it is also this use of sequences which makes it possible for people to participate effectively in the layout of their own buildings and communities."This will change the world as effectively as the advent of printing changed the world . . ."-Doug Carlston, Silicon Valley luminary and former president of BroderbundChristopher Alexander is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, architect, builder, and author of many books and technical papers. He is the winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects. Scientifically, this is perhaps the most exciting of the four books. How do beautiful creations come into being? Nature can make an infinite number of human faces, each one unique, each one beautiful. The same is true for daffodils, streams, and stars. But man-made creations - especially the towns and buildings of the 20th century - have only occasionally been really good, more often mediocre, and in the last 50 years have most often been deadly.What is the reason for the difference? It hinges on the deep nature of the processes we use.Merely understanding the geometry of beautiful and living form (the topic of Book 1) is not enough to help us create such a living geometry. In the 20th century our society was locked into deadly processes which created our current built environment, process that most people were not really aware of and did not question. Despite their best efforts and intentions, architects and planners working within these processes could not achieve a living built environment.Life and beauty in the built world arise only from processes which allow living structure to unfold. The secret lies in knowing, as nature does, what must happen in what order: what sequence of events allows a living form to unfold successfully?Here, in Book 2, Alexander puts forward a fully developed theory of living process. He defines conditions for a process to be living: that is, capable of generating living structure. He shows how such processes work, and how they may be created. At the core of the new theory is the theory of structure-preserving transformations. This concept, new in scientific thinking, is based on the concept of wholeness defined in Book 1: A structure-preserving transformation is one which preserves, extends, and enhances the wholeness of a system.Structure-preserving transformations provide the means for any step-by-step process - social, biological, architectural, or technical - to reach configurations which are most profound, most capable of supporting life. The process of creation - whether in the formation of a single object, or in the piece-meal aggregation of a town - requires this sort of generative process, a careful and deliberate sequence of steps in which each step creates the context for the next one, and each next wholeness is derived from the previous wholeness.Our billions of beautiful and unique human faces come from one class of sequences. Driven by these sequences, an initial cell differentiates again and again until beautiful and complex human beings emerge, infinitely various, always harmonious.Making changes in society, so that streets, buildings, rooms, gardens, and towns may be generated by hundreds of such sequences requires massive transformations. This book is the first blueprint of those transformations. From a practical point of view, this is the most compelling of the four books. Hundreds of photographs and plans of new buildings that have living structure, and the processes which gave them life, demonstrate, for the first time, what the concept of living structure can mean in buildings of our time and of the future.The really good building. The really good space. Places that reach an archetypal level of human experience, reaching across centuries, across continents, across cultures, across technology, across building materials and climates. They connect us to ourselves. They connect us to our feelings. What is more, as we study them, we realize that they all share a similar geometry. How are they made? The practical task of making beauty is the principal subject of A Vision of a Living World.In the four books of The Nature of Order we have been given a new framework for perceiving and interacting with our world, a methodology for creating beautiful spaces, a cosmology where art, architecture, science, religion and secular life all work comfortably together. The third book shows us - visually, technically, and artistically - what a world built in this cosmology and framework is likely to be: what it may look like and be like.Hundreds of examples of buildings and places are shown. New forms for large buildings, public spaces, communities, neighborhoods, lead to discussions about the equally important small scale of detail and ornament and color. Many of the examples are built by Alexander and his colleagues, other buildings explored take us around the world and through time.In all instances, it is the uniqueness and adaptation of each place and its parts, and their comfort, which hold attention: uniqueness coupled with geometrical simplicity and beauty of form and color.With these examples, lay people, architects, builders, artists, and students are able to make this new framework real for themselves, understand how it works, understand its significance. The book is a feast for the eyes, and mind, and heart. Places created by living process (Book 2) have living structure (Book 1) - and they connect us to our essence as people (Book 4). The seven hundred pictures of Alexander's stunning buildings and works of art shown in this book demonstrate in detail what he means. Here Is Acclaimed Architect Christopher Alexander's Four-volume Masterwork; The Result Of 27 Years Of Research And A Lifetime Of Profoundly Original Thinking. Consider Three Vital Perspectives On Our World: A Scientific Perspective; A Perspective Based On Beauty And Grace; A Commonsense Perspective Based On Our Intuitions About Everyday Life. Neither Scientists, Nor Mystics, Nor Architects, Nor Politicians Have So Far Found A Single View Of The World In Which The Three Are United. This Groundbreaking Work Allows Us To Form On Picture Of The World In Which All Three Perspectives Are Interlaces. It Opens The Door To 21st-century Science And Cosmology.--from Dust Jacket. Bk. 1. The Phenomenon Of Life -- Bk. 2. The Process Of Creating Life -- Bk. 3. A Vision Of A Living World -- Bk. 4. The Luminous Ground. [christopher Alexander]. Includes Bibliographical References. Christopher Alexander's masterwork, the result of 27 years of research, considers three vital perspectives: a scientific perspective; a perspective based on beauty and grace; a commonsense perspective based on our intuitions and everyday life. This volume describes the processes needed to generate living structure. The essence of these processes is that they generate building form, dynamically, step by step according to specific generative sequences