

 #2744 
 Mentioned in 12 episodes 
The Timeless Way of Building
Book • 1979
In this book, Christopher Alexander introduces the concept of the 'quality without a name,' arguing that this intangible quality is essential for creating buildings and spaces that feel right to human beings.
The book is part of the Center for Environmental Structure series and lays the foundation for Alexander's subsequent works, including 'A Pattern Language' and 'The Oregon Experiment.
' It emphasizes the importance of aligning building design with the natural and human environment, rejecting mass-manufactured materials, and focusing on individual attention to detail in construction.
The book is written in a unique style, often resembling prose poetry or religious scripture, and includes numerous full-page photo illustrations to support its arguments.
The book is part of the Center for Environmental Structure series and lays the foundation for Alexander's subsequent works, including 'A Pattern Language' and 'The Oregon Experiment.
' It emphasizes the importance of aligning building design with the natural and human environment, rejecting mass-manufactured materials, and focusing on individual attention to detail in construction.
The book is written in a unique style, often resembling prose poetry or religious scripture, and includes numerous full-page photo illustrations to support its arguments.
Mentioned by





















Mentioned in 12 episodes
Recommended by 



Kent Beck

486 snips
 TDD, AI agents and coding with Kent Beck 
Recommended by 



Karri Saarinen

359 snips
 Inside Linear: Building with taste, craft, and focus | Karri Saarinen (co-founder, designer, CEO) 
Recommended by ![undefined]()


Tomas Reimers

206 snips
 Stacked diffs and tooling at Meta with Tomas Reimers 
Recommended by ![undefined]()


Sachin Monga

116 snips
 Building Substack | Sachin Monga (Substack, Facebook) 
Mentioned by 



Rick Rubin

70 snips
 Rick Rubin Says Trust Your Gut, Not Your Audience 
Mentioned by ![undefined]()


Reggie James

66 snips
 25: Reggie James - Our Infinite Mirrors (Live at FWB Fest) 
Mentioned by ![undefined]()


Austin Caroe

24 snips
 From Battlefield to Pen: Military Insights, Strategy, and Creative Transformation with Austin Caroe 
Mentioned by ![undefined]()


Jeffrey Fredrick

 Form-Context Fit 
Mentioned by ![undefined]()


Eric Normand

 The Christopher Alexander Effect 
Mentioned by 



Jonathan Pageau

 402 - Universal History - Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin - The Spirits Beneath America: Fairies and Founding Fathers 
Mentioned by 



Mike Burrows

 Wholehearted Leadership in a Complex World with Mike Burrows 
Recommended by 



Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith 
Mentioned as one of the two classic books by Christopher Alexander, even for software.

 Episode 139: Fearless Change with Linda Rising 
Mentioned by ![undefined]()


Ben Callahan

 122. Creating Cohesion from Chaos: The Role of Language and System Design with Ben Callahan 
Recommended by 



John Jantsch
 Why You Should Read Business Books That Are Not About Business 



