Showing results for "Alexander" in Architecture

The theory of architecture implicit in our world today, Christopher Alexander believes, is bankrupt. More and more people are aware that something is deeply wrong. Yet the power of present day ideas is so great that many feel uncomfortable, even afraid, to say openly that they dislike what is happening, because they are afraid to seem foolish, afraid perhaps that they will be laughed at. Now, at last, there is a coherent theory which describes in modern terms an architecture as ancient as human society itself.

Alexander the Great is a towering figure in ancient history because of his legendary conquests throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. He was born in 356 BC to the noble family of Macedon. As such, he was afforded with great luxuries growing up including having Aristotle as his private tutor. After his father was assassinated, he took over the throne and inherited a formidable army which he would put to tremendous use. Alexander was just in his early 20s when he embarked on an ambitious expansion of his territories.

Here is Jon Krakauer’s portrait of the iconoclastic architect Christopher Alexander, whose revolutionary human-centered approach has shaken the foundations of modern architecture. Krakauer delves into Alexander’s life and career, from his theories on a timeless “pattern language” that...