<aside> 💡 This is The Commons Campus 🏛️ book club for "The Timeless Way of Building" by Christopher Alexander

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about.

This book is said to be one of the most important books on architectural theory of the late 20th century. Alexander takes the concept of living patterns to architecture, and, by extension of the act of creation, to life itself. The seminal work is the foundation of the pattern approach to system design that has sprung up in many disciplines, most notably software design. One part complexity theory, one part architectural and city-planning theory, and one part spiritual treatise - it's not just a technical book about architecture, but rather a meandering exploration that circles around the deepest questions of human life and beauty, seen from the standpoint of a builder. An inquisition into the way in which we order and give meaning to our universe. A spiritual experience in the guise of an architecture book.

format.

We will split the book up into 10 sections

• We’ll spend the 1st hour of each gathering reading while listenting to classical music or lo-fi beats. Bring pens to annotate!
• The 2nd hour will be spent discussing it. I’ll post discussion questions the day before to this notion doc.
  • You’re welcome to join in the second half if you’ve read the book before-hand, though I strongly encourage collective reading if possible.

❗ Please grab the book before our first session, preferably a physical copy. Reading it is a visual and tactile experience. The book is available on Amazon and also via http://libgen.is/ for free.

schdedule.

We’ll be meeting every Thursday from Jan 19th to March 22nd in the philosophy salon area of The Commons (the larger event space with lots of comfy seating).

Jan 19, 8p-10p

• 8-8:15: opening + share reason for choosing this book with friend next to you
• 8:15-8:45: Christopher Alexander documentary “A Place for the Soul”
• 8:45-9:30: read 50 pages chp 1, 2, 3
• 9:30-10pm: discussion questions
  • Questions
  • “Each one of us has, somewhere in his/her heart, the dream to make a living world a universe”. How would you describe this dream for you? Hold old is it? Describe it with the 5 senses: what does it smell, feel, taste, look, sound like?
  • Alexander describes “the method” as something that brings us back to innocence, a part we’ve forgotten, something we already know, a method that frees us of all method. What are your beginning intuitions around what “the method” is? Are there other parts of life we feel this same nostalgia?
  • “It is a process which builds order out of nothing” “We are afraid of our own chaos. Without method and more method, we are afraid, the chaos which is in us will reveal itself. And yes these methods only make things worse”
    • Describe your internal chaos. How have you “applied method” to them?
    • What lies deep inside of you only waiting to be released? What’s stopping you from releasing it?
  • Alexander attempts to describe the “the method” but sharing words that all capture one, but not all, aspects of it. Which one of these word most resonates with each group member? Why?
    • Aliveness “a tiger may be more alive, because its more in tune with its own inner forces, than a man”
    • Whole “a thing is whole according to how free it is if inner-contradictions”
    • Comfortable “bc of no inner-contradictions or restlessness disturbing them”
    • Free “never calculated or perfect, and created with abandon”
    • Exact “adaptation to real forces / laws of the universe need to be exact”
    • Egoless “When a place is lifeless or unreal, there is almost always a mastermind behind it. It is so filled with he will of its matter that there is no room for its nature”
    • Eternal “I once saw a simple fish pond in a Japanese village which was perhaps eternal” ****Have you encountered a place that felt eternal? Describe it.
  • “Yet still there are those special secret moments in our lives, when we smile unexpectedly - when all our forces are resolved. When we forget ourselves completely. It is the time when we are most right, most just, most sad, and most hilarious”
    • When have you felt these moments in retrospect?
    • What is the relationship between these moments in our lives and the quality of our surroundings?

Jan 26, 8p-10p

• 8-9pm: read next 50 pages; chp 4, 5, 6.
• 9-10pm: discussion

Jan 27th 8-10:30pm