Searched for "Salingaros"

Reductionism Undermines Both Science and Culture

By Ramray Bhat and Nikos Salingaros. Original text here. Introduction Reductionistic thinking, which is the philosophy of contracting complex systems in science and society to smaller or single causalities, is dangerous. With this contraction comes an indifference towards uncovering and appreciating complex explanations and the variability contributed by the context. In the sciences, reductionism leads to… Continue reading

From Industrial to Artisan: Modernism’s Sleight-of-Hand

By Nikos A. Salingaros. Original article here. I post this as a response to a former post about William Morris and 3D-printing, as I hope new technology combined with the scientific theory developed by Salingaros can help making Morris’ visions into reality. Figure 1. On the left, mass-produced Art Nouveau silver jewelry box by P. A…. Continue reading

CRIME!

In his famous essay of 1908, “Ornament and Crime,” the Austrian writer/architect Adolf Loos presented an argument for the minimalist industrial aesthetic that has shaped modernism and neo-modernism ever since. Surprisingly, he built this argument upon a foundation that is accepted today by almost no one; the cultural superiority of “modern man”, by which he… Continue reading

Design for a Living Planet: Settlement, Science, and the Human Future

By Michael W. Mehaffy and Nikos A. Salingaros In this brief, accessible volume, the authors — an urban philosopher and a mathematician-physicist — explain the surprising new findings from the sciences that are beginning to transform environmental design in the modern era. Authors Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros explore fractals, networks, self-organization, dynamical systems and… Continue reading

Nesting Instinct, by Vera Bradova

A brilliant piece by my alexandrian friend Vera Bradova! Her essay clearly shows the advantages of the Representative In-Group Democracy, which is proposed by the human ecologist Terje Bongard. Bongard’s model would have created the ultimate commons, but his research project MEDOSS was brutally rejected by the ignorant and anonymous referees of the Research Council of… Continue reading

Biourbanism: Rethinking the Science of Space

by Anna Bergren Miller, originally published by Shareable Biourbanist Marco Casagrande helped reshape Treasure Hill, near Taipei, into a sustainable urban community. (David Chu / Flickr) The International Society of Biourbanism (ISB) is an international network of scholars and design professionals dedicated to transforming architecture and planning practice through the application of scientific theory. The ISB’s annual summer school will take place… Continue reading

Neuroergonomics, Urban Design, Sociogenesis by Stefano Serafini

“What if, instead of breaking them, the design of cities could naturally feed social ties? There must be a way for urban planners to make cities more human-centred and livable, by focusing on how the built environment affects sociality.” ABSTRACT The International Society of Biourbanism (ISB) is organizing a Summer school in neuroergonomics and sociogenesis,… Continue reading

Tolfa in Italy: A Future Hub for the Commons in Europe?

Tolfa is a beautiful town in Italy, in the Tolfa Mountains, with 95 percent of its surrounding land owned as a commons by the people. Here’s a brand new video giving an overview of the place: Tolfa is hosting the italian-norwegian study center, Centro studi italo-norvegese di Tolfa. The town also hosts the Norwegian writer and… Continue reading

Life and Complexity in Architecture From a Thermodynamic Analogy

Nikos A. Salingaros Original article here. To appear in Physics Essays, March 1997 issue, volume 10 Number 1. Posted by permission of Physics Essays Publications Table of Contents Introduction Detail and Temperature in Architectural Design Randomness and Harmony in Architectural Design Estimating the Architectural Harmony Architectural Harmony and Pattern Recognition Raising the Harmony by Lowering… Continue reading

Book of the Day: Unified Architectural Theory

“what his book is all about: answering “the old and very disturbing question as to why architects and common people have diametrically opposed preferences for buildings.” * Book: Unified Architectural Theory. Nikos Salingaros. Introduction Nikos Salingaros: ‘The book itself arose from a lecture course on architecture theory I taught last year. Students were presented with… Continue reading

Toward Resilient Architectures 5: Agile Design

by Michael Mehaffy, Nikos A. Salingaros, originally published by MetropolisMag.com Courtesy Steve Slater As humanity progresses into an increasingly technological 21st century, we are confronted with a historic and alarming paradox. Over the last two and a half millennia, our species has made historic progress in achieving (partially but substantially) ancient ideals of democracy, human rights, justice,… Continue reading

Intelligence-Based Design: A Sustainable Foundation for Worldwide Architectural Education (publication)

by Nikos A. Salingaros & Kenneth G. Masden II – INTELLIGENCE-BASED DESIGN: A SUSTAINABLE FOUNDATION FOR  WORLDWIDE ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION (download the publication, pdf, 59 pages) Originally published in IJAR (International Journal of Architectural Research), vol. 2- Issue 1: Intelligence-Based Design: A Sustainable Foundation for Worldwide Architectural Education. Description: “Architectural theory as currently taught in modern universities throughout… Continue reading