“Complexity is one of the great problems in environmental design.” — Christopher Alexander Quote

Complexity is one of the great problems in environmental design.

Nowadays, the process of growth and development almost never seems to manage to create this subtle balance between the importance of the individual parts, and the coherence of the environment as a whole. One or the other always dominates.

I believe that all centers that appear in space - whether they originate in biology, in physical forces, in pure geometry, in color - are alike simply in that they all animate space. It is this animated space that has its functional effect upon the world, that determines the way things work, that governs the presence of harmony and life.

I mean, making simulations of what you're going to build is tremendously useful if you can get feedback from them that will tell you where you've gone wrong and what you can do about it.

The design of a dress, furniture, a house, a room, a street and a city are all the same process.

I don't have a background in design, so I think it's always about what I see in the world and what inspires me. So yes, I am designing for myself. I'm going through this whole evolution, which is a process of growing up and going from modeling to styling to designing.

I think there is a new awareness in this 21st century that design is as important to where and how we live as it is for museums, concert halls and civic buildings.

Film gives us the luxury of deciding where the viewpoint of the audience is, and by knowing that, we can very effectively design around what is actually seen on camera.