The Timeless Way of Building
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Christopher W. Alexander
- ISBN：0195024028
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Summary
In The Timeless Way of Building Christopher Alexander presents a new theory of architecture， building， and planning which has at its core that age-old process by which the people of a society have always pulled the order of their world from their own being。
He writes， “There is one timeless way of building。 It is thousands of years old， and the same today as it has always 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。 It is not possible to make great buildings， or great towns， beautiful places， places where you feel yourself， places where you feel alive， except by following this way。 And， as you will see， this way will lead anyone who looks for it to buildings which are themselves as ancient in their form as the trees and hills， and as our faces are。”
The Timeless Way of Building is the introductory volume to Alexander’s other works， A Pattern Language and The Oregon Experiment， in the Center for Environmental Structure series。
He writes， “There is one timeless way of building。 It is thousands of years old， and the same today as it has always 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。 It is not possible to make great buildings， or great towns， beautiful places， places where you feel yourself， places where you feel alive， except by following this way。 And， as you will see， this way will lead anyone who looks for it to buildings which are themselves as ancient in their form as the trees and hills， and as our faces are。”
The Timeless Way of Building is the introductory volume to Alexander’s other works， A Pattern Language and The Oregon Experiment， in the Center for Environmental Structure series。
Reviews
Sheila
，
The best book to start contemplating on how we build， as a part of the human race。 Like an inward journey that bouncing back and forth the creativity and imagination inside your head。 Also， it feels somehow nostalgic， because this book will take you places！ Of course， because it's Christopher Alexander's book。 The best book to start contemplating on how we build， as a part of the human race。 Like an inward journey that bouncing back and forth the creativity and imagination inside your head。 Also， it feels somehow nostalgic， because this book will take you places！ Of course， because it's Christopher Alexander's book。 。。。more
Kimia
，
احتمالا باید ترم دو یا سه میخوندمش。مثل یه آدم پیر که میدونی خیلی بیشتر از تو میدونه، ولی همون دردا رو کشیده و همون اشتباها رو داشته بهت میگه آروم باش،سرتو از خیالا و فرمای عجیب و شکلای پیچیده خالی کن。باید برای آدما فضا بسازی。باید فضای بسازی که زندگی توش جا خوش کنه。پس به معمولی ترین شکل،با جزئیات انسانی بهش فکر کن و به الگوی رفتار انسانی تو هر فضا احترام بزار و اون موقع است که به راز معماری جاودانه میرسی。تعریف زبان الگو هم خیلی خیلی جالب و منحصر به فرده توی کتاب。
Oceann Faace
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 At the heart of this book is a great insight into a valuable consideration of how to create which is often forgotten。 I’ll definitely integrate many of these valuable lessons into various projects。 My personal opinion is however， like many other design processes， there is no eternal silver bullet of best practice。 I agree that places need to be designed to live， but don’t agree that a purist all-encompassing application of this approach is the only way to guarantee this。 As we learn more about o At the heart of this book is a great insight into a valuable consideration of how to create which is often forgotten。 I’ll definitely integrate many of these valuable lessons into various projects。 My personal opinion is however， like many other design processes， there is no eternal silver bullet of best practice。 I agree that places need to be designed to live， but don’t agree that a purist all-encompassing application of this approach is the only way to guarantee this。 As we learn more about ourselves， the future will hold many more evolutions of these ways - folding lessons from the past into the future。 。。。more
Haydn Martin
，
I have ~no real interest in architecture and am certainly not in the position to build my own house so one may wonder why I read this book。 I often found myself wondering the same thing。 There was something about the way it was written。 Some insights that applied beyond architecture。 Some observations that resonated。 I just couldn't quite put it down permanently。Every time I did think about quitting， once sentence， one paragraph， one chapter would pull me back in。But， I wouldn't read this again I have ~no real interest in architecture and am certainly not in the position to build my own house so one may wonder why I read this book。 I often found myself wondering the same thing。 There was something about the way it was written。 Some insights that applied beyond architecture。 Some observations that resonated。 I just couldn't quite put it down permanently。Every time I did think about quitting， once sentence， one paragraph， one chapter would pull me back in。But， I wouldn't read this again and wouldn't recommend it， even to those who like architecture。 There are simply too many books that are unquestionably good that are still unread to read a book that you are constantly unsure is of quality or not。 。。。more
Marty Hu
，
This was a much better book than the first chapters would have suggested it would be。 What the author said about the necessity of reading the book in its totality is very important。 The beginning of the book seemed unnecessarily abstract to me， but it provides necessary context when the author dives into concrete detail later in the book and demonstrates that he really knows what he is doing。 I enjoyed the read because it took something completely out of my wheelhouse （architecture） and expresse This was a much better book than the first chapters would have suggested it would be。 What the author said about the necessity of reading the book in its totality is very important。 The beginning of the book seemed unnecessarily abstract to me， but it provides necessary context when the author dives into concrete detail later in the book and demonstrates that he really knows what he is doing。 I enjoyed the read because it took something completely out of my wheelhouse （architecture） and expressed it in a very approachable way。 。。。more
KulaSekhar Kantipudi
，
Just as the Title Says。。。 This is a Timeless Book for Architecture Lovers and anyone interested in Building Culture
E。T。
，
不全懂，感觉就是follow your heart，跟着感觉走设计出来的建筑，就是有生气的。大概那种通过游人在草坪上踩出的道路来设置游步道也是本书作者提倡的方法。
Richard Kerver
，
Have read all of Alexander's books in this series， of which this is the first。 An important contribution to the field of everyman's architecture。 Have read all of Alexander's books in this series， of which this is the first。 An important contribution to the field of everyman's architecture。 。。。more
Sina Tahmasbi
，
خلاصه ی این کتاب رو از پادکست وادی شنیدمhttps://castbox。fm/vb/277848416مقدمه‌ی خوبیه برای کتاب زبان الگو از همین نویسنده و برای کسایی که کتاب" تفکر معماری:فرایند طراحی و چشمان جوینده"رو‌خوندن میتونه منبع کاملی باشه که موضوع زبان الگو رو کامل تر درک کنن。 گوینده توضیح میده که بیشتر بخش های کتاب مثال هایی هستن برای درک سر تیتر ها و چند نمونه از این مثال ها رو هم میگه。 خلاصه ی این کتاب رو از پادکست وادی شنیدمhttps://castbox。fm/vb/277848416مقدمه‌ی خوبیه برای کتاب زبان الگو از همین نویسنده و برای کسایی که کتاب" تفکر معماری:فرایند طراحی و چشمان جوینده"رو‌خوندن میتونه منبع کاملی باشه که موضوع زبان الگو رو کامل تر درک کنن。 گوینده توضیح میده که بیشتر بخش های کتاب مثال هایی هستن برای درک سر تیتر ها و چند نمونه از این مثال ها رو هم میگه。 。。。more
Mukul Phansalkar
，
Best book on philosophical architecture and it's interpretations。 The space and nature of a timeless creation Best book on philosophical architecture and it's interpretations。 The space and nature of a timeless creation 。。。more
Eduards Sizovs
，
An amazing， profound book that teaches you how to see things， create things， and live a quality life。 Not all chapters are equally exciting， but it's worth reading from beginning to end。 An amazing， profound book that teaches you how to see things， create things， and live a quality life。 Not all chapters are equally exciting， but it's worth reading from beginning to end。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Possibly the most important book Ive ever read， took everything I have ever thought about life but not been able to articulate， clarified it， organized it， and delivered it。 Should be required reading for anyone who is planning to do anything。 Top Shelf！
Synaps
，
This book on architecture is actually about information， because buildings bear meaning。 Alexander sees architecture as a language that is beautiful when it says something we can understand: Materials， shapes， perspectives serve a purpose， and perfection lies in serving us well。
Hamed
，
عنونطور که حدس میزدم نتونستم تمومش کنم。 بیشتر از یک سوم نشد که برم جلو。 از بس که شعر بود و معلوم نبود چی قراره بگه و چقدر شبیه حجت که مقدمه اش رو نوشته
Tim
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Definitive architecture/design work。
Sahar Badiei
，
One of the most beautiful books I have read in the Architecture theory course。 love to review it again every few years！
divsmath
，
This reads like some sort of Dao De Jing for architects before they were architects。 Diametrically opposed to contemporary building practices， Christopher Alexander， waxing on and on， will somehow make you nostalgic enough to want to build your own home by the end （without plans & details， at that！ A delightful relief for those of us who have loathed A500 wall sections anyway 😆）。 If nothing else， you might be moved to intuitively clean your room （Marie Kondo who？）， or plant a garden （to the left This reads like some sort of Dao De Jing for architects before they were architects。 Diametrically opposed to contemporary building practices， Christopher Alexander， waxing on and on， will somehow make you nostalgic enough to want to build your own home by the end （without plans & details， at that！ A delightful relief for those of us who have loathed A500 wall sections anyway 😆）。 If nothing else， you might be moved to intuitively clean your room （Marie Kondo who？）， or plant a garden （to the left， Olmstead）。 。。。more
Raghu
，
The timeless way of building is a philosophical book disguised as an architecture-related book and I think most of us who pick this book would know that already， but what is more interesting about this book is its approach i。e。， there are two different books inside this one book --- One that you can complete in an hour but will take you days to contemplate the depth of the statements， and the other that which will take you days to complete but months to contemplate。 I have only read the first of The timeless way of building is a philosophical book disguised as an architecture-related book and I think most of us who pick this book would know that already， but what is more interesting about this book is its approach i。e。， there are two different books inside this one book --- One that you can complete in an hour but will take you days to contemplate the depth of the statements， and the other that which will take you days to complete but months to contemplate。 I have only read the first of the two and I just felt too profound to be able to stop myself from writing this review， so please bear with me on this one。 And don't mistake me， I will also read the second version and write a separate review on that later but before that， there is so much to uncover within this shorter one that I couldn't stop myself from sharing the delight。 So let us get at it。The entire book is weaved around this singular idea of seeing the quality without a name， or more appropriately the patterns that have life in them。 The author beautifully uses the metaphor of languages， patterns， life， quality， etc。， to describe his passion for architecture in general; and this passion for life rubs off on you quickly enough to keep you glued in for the entire stretch of the book。 The beauty of the book is not in the fact that the author expresses his ideas on how should one go about building "good timeless buildings"， but in it that he encourages you to see that most of what he calls timeless is emotionally driven i。e。， driven not by the modernist school of thought， which tries to name and mechanize everything and anything but by patterns that attract life around it。 The patterns that have no name but are emergent in nature， the patterns that reside within each one of us。 In fact， one recurring theme that you will see throughout this book is the emphasis on the concept of pattern languages --- and the author Christopher Alexander likens the use of the pattern language to that of our natural language in a sense that it exhorts creativity in building great buildings just like natural language help us create wonderful prose that is full of insights and creativity。 This is not to say that the author does not recommend the use of rules（my issue with the modernists）， in fact， he is very careful in stating that rules are very essential and they form an integral part of what he calls the pattern languages， it is that he describes rules as a foundation to build upon and explore creativity， unlike the modernists who use rules to mechanize our thought process instead of using it to encourage creativity。 Having said that he also notes the death of life in the modern buildings owing to the selfish nature of the modern patterns， and goes on to build a tome called The Pattern Languages， of which he gives some glimpse in this book but leaves us wanting for more。 All said， I feel this is a book that must be read， re-read， and revered by anyone who wishes to make any sort of lasting impact in the world for the good of others and themselves; The impact that brings life and joy to anybody who comes in contact with their creation。 Among the books that strive to create clarity through articulating even the minutest details to the point where nothing is left to the reader to enjoy and ponder over， the beauty of this book lies in the fact that it is open to interpretations， and especially if you read the shorter version。 This quality of leaving loose-ends for the readers to interpret the inner meaning of the statement is what allows this book to transcend domains。 No matter what background you are from， you will definitely enjoy and benefit from this masterpiece。 --Raghu 。。。more
Marvin Mcconoughey
，
I was instantly enamoured by this book when I bought it many years ago。 We， my wife and I， seemed the perfect persons to apply the many concepts provided。 We were building a new house， we were doing it ourselves， and we had no commitment to conventional design。 Alas， the book proved of little value。 It was not for lack of ideas。 There are many， and eloquently presented。 Rather， it was that they did not all， or even most， mesh well in a modern house， however open to innovation。 Our house does inc I was instantly enamoured by this book when I bought it many years ago。 We， my wife and I， seemed the perfect persons to apply the many concepts provided。 We were building a new house， we were doing it ourselves， and we had no commitment to conventional design。 Alas， the book proved of little value。 It was not for lack of ideas。 There are many， and eloquently presented。 Rather， it was that they did not all， or even most， mesh well in a modern house， however open to innovation。 Our house does incorporate some of the design features that Mr。 Alexander promoted， but not because of his book but because they were simply good concepts that exist in many buildings。 Our house， in which we have lived more than 30 years， is a success but not because of any single knowledge source。 Rather， I read abundantlly and widely， studied research papers， learned multiple building codes， and applied some person creativity。 Perhaps my failure to benefit more deeply from "The Timeless Way of Building，" was due to some personal lack or failing。 I would like to read reviews by other readers who， after reading the book， actually built their own house using "The Timeless Way of Building" ideas。 。。。more
Tim Mort
，
Our buildings should be shaped like natural organisms are shaped。 Bottom up with a number of patterns emerging at different levels of hierarchy。 None of this top down urban planning and cookie cutter style housing we see rolled out today。
Negar Ghadimi
，
چرا چنین هراسانیم؟ برای این که اگر هرجومرج ایجاد کنیم مردم به ما می‌خندند؟ یا شاید برای این که بیش از هر چیز از این می‌ترسیم که اگر در حالی که می‌خواهیم هنری بیافرینیم هرجومرج ایجاد کنیم، خودمان آشفته و هیچ و پوچ شویم؟ 。。。 هراس بر اثرِ اوهام در ما به وجود می‌آید 。。。—————————بیشترِ انسانها با طبیعتِ درونیِ خود سازگاری ندارند، و در نتیجه کاملاً اصیل نیستند。 در واقع مهم‌ترین مسئله‌ی زندگیِ بسیاری از انسانها سازگار بودن با خود است。 وقتی با کسی برخورد می‌کنید که با خودش سازگار است، ناگهان احساس چرا چنین هراسانیم؟ برای این که اگر هرجومرج ایجاد کنیم مردم به ما می‌خندند؟ یا شاید برای این که بیش از هر چیز از این می‌ترسیم که اگر در حالی که می‌خواهیم هنری بیافرینیم هرجومرج ایجاد کنیم، خودمان آشفته و هیچ و پوچ شویم؟ 。。。 هراس بر اثرِ اوهام در ما به وجود می‌آید 。。。—————————بیشترِ انسانها با طبیعتِ درونیِ خود سازگاری ندارند، و در نتیجه کاملاً اصیل نیستند。 در واقع مهم‌ترین مسئله‌ی زندگیِ بسیاری از انسانها سازگار بودن با خود است。 وقتی با کسی برخورد می‌کنید که با خودش سازگار است، ناگهان احساس می‌کنید اصیل‌تر از سایرِ مردم است。 —————————درست است که گاه رویدادی خاص ممکن است زندگیِ ما را زیر و زبر کند، یا اثرِ خود را بر ما باقی بگذارد، اما گزافه نیست اگر بگوییم که به طورِ کلی هویتِ زندگیِ ما حاصلِ رویدادهایی است که به کرات و دفعات اتفاق می‌افتد。—————————پرسیدنِ احساسِ کسی با پرسیدنِ نظرِ او یکی نیست 。。。 پرسیدنِ احساسِ کسی با پرسیدنِ سلیقه‌ی او نیز یکی نیست 。。。 پرسیدنِ احساس فقط پرسیدنِ احساس است و لاغیر。 。。。more
Matt
，
This book could just as easily make its way into a philosophy class as an architecture class。 I think part of his theory on building is impractical with - especially for people with limited funds - but his overall message is great: stop relying on “experts” to tell you how to do everything。 You know what looks and feels good on a building。 Simply take the time to notice what it is that gives creates that quality of goodness and then give it a name。This is what he calls a pattern language and it’ This book could just as easily make its way into a philosophy class as an architecture class。 I think part of his theory on building is impractical with - especially for people with limited funds - but his overall message is great: stop relying on “experts” to tell you how to do everything。 You know what looks and feels good on a building。 Simply take the time to notice what it is that gives creates that quality of goodness and then give it a name。This is what he calls a pattern language and it’s brilliant I it’s simplicity and power。 It’s not just used in architecture but software and any other field where people want to collaborate using a shared language。 This isn’t an easy or fast read but it’s worthwhile。 。。。more
Rex
，
I am not a builder， nor am I likely to be in a position to build anything in the foreseeable future。 But I found this book exciting and deeply rewarding。 It is simple and practical despite its length and lyricism; the core of the book is conveyed as much by its form as its content。 Occasionally Alexander makes an amusingly grandiose claim about his art， but he is earnest， and it does no harm。 This is one of those books that has the potential to change a life。
Brandon Dang
，
Like I said， read A Pattern Language at the same time as or before this book。 Overall Alexander’s ideas strike the right balance between generalizable and realized through specific examples。 I think he criticizes what he considers modernism too much （and actually name attacks my favorite， Alvar Aalto）， but he simply chose that group to pit his ideas against， which helps make his narrative clearer。 But I think architecture， like art， is subjective， and in my opinion， Alexander’s vision of human s Like I said， read A Pattern Language at the same time as or before this book。 Overall Alexander’s ideas strike the right balance between generalizable and realized through specific examples。 I think he criticizes what he considers modernism too much （and actually name attacks my favorite， Alvar Aalto）， but he simply chose that group to pit his ideas against， which helps make his narrative clearer。 But I think architecture， like art， is subjective， and in my opinion， Alexander’s vision of human spaces can coexist alongside the artistic and grand gestures of sculptural architecture。 At some points his writing style feels repetitive， but he does well to make it feel as if you’re on a long walk with him and he’s talking you through his ideas。 I actually chose to read the book front-to-back instead of reading the italics first。 I don’t know that I’d have benefited from the latter method because the examples were supremely important to me。 The closer to reality he gets， the more his ideas make sense immediately。 Some abstract chapters like the last make you wonder if it’s really worth wrapping your head around such a lofty goal as using patterns to get to what you already knew and being so good at knowing what you already knew that you can let go of the pattern。 Is everyone capable of doing this， or trained architect-philosophers？ But then again， many artists say the art is learned through technique but created through subconscious。 I wonder still why this didn’t revolutionize architecture as some said it would。 But I’d love to pick up A Pattern Language and start to try this out。 。。。more
Nick Jones
，
Will never stop re-reading this one。 How can a book about architecture possibly hold such deep wisdom about design and programming？
Mash
，
This is a great book and enjoyed it immensely。 The writing is not tight but almost poetic。 It talks about the art of building as a language of patterns that “feel” right once we let go of our ego and look at building purely from the point of view of the needs that it’s trying to address and forces it is trying to resolve。 I liked the idea of living and dead building because the later fail to resolve these conflicting forces。 That truly alive buildings are generated through the patterns language This is a great book and enjoyed it immensely。 The writing is not tight but almost poetic。 It talks about the art of building as a language of patterns that “feel” right once we let go of our ego and look at building purely from the point of view of the needs that it’s trying to address and forces it is trying to resolve。 I liked the idea of living and dead building because the later fail to resolve these conflicting forces。 That truly alive buildings are generated through the patterns language rather than designed。 That building created in this way are more accurate to their purpose and more whole。 The book has a strong influence from Zen in my view and may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I found it informative and enjoyable。 。。。more
Stephan Renkens
，
The Timeless Way of Building got a recommendation in an IT book。 In Head First Design Patterns the Freemans tell that the concept of Design Patterns was not coming from the Gang of Four or even the IT world。 It stemmed from architecture。 This rose my interest。 To be honest， in the book of Christopher Alexander I found only weak links between the design patterns of city building and architecture on the on hand， and the concept with the same name from the IT world。 Both can be seen as building blo The Timeless Way of Building got a recommendation in an IT book。 In Head First Design Patterns the Freemans tell that the concept of Design Patterns was not coming from the Gang of Four or even the IT world。 It stemmed from architecture。 This rose my interest。 To be honest， in the book of Christopher Alexander I found only weak links between the design patterns of city building and architecture on the on hand， and the concept with the same name from the IT world。 Both can be seen as building blocs， if you look at it from a static point of view， yet if you look at it as tools to cope with dynamism and change， there are in my opinion many。Christopher Alexander is looking in his book for the quality without a name， i。e。 that quality， sometimes called “alive”， “whole”， “comfortable”， “free” or “eternal”， that makes that a city， neighborhood， house or room feel good to live in， and which make the difference between sanity and illness， between life and dead。 This is a very appealing idea， and indeed I know also places where I want to stay and others I want to run away from。 The author claims that people in earlier times used to know how to make living buildings， because they had a language to make them， a pattern language。 Patterns are both a set of elements defining activity and space， and a set of rules to make them。 Patterns are also repeated in endless variation。 In early days these rules were simple and everybody new them。 For instance every farmer knew to make a barn and applied for it a standard set of patterns。 This way rooms， buildings， villages and towns grew organically， generated indirectly from the pattern language， just like a living being is generated from its genetic code。The author denounces the way towns are planned nowadays and how houses are first conceived on the drawing table。 Industrial society broke down the relationship between the act of building and de use of the building， the creation of professionals making themselves indispensable， and rendering people having lost their intuition and sense of judgment。 The pattern language has become one of artificial forms， based on control。 Urban design， mass production and the passing of laws to keep control， have rendered an unstable result。Alexander states that the central task of architecture should instead be the creation of a single， shared， evolving pattern language。 In this respect a pattern is a context， a problem to be solved within this context and a solution to the problem。 It is a relationship which allows fighting forces to resolve， and instructions showing how。 A pattern is inadequate if forces do not get resolved and tension remains。 The author gives many examples on how this works on the level of building a town， a neighborhood， a house， a room。The author also tells about the process of construction。 Nothing is drawn， no standard components are used。 It starts with walking in space， discussing， sharing the patterns in a gradually more shared language， imagination。 Then build it in the same way as it was designed。 No drawing table， no standard components。 After the construction， a continuous process of repair starts， fixing what is wrong， filling gaps。 The core idea of this way of building is this way there is no room for ego。 All grows organically， nothing is created by decision or design。Having come to this point， I’m left with many questions。 No ego。 All right。 Then I recall all the nice buildings and sceneries the author shows in the many nice black and white pictures in the book， rooms， buildings， landscapes and townscapes from a long time ago， when people allegedly still knew the right pattern language， and this timeless， egoless way of building。 Even cathedrals were built that way， Alexander claims。 This makes me suspicious。 Ego， conflict and dominance is from all times。 The builders of cathedrals for sure had an ego， and many very nice ancient gardens， townships and castles， which for me have “the quality without a name” for sure， were built by architects who wanted to be remembered， and who were paid by people knowing nothing about the act of building。 Also， chapter 22 the book tells about the “timeless” conception of a mental health care system， citing Dr。 Ryan， the chief psychiatrist， all the time。 Not really egoless， in all respect。 Finally， the book itself is far from egoless。For this very reason I have very mixed feelings about the book。 While there are many beautiful passages in it， after all I have the hunch that it is one big lie。 While for sure there is such a thing as a “quality without a name”， I’m not convinced of the recipe to obtain it， except maybe the process of continuous repair， which would be then the ultimate way to get rid of the negative impact of ego on building。 。。。more
Ricky
，
I first wrote this off as way too wishy-washy， but when I began designing my house I'm glad I gave it another go。 It's an architecture book that doesn't provide any strict rules or guidelines， nor does it even describe any styles。 It teaches you how to think about designing around patterns in life - how to recognize them and how to capture them in designs so everything just feels right。 But it's also one of those books that goes well beyond its main subject and makes you think about life。 I first wrote this off as way too wishy-washy， but when I began designing my house I'm glad I gave it another go。 It's an architecture book that doesn't provide any strict rules or guidelines， nor does it even describe any styles。 It teaches you how to think about designing around patterns in life - how to recognize them and how to capture them in designs so everything just feels right。 But it's also one of those books that goes well beyond its main subject and makes you think about life。 。。。more
Talbot Hook
，
The Timeless Way of Building is a challenging book on many levels。 It is intellectually challenging， as it is bound not by strict logic， but also by intuition and observation; it is personally challenging， as it encourages us to shrug off our methodologies and systems in favor of a quality of architecture and design that is ultimately unnameable; it is economically challenging， because it calls into question the very existence of specialist jobs in urban planning and city design; and it is socia The Timeless Way of Building is a challenging book on many levels。 It is intellectually challenging， as it is bound not by strict logic， but also by intuition and observation; it is personally challenging， as it encourages us to shrug off our methodologies and systems in favor of a quality of architecture and design that is ultimately unnameable; it is economically challenging， because it calls into question the very existence of specialist jobs in urban planning and city design; and it is socially challenging， as it calls into our minds an uncomfortable fact that we all know: many of our buildings， neighborhoods， and cities feel dead。 They drain us。 They are loud， uncomfortable， smelly， ill-conceived， dirty: made for mindless consumers， but not for humanity。 Perhaps most damning of all though， is its insistence on a common aesthetic that underlies all of human art and well-being - and the corollary proposition that most modern artists and architects are so ego-driven and selfish as to be destructive of human health and wholeness。 One need only to look at the Royal Ontario Museum to know how deep this problem runs。Something particularly interesting is the presence of Daoist thought in Alexander's theory。 From The Quality Without a Name to the reliance upon shedding form to get at inner force， passages from the Dao de Jing are perfectly at home within this "system"。 But whereas Daoism strikes at our ethical heart， illuminating the fact that sometimes our moral systems can cloud our judgment and cause us to act in inhumane ways， this book focuses on aesthetic claims。 As a parallel， we have an inborn sense of what is beautiful， or what moves us， or where we feel at home， but over time our systems and traditions have occluded this childlike knowledge。 The foundation has been utterly covered by academic jargon and egoistic dross。 There is definitely some truth to this claim， although there are also problems that invariably arise。 The chief issue is that， because this quality is nameless （and even though we can form patterns and disciplines from it）， it is exceedingly difficult to judge when it is or is not embodied。 This is not a problem with the system per se; rather， it is me simply being skeptical of whether or not humans can achieve this in a modern world that is so far separated from the traditional building systems of peoples long past。 It strikes me as possible to have a people all firmly ensconced in one tradition of building in full adherence of Alexander's Timeless Way; each villager knows what form this post should take， or how thick the walls should be， or of what material and pattern the roof should consist。 But， in a world dominated by myriad schools， traditions， and forms， we have lost our common language of architecture。 A walk through any Western university will show buildings ranging from the Collegiate Gothic to the Brutal， and running the entire gamut in between。 And there is no such unity on a campus like that。 People that preside over universities are betraying part of their charge when they allow their intellectual space to be marred by internal inconsistencies and warring styles。 This is made even worse， though， as many （post-）modernists believe that all taste is but preference， and that all buildings are equally alive or equally dead。 And many just imagine them dead - hollow shells built by humanity to house us， but not to transform us or encourage us toward growth。 As should be obvious， the book is quite odd; its thesis is odder。 But， I am rather in love with how the book is written， as well as the vision to which it speaks。 Our world is the poorer for our current artistic trends， and our intellects have， for too long， been battered by the nihilism and relativism of a society unmoored by the wars and academic trends of the twentieth century。 This book is a partial antidote （but not a panacea） to many of our problems， and thank goodness for that。 。。。more
Mahdi Taheri
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