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artifact:inside-the-visitor-centre

Inside the Visitor Centre

Article by Alan Powers about Christopher Alexander's West Dean Visitor Centre, published in Perspectives, August/September 1996.

Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count

Thinkers (5)

thinker
  • Christopher Alexander
    mentions
  • Bernard Maybeck
    mentions
    American architect working in similar lines to Arts and Crafts tradition, cited as precedent for Alexander's approach.
  • Alan Powers
    authored
    Author of the article discussing Christopher Alexander's work and philosophy.
  • John Hanson
    mentions
    Director of the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture and champion of Christopher Alexander.
  • Prince of Wales
    mentions
    Founder of the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture.

Concepts (7)

concept
  • A Pattern Language
    mentions
    Alexander's earlier book (1977, Oxford University Press) containing 253 design patterns; extensively referenced throughout this chapter for functional examples of each of the fifteen properties
  • Quality Without A Name
    mentions
    Central concept in Alexander's philosophy—an objective, precise but unnamed quality that is the root criterion of life and spirit in buildings, towns, and natural systems.
  • Modernism
    mentions
    A 20th-century architectural movement whose form languages are considered too crude to create living structure.
  • Arts and Crafts Movement
    mentions
    Historical design movement that influenced Alexander's work but which he has advanced and extended with systematic methodology.
  • alternative to Modernism through discovery of past knowledge
    mentions
    Alexander's approach of discovering concretely what pre-modern artisans knew, rather than merely returning to past styles.
  • process of production as the key to a building's success
    mentions
    Idea emphasised in the article that the design and construction process, not just the final form, determines architectural quality.
  • spiritual awareness through abstract colour and form
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    Quality Alexander finds in early Turkish carpets, reinforcing the metaphysical basis of his work.

Institutes (2)

institute
  • West Dean
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    Estate/college where the Visitor Centre is located; client represented by Simon Ward.
  • Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture
    mentions
    Institution where graduate students collaborated with Alexander on early design stages of the West Dean Visitor Centre.

Artifacts (1)

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