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When I said this, I was mostly talking about Christopher Alexander. It seems the architecture community think his buildings ... aren't ... very ... good?

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Cedric Chin

@ejames_c

Jul 6, 2021

It is a pity that in many domains that we are interested in, the best practitioners are not the best theorists, and the best theorists are not the best practitioners.

dave, aspiring peasant

@aspiringpeasant

Jul 7, 2021

Replying to

@ejames_c

I don't think most of the "architecture community" 's work is very good either. They're too busy impressing each other to build buildings that are actually good for humans to live in.

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This was my knee jerk reaction too, but then I am not an architect, so I don’t count. 🙃

dave, aspiring peasant

@aspiringpeasant

Jul 7, 2021

Replying to

@ejames_c

Yes you do! You're a human! If a building makes you feel good then you know it! If it makes you uncomfortable or needs a constant supply of cheap electricity to make it livable, you know that too!

Cedric Chin

@ejames_c

Replying to

@aspiringpeasant

Eh, yes, but then I'm not fully aware of the design + regulatory + legal + systemic constraints that architects are subject to. Without a full appreciation for constraints, I cannot evaluate well.

4:31 AM · Jul 7, 2021TweetDeck

dave, aspiring peasant

@aspiringpeasant

Jul 7, 2021

Replying to

@ejames_c

You're very generous to them lol

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and

Yeah, overly generous. Architects design buildings to win awards i.e. impress other designers. Even the great Zaha Hadid's buildings are a nightmare to use. Many horror stories of buildings looking great but being unusable.

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and

The problem is that most of the design "constraints" are imaginary constraints stemming from relying on a single book (Neuffert) for "ideal" measurements and proportions following Bauhaus ideas. Which is why modern buildings in Austria look the same as in Italy or Taiwan.