Places for the soul

"In all countFies of. the world. people are suffering fr .. o.m modern forms of housing. These have;nunnecessanly. gone in a direction which is inhumaJie. inefficient. expensive. and unpleasant. "' "lt has happened because they have assuJ11ed. nwrongly, that there is no alternative. ''Imagination 'on the 'part of the architects. and nthe wi ll to take into account people's expressed needs, ·can provide alternatives. These needs are: enough space, beautiful rooms. beautiful light. outdoor space"of one's own. a sense of private uniqueness. communal quality in the public land. convenience of parking. Two of the sketches prepared by Cluistoph.er. Alexander for the SIJirotori "J[ouslng J?rr!i~L!!!. Ja(>i!!1:~n=-""~ ~~~·"~?*" "The Shirotori Housing Project. that 11hope to be able to build in Nagoya, Japan. will provide just that Every inhabitant of the 500 apartments in a low-rise high- density building will have a garden of their own.mThey will have a beautiful common space. for children to play, for community links to be formed, and for contact with nature. They also will have the opportunity to determine their own physical layout. and thus create for themselves a real home." Christopher Alexander Center for Environmental Structure. Berkeley, CA USA Places for the soul K n a run-down neighbourhood near downtown San Jose, California, a unique archi-tectural project is nearing completion. AI Diludovico is the executive director of Housing for Independent People, a non-profit agency committed to finding housing solutions for the disabled and the homeless. He says: "This particular project is important because it's the first and, as far as we know, the only shelter that was designed and built expressly for the homeless mentally ill. I think there is probably nothing more terrifying than not having a place to sleep. When it's getting dark and cold, and you look around for a spot to sleep, and the only place there is is the street." This strong feeling was shared by WORLD HEALTH, March -April 1991 Christopher Alexander, an American architect with a difference. He is a caring architect - one who believes that his role does not end with the completion of a drawing because, as he says, life does not come out of a drawing; life can only come out of a process, the process of building, in which everybody must participate and most particularly those who are going to use the building and to live in it Beauty and harmony play an impor- tant role in giving people a sense of belonging, just as old buildings did, whether they were vast cathedrals and palaces or a simple shack And beauty and harmony can only be obtained with what Christopher Alexander calls "Wholeness": each part - even the smallest - of the whole is expressly designed and made to serve the same The principles from which. beauty and h.annony arise . aie time/~, and inew' n••• creations often echo • an age-old '1"" tradition. Left: The facade of the 'Great Hall of New Eish.in Uqiversity, built in Japan in .the mid-1980s by Cluistoph.e_r Alexander. · Right: San Miniato · al ' Monte, in Roreqce, Italy, b.uilt ig th~ IIth nand 12th centuries. .. .. r purpose as the whole itself. In "Places for the Soul", a film produced and directed by Ruth Landy, a public information officer with WHO in Geneva, Christopher Alexander expresses forcefully that the only long- term chance for survival of man and his planet depends on his building harmonious relationships with his environment. There is still a long way to go before we can achieve this, and those who are trying to express this view in "concrete" terms are still only pioneers. Their voice needs to be heard at the highest political levels so that future policies are inspired by their achievements. • Mrs Christiane Viedma Deputy Editor, World Health Places for the Soul: the architecture of Christo- pher Alexander - a 29-minute colour film produced and directed by Ruth Landy - can be bought by calling (415)642-5578 or rented by calling (415) 642-0460 at the University of California Extension Media Center, 2176 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA 23