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question:what-is-good-and-what-is-bad-in-architecture-what-is-better-and-what-is-worse

What is good and what is bad in architecture? What is better and what is worse?

The fundamental architectural judgment question that the wholeness criterion is meant to resolve

Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count

Claims (1)

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The test of wholeness experienced by an observer encompasses ecological appropriateness, social value, beauty, and comfort — all wrapped together in the global judgment of wholeness
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Alexander argues the wholeness criterion is not naive but integrates all dimensions of architectural quality

Related by similarity (8)

cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edge

Entities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.

Architecture cannot be good so long as we try to do it within a mechanical conception of matter.claim0.784
The impossibility of good architecture under mechanistic cosmology.
What exactly is a 'concept' and how do we distinguish good concepts from bad ones?question0.746
Jackson identifies this as a central unresolved research question despite widespread recognition of concept importance
There are more bad next steps than good ones in a design process; typically perhaps 90-95 out of 100 possible next steps make the thing worse.claim0.734
Quantitative intuition to justify radical skepticism toward early ideas.
In modern architecture, neither design nor construction typically works step by step; instead there is a fixed end-state produced without realistic feedback.claim0.719
Contrast between living process and current architectural practice.
Given two versions of a building, A and B, can we tell empirically which one has more life, in a way which allows people to reach agreement — that is to say, objectively?question0.716
Opening question of the chapter that the entire methodological argument is designed to answer
Most present-day architects like talking about construction but are afraid of construction tools, and architectural education prevents students from gaining construction experience.claim0.716
Observation about the culture of architecture that perpetuates the separation of design from making.
The environment is good, or bad, according to the degree that its thousands of centers are pictures of the self, i.e., beings.claim0.714
The central practical conclusion of the chapter: the being-character is the criterion for life in the environment.
Value in architecture can be objective and real, not merely subjective; the degree of life in buildings is a fact that can be observed.claim0.714
A direct challenge to the second and third tacit assumptions, fundamental to Alexander's view of building.