Christopher Alexander and the Timeless Way of Building

Housing in the Borneo Sporenburg development, Amsterdam

The first  of Christopher Alexander’s main texts, "The Timeless Way of Building" (1979) is  clearly derived from the earlier work described in my previous blogs.  He is fascinated by the patterns of our lives, the small habits that make up daily existence, how these patterns are associated with places and particular kinds of spaces, and how the life of a house or a place is “given to it by the quality of the events and situations we encounter there”.  Just as the constructive diagrams are made up of form and purpose, so the spirit of a place is composed of physical geometry and particular events.

Alexander maintains that the life of a building grows from the life of the inhabitants not from the principles of its construction. When this life is free and happy and honest,  it creates buildings and places where humans feel alive, natural and at home.  Such buildings possess the “quality without a name”, the indefinable but instantly recognisable quality of being at peace with itself and free from inner contradictions.  “When a person’s forces are resolved, it makes us feel at home, because we know .. that .. he acts according to the nature of the situations he is in, without distorting them.. and so we feel relaxed and peaceful in his company”

The Borneo Sporenburg complex of unusual and individual housing alongside the old docklands of Amsterdam is a good example of contemporary housing which is also intimate and comfortable.  Each building is different and sometimes outrageous, yet the whole effect is harmonious and satisfying.  The site is ideal, with wide skies and views of water on every side. 
 

Hand painted ceramic bowl from Tunisia (see more at end of post)

This idea is quite different from the modernist philosophy of “cool”, where emotions and irregularities are hidden in favour of flatness and surface.  It is also different from the elegant and unrealisable prototypes in interior design magazines.  Hurrah for that. It is therefore up to the individual to be honest about his or her likes and dislikes, and to allow his or her  “inner nature” to be reflected in patterns of life and personal choices.  Not always easy.  

And is Alexander’s philosophy itself unrealisable in our contemporary global world which is governed by the artificial creation of desire and possession of material objects which may bring status but little else in the way of satisfaction? One would certainly hope not and I hope to assess this issue as I read his works.

This is a hand made and hand painted dish from Tunis media.  It comes from the eastern town of Nabeul.  It has a beautiful glaze, colour and pattern.