Christopher Alexander and the New Architecture of Humanism

FAIN: FA-11436-76

Stephen H. Grabow
University of Kansas, Lawrence (Lawrence, KS 66045-7505)

An intellectual biography of Christopher Alexander and a critical examination of his work. After World War II, increasing industrialization, urbanization, and social change created a void in the theory of architecture. By 1956 there was no cumulative body of architectural knowledge. Christopher Alexander's book, NOTES ON THE SYNTHESIS OF FORM (1964), responded to this need with unprecedented impact. Alexander argued that the inability of architects to counter the increasingly de-humanizing qualities of the built: environment stemmed from the inadequacies of their intuitive design methods in coping with complexity. He evolved a revolutionary and rational theory of architecture.