Mon 2010/Jun/28
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Twelve Lectures on Architecture, by Nikos Salingaros:
1. Recursion and the Fibonacci sequence. Universal scaling. Biophilia.
2. Geometric Recursion and Fractals: the Sierpinski gasket. Perforation, bending, and folding. Anti-gravity anxiety. Architecture of the horizontal.
3. Universal distribution of sizes. Fractal design, ornament, and biophilia. Sustainable systems.
4. Cellular automata. Sierpinski carpets and sea-shells. Design in hyperspace and connection to the sacred.
5. Architectural harmony. Christopher Alexander’s theory of centers. Design as computation. Computational reducibility.
6. Alexander’s 15 Fundamental Properties. Three laws of architecture.
7. Biologically-inspired computation. Genetic algorithms. Computation versus memory retrieval. Evolutionary regression.
8. Emergent systems. Examples from Artificial Life. Inhuman experiments. Architectural education.
9. Symmetry production. Symmetry breaking. Classical moldings. Elementary particle symmetries. Binding energy.
10. Generative codes and their application to building and urban morphology. Secularization destroys public space. Spiritual architects. Legalizing codes.
11. Duany-Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) codes. The New Urbanism. Stephen Mouzon’s project. Tall buildings.
12. Implementation of generative codes in design. Urban plazas. Designing for children. Favelas and social housing. -
Harmony-seeking Computations, what Christopher Alexander has been working on after the publication of The Nature of Order.