Amazing—clear precursor to the beautiful ideas laid out years later in The Timeless Way of Building and A Pattern Language.

Takeaway for designers of any type: constructive diagrams as conceptual tools. ( )

shelved in: Monograph Library - at: B10

One of the rarest of books. Alexander's ideas transcend architecture and are applicable to almost any human endeavor - his concept of 'fit' and the mathematics behind it should be introduced during primary school and form an integral part of all curricula all the way up to the PhD level. ( )

I was recommended this book as a way of understanding where the idea of Design Patterns came from in software engineering and I have to admit that I was very sceptical that it would be any use, however this a book I would recommend to anyone, whatever their discipline who has any interest in what makes good design.

This is a fascinating book - which combines philosophy, psychology and architecture into one overall coherent view of what design is. The Amazon description makes it sound very highbrow and inaccessible, but Christopher Alexander writes so clearly, eloquently and with such passion for his subject that it is a very easy book to read.

Monograph Library - shelved at: B10