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The Nature of Order may well become essential reading for managers in the new millennium.   INFLUENCE ON ORIENTALCARPET STUDIES

The rules for putting matter together to form a building are universal, and apply to all man-made objects. In particular, they apply to two-dimensional designs such as paintings and textile patterns. The simplification of having only two dimensions and a single material (knots of wool) makes carpets an interesting application of the rules for organized complexity. Alexander establishes the connection between architectural design and Oriental Carpets in his fascinating book: A Foreshadowing of 21st Century Art: The Color and Geometry of Very Early Turkish Carpets (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993). The point is that he has obtained insight into architectural design from very early carpets (15th century and earlier).

Alexander's carpet book is of immediate interest to architects, even those who are not particularly interested in oriental carpets. The reason is that the first section summarizes results that form the core of the The Nature of Order , whose publication has been delayed. Here, the "Fifteen Fundamental Properties" and the "Field of Centers" are outlined (if only very briefly). Carpets as examples of human creations that have some measure of "life" are discussed in the following articles:

This work is generating a considerable amount of controversy in the oriental carpet community. Some people are disturbed that a mathematical theory can successfully measure the degree of "life" in a carpet. But that is precisely what happens, and the results agree to a remarkable extent with our deepest intuitions. Also, the very use of the word "life" is misunderstood -- it represents design steps that are taken to achieve a coherent design. The same steps are followed whenever organic forms develop. Life in a man-made object is achieved by following the same rules (though in a vastly more intricate setting) that nature follows in creating biological life. The direction is the same, and that is the beauty of the theoretical result.

Christopher Alexander has put together a collection of very early Turkish carpets in which he finds a large degree of life. All the carpets are illustrated in his book, which serves as a catalog of the collection; and some of them appear in his article. His carpet collection was exhibited at the de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco during the 6th International Conference on Oriental Carpets , 1990. Many persons who attended this show described it as a very moving experience. Even those in the Oriental Carpet community who disagree with Alexander's analytic approach to carpet designs praise him for being among the first to see the extraordinary power of Seljuk and other very early carpets, and for having the courage to collect them.

Alexander's architectural writings at the same time develop a philosophy of nature and life. He proposes a more profound connection between nature and the human mind than is presently allowed either in science, or in architecture. Alexander sees the universe as a coherent whole, encompassing feelings as well as inanimate matter. This strongly Taoist viewpoint was first developed in his book The Timeless Way of Building (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979). To some readers, this is a book on architecture written in a philosophical style; to many others, it is a book on philosophy with architectural examples. A large number of people have embraced the philosophy of the Timeless Way of Building , finding in it universal truths on how man interacts with the world.

In both the Timeless Way and the Pattern Language , there are sections of text in which the language itself assumes a peculiarly imprecise, poetic quality. It is exactly at those instances, when Alexander the mathematician appears to be abandoning his customary precision, that Alexander the philosopher is communicating on an entirely different and more fundamentally emotional level. The unconventional syntax he employs is merely a means of conveying deeper philosophical meanings. (It helps to read those passages aloud). Some people readily find a spiritual content in his works. From such people, who may be otherwise indifferent to either architecture, or computer science, Alexander has won a deep and lasting respect.

Many of the patterns in the Pattern Language provide guiding points for Alexander's philosophy. There is an emphasis throughout on the potential of the individual; the importance of a spiritual connection to the built world; the need for cooperation among people; the empowerment of individuals or small groups of people to shape their environment. All of this is elaborated further in The Nature of Order , and has far-reaching social and political implications which may be alarming to some and inspiring to others.

Alexander insists that his philosophy is inseparable from his architectural theories. This point worries architects used to doing things in a certain way, as it does potential clients who think conservatively. Some of Alexander's staunchest supporters argue that, in order to facilitate their adoption, his architectural method ought to be decoupled from the accompanying philosophy. After all, in an imperfect world, every architectural project represents a series of compromises. Alexander warns against a superficial application of his method that misses the fundamental point. He has stressed repeatedly in his writings that achieving coherence between built forms and people has to be accompanied by changes in our basic outlook.

The fourth volume of The Nature of Order approaches religious questions from a scientific, rather than mystical direction. Alexander has discovered deep ties between the nature of matter, human perception of the universe, and the geometries we construct in our buildings, cities, and artifacts. As this work is becoming better known, it may well revolutionize our society, by providing a crucial link between traditional beliefs and our most recent scientific advances. Only time will tell, but this aspect of his work may surpass his architectural contributions.

The Nature of Order has been in preparation for over thirty years, and encapsulates all of Christopher Alexander's theories. During its course of writing, The Nature of Order expanded into its present format of four large volumes. In my estimation, this is one of the Twentieth Century's most important documents. My own modest contribution has been to help Professor Alexander edit the manuscript during the last fifteen years prior to its publication. In this monumental book, Alexander develops a comprehensive theory of how matter comes together to form coherent structures. Paralleling, but not copying, recent results from complexity theory, he argues that the same laws apply to all structures in the universe; from atoms, to crystals, to living forms, to galaxies. Human beings apparently have a built-in (though subconscious) understanding of these laws. Man's creations have the option of following the same laws, or violating them. Those that follow them result in our greatest achievements, either as artifacts, as buildings, or as cities.

This book promises to be of interest to computer programmers, and in the words of some enthusiasts, could define "a new paradigm for programming". This is remarkable, since the book is written primarily in the interest of architects (of buildings, not software). It turns out, however, that the same organizing principles apply to computer programs as to buildings. This connection was made recently by several visionary programmers, and is being pursued in the PATTERNS movement. A good overview is the book by Richard Gabriel, Patterns of Software (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996; with a foreword by Christopher Alexander). There are notes of a review talk given by Jim Coplien on the Nature of Order , with commentary by Brad Appleton, which are highly recommended. Jim Coplien is writing a series of articles outlining the possible applications of the Nature of Order to software.

Far-reaching results on urban planning were given some years ago in Alexander's famous article "A City is Not a Tree" (see the article by Roger Evans in the Urban Design Quarterly), and in the Pattern Language and A New Theory of Urban Design . His solutions were abstracted from and checked against urban sites that work, which is sufficient reason to apply them to urban sites that don't. He goes much further in The Nature of Order , showing that the rules governing the growth of neighborhoods and cities arise from fundamental laws of nature. Alexander has discovered the process that governs the growth of a successful city -- which is the same process by which organic and inorganic forms evolve. Surprisingly, the law concerns the process ; not the form or plan. This whole approach might seem unfamiliar to urban planners who think in terms of static images, though biologists will immediately recognize it. These universal laws apply not only to "traditional" cities -- they apply to all cities, in every age and in every culture, that enhance human activity.

The first two volumes should be appreciated as a new approach to understanding structure, both natural and man-made. They span aesthetics, science, and architecture, and are relevant to any complex process. Volume 3 is of immediate interest to architects and urban planners, as it contains a large number of examples of the building process from the largest to the smallest scale. I am most deeply moved, however, by volume 4 of the Nature of Order, which is a deeply spiritual work. The last of the four volumes transcends architecture, and plunges into what it is that connects us with our universe. It reveals how superficial our century has been in addressing the fundamental qualities and needs of human beings. This volume promises to have a profound impact on our society; even our civilization. For that reason, it might ultimately be the most revolutionary aspect of the entire work.

Source: http://zeta.math.utsa.edu