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

Michael W. Mehaffy; Nikos A. Salingaros

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0989346951 ISBN 13: 9780989346955

Publisher: Sustasis Foundation, 2015

Synopsis

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. Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros explore fractals, networks, self-organization, dynamical systems and other revolutionary ideas, describing them to non-science readers in a direct and engaging way. The book also examines fascinating new topics of design, including Agile, Wiki, Design Patterns and other "open-source" approaches from the software world. The authors conclude that a profound transformation is under way in modern design -- and today's students and practitioners will need to be aware of its implications for our future.

About this title

From the Author

The reader finds collected here a series of essays on twenty related topics that we wrote to introduce designers and design students to new developments in the sciences underlying modern design, with a focus on the design of human settlement. These topics outline, in a brief and introductory way, the early stages of a remarkable transformation in the science and art of design. The core conclusion of the findings reported in this book is revolutionary: sustainability depends upon the geometry of design.

About the Author

Michael Mehaffy is an urbanist and design theorist, and a periodic visiting professor or adjunct in five graduate universities in four countries and three disciplines (architecture, urban planning and philosophy). He has been a close associate of the architect and software pioneer Christopher Alexander, and a Research Associate with the Center for Environmental Structure, Alexander's research center founded in 1967. He is currently executive director of Portland, Oregon based Sustasis Foundation, and editor of Sustasis Press.
 
Nikos A. Salingaros is a mathematician and polymath known for his work on urban theory, architectural theory, complexity theory, and design philosophy. He has been a close collaborator of the architect and computer software pioneer Christopher Alexander. He is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has been on the Architecture faculties of universities in Italy, Mexico, and The Netherlands.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sustasis Foundation
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0989346951
• ISBN 13: 9780989346955
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 236