The thistle shape strengthens the arch shape and makes positive space

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• Good shape arises in many natural systems such as leaves, bones, and Chladni patterns, where a strong center is intensified by minor centers.claim0.776
• Outdoor space is positive when it is shaped, just as a room is shaped.claim0.769
  Fundamental definition of positive space as room-like enclosure.
• The very same positive space which creates a truss's beauty also creates its structural stability and good structural behavior.claim0.765
  Direct connection between aesthetic quality and engineering performance.
• The more austere forms of buildings also arise from the wholeness that comes from buildings that are near rectangular, to make positive space.claim0.756
• The space in the angle between the wall surface and the overhanging top is itself a center, and must be made as positive and being-like as possible.claim0.751
  Alexander's demonstration that even the negative space beside an overhang requires conscious I-directed attention.
• Positive space is common in natural wholes where both figures and interstitial spaces form positive shapes, as in bubbles, crazing, and crystal growth.claim0.742
• In a well-made chisel, the geometric centers correspond exactly to the centers of action, and they help each other.claim0.734
  Illustrates how functional excellence is achieved through mutual intensification of centers.
• It is the geometry of these built structures, which, like the shell of a mollusc, makes the growing of the garden, and its resulting richness, possible.claim0.734
  Analogy emphasizing that geometry enables organic richness.