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Christopher Alexander Quotes

Complexity is one of the great problems in environmental design Picture Quote #1

The structure of life I have described in buildings - the structure which I believe to be objective - is deeply and inextricably connected with the human person, and with the innermost nature of human feeling Picture Quote #1

From a sequence of these individual patterns, whole buildings with the character of nature will form themselves within your thoughts, as easily as sentences Picture Quote #1

But in practice master plans fail - because they create totalitarian order, not organic order. They are too rigid; they cannot easily adapt to the natural and unpredictable changes that inevitably arise in the life of a community Picture Quote #1

I believe that all centers that appear in space - whether they originate in biology, in physical forces, in pure geometry, in color - are alike simply in that they all animate space. It is this animated space that has its functional effect upon the world, that determines the way things work, that governs the presence of harmony and life Picture Quote #1

One begins to think with that new building block, rather than with littler pieces. And finally, the things which seem like elements dissolve, and leave a fabric of relationships behind, which is the stuff that actually repeats itself, and gives the structure to a building or a town Picture Quote #1

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From a sequence of these individual patterns, whole buildings with the character of nature will form themselves within your thoughts, as easily as sentences Picture Quote #1

The buildings that I build very often have a dreamlike reality. I don’t mean by that they have a fantasy quality at all, in fact quite the reverse. They contain in some degree the ingredients that give dreams their power... stuff that’s very close to us Picture Quote #1

Everyone is aware that most of the built environment today lacks a natural order, an order which presents itself very strongly in places that were built centuries ago Picture Quote #1

Drawings help people to work out intricate relationships between parts Picture Quote #1

People are deeply nourished by the process of creating wholeness Picture Quote #1

Speaking as a builder, if you start something, you must have a vision of the thing which arises from your instinct about preserving and enhancing what is there Picture Quote #1

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In my life as an architect, I found that the single thing which inhibits young professionals, new students most severely, is their acceptance of standards that are too low Picture Quote #1

We define organic order as the kind of order that is achieved when there is a perfect balance between the needs of the parts, and the needs of the whole Picture Quote #1

This is a fundamental view of the world. It says that when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it Picture Quote #1

A building or a town will only be alive to the extent that it is governed in a timeless way. It is a process which brings order out of nothing but ourselves; it cannot be attained, but it will happen of its own accord, if we will only let it Picture Quote #1

When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty Picture Quote #1

It is possible to make buildings by stringing together patterns, in a rather loose way. A building made like this, is an assembly of patterns. It is not dense. It is not profound. But it is also possible to put patterns together in such a way that many patterns overlap in the same physical space: the building is very dense; it has many meanings captured in a small space; and through this density, it becomes profound Picture Quote #1

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When you make something, cleaning it out of structural debris is one of the most vital things you do Picture Quote #1

Once you understand this way, you will be able to make your room alive; you will be able to design a house together with your family; a garden for your children; places where you can work; beautiful terraces where you can sit and dream Picture Quote #1

I mean, making simulations of what you’re going to build is tremendously useful if you can get feedback from them that will tell you where you’ve gone wrong and what you can do about it Picture Quote #1

Most of the wonderful places in the world were not made by architects but by the people Picture Quote #1

All space and matter, organic or inorganic, has some degree of life in it, and matter/space is more alive or less alive according to its structure and arrangement Picture Quote #1

The specific patterns, out of which a building or a town is mademay be alive or dead. To the extent they are alive, they let our innerforces loose, and, set us free; but when they are dead they keepus locked in inner conflict Picture Quote #1

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There is a myth, sometimes widespread, that a person need only do inner work... that a man is entirely responsible for his own problems; and that to cure himself, he need only change himself... The fact is, a person is so formed by his surroundings, that his state of harmony depends entirely on his harmony with his surroundings Picture Quote #1

We are searching for some kind of harmony between two intangibles: a form which we have not yet designed and a context which we cannot properly describe Picture Quote #1

To work our way towards a shared language once again, we must first learn how to discover patterns which are deep, and capable of generating life Picture Quote #1

To seek the timeless way we must first know the quality without a name. There is a central quality which is the root criterion of life and spirit in a man, a town, a building, or a wilderness. This quality is objective and precise, but it cannot be named Picture Quote #1

There is one timeless way of building. It is a thousand years old, and the same today as it has ever been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way Picture Quote #1

Nowadays, the process of growth and development almost never seems to manage to create this subtle balance between the importance of the individual parts, and the coherence of the environment as a whole. One or the other always dominates Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Complexity is one of the great problems in environmental design (Christopher Alexander Quotes) The structure of life I have described in buildings - the structure which I believe to be objective - is deeply and inextricably connected with the human person, and with the innermost nature of human feeling. (Christopher Alexander Quotes) From a sequence of these individual patterns, whole buildings with the character of nature will form themselves within your thoughts, as easily as sentences (Christopher Alexander Quotes) But in practice master plans fail - because they create totalitarian order, not organic order. They are too rigid; they cannot easily adapt to the natural and unpredictable changes that inevitably arise in the life of a community (Christopher Alexander Quotes) I believe that all centers that appear in space - whether they originate in biology, in physical forces, in pure geometry, in color - are alike simply in that they all animate space. It is this animated space that has its functional effect upon the world, that determines the way things work, that governs the presence of harmony and life (Christopher Alexander Quotes) One begins to think with that new building block, rather than with littler pieces. And finally, the things which seem like elements dissolve, and leave a fabric of relationships behind, which is the stuff that actually repeats itself, and gives the structure to a building or a town (Christopher Alexander Quotes) From a sequence of these individual patterns, whole buildings with the character of nature will form themselves within your thoughts, as easily as sentences. (Christopher Alexander Quotes) The buildings that I build very often have a dreamlike reality. I don’t mean by that they have a fantasy quality at all, in fact quite the reverse. They contain in some degree the ingredients that give dreams their power... stuff that’s very close to us. (Christopher Alexander Quotes) Everyone is aware that most of the built environment today lacks a natural order, an order which presents itself very strongly in places that were built centuries ago. (Christopher Alexander Quotes) Drawings help people to work out intricate relationships between parts (Christopher Alexander Quotes) People are deeply nourished by the process of creating wholeness (Christopher Alexander Quotes) Speaking as a builder, if you start something, you must have a vision of the thing which arises from your instinct about preserving and enhancing what is there (Christopher Alexander Quotes) In my life as an architect, I found that the single thing which inhibits young professionals, new students most severely, is their acceptance of standards that are too low (Christopher Alexander Quotes) We define organic order as the kind of order that is achieved when there is a perfect balance between the needs of the parts, and the needs of the whole (Christopher Alexander Quotes) This is a fundamental view of the world. It says that when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it (Christopher Alexander Quotes) A building or a town will only be alive to the extent that it is governed in a timeless way. It is a process which brings order out of nothing but ourselves; it cannot be attained, but it will happen of its own accord, if we will only let it (Christopher Alexander Quotes) When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty (Christopher Alexander Quotes) It is possible to make buildings by stringing together patterns, in a rather loose way. A building made like this, is an assembly of patterns. It is not dense. It is not profound. But it is also possible to put patterns together in such a way that many patterns overlap in the same physical space: the building is very dense; it has many meanings captured in a small space; and through this density, it becomes profound (Christopher Alexander Quotes) When you make something, cleaning it out of structural debris is one of the most vital things you do (Christopher Alexander Quotes) Once you understand this way, you will be able to make your room alive; you will be able to design a house together with your family; a garden for your children; places where you can work; beautiful terraces where you can sit and dream (Christopher Alexander Quotes) I mean, making simulations of what you’re going to build is tremendously useful if you can get feedback from them that will tell you where you’ve gone wrong and what you can do about it (Christopher Alexander Quotes) Most of the wonderful places in the world were not made by architects but by the people (Christopher Alexander Quotes) All space and matter, organic or inorganic, has some degree of life in it, and matter/space is more alive or less alive according to its structure and arrangement (Christopher Alexander Quotes) The specific patterns, out of which a building or a town is mademay be alive or dead. To the extent they are alive, they let our innerforces loose, and, set us free; but when they are dead they keepus locked in inner conflict (Christopher Alexander Quotes) There is a myth, sometimes widespread, that a person need only do inner work... that a man is entirely responsible for his own problems; and that to cure himself, he need only change himself... The fact is, a person is so formed by his surroundings, that his state of harmony depends entirely on his harmony with his surroundings (Christopher Alexander Quotes) We are searching for some kind of harmony between two intangibles: a form which we have not yet designed and a context which we cannot properly describe (Christopher Alexander Quotes) To work our way towards a shared language once again, we must first learn how to discover patterns which are deep, and capable of generating life (Christopher Alexander Quotes) To seek the timeless way we must first know the quality without a name. There is a central quality which is the root criterion of life and spirit in a man, a town, a building, or a wilderness. This quality is objective and precise, but it cannot be named (Christopher Alexander Quotes) There is one timeless way of building. It is a thousand years old, and the same today as it has ever been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way (Christopher Alexander Quotes) Nowadays, the process of growth and development almost never seems to manage to create this subtle balance between the importance of the individual parts, and the coherence of the environment as a whole. One or the other always dominates (Christopher Alexander Quotes)

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