The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and Control in the Built Environment

Habraken, N. J.; Teicher, Jonathan

ISBN 10: 0262581957 / ISBN 13: 9780262581950

Published by The MIT Press (edition Revised), 2000

The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way. Seller Inventory # 0262581957-7-1

Synopsis:

The influential Dutch architect's long-awaited manifesto on the everyday environment as the first and best ground for establishing the significance and coherence of architecture.

According to N. J. Habraken, intimate and unceasing interaction between people and the forms they inhabit uniquely defines built environment. The Structure of the Ordinary, the culmination of decades of environmental observation and design research, is a recognition and analysis of everyday environment as the wellspring of urban design and formal architecture. The author's central argument is that built environment is universally organized by the Orders of Form, Place, and Understanding. These three fundamental, interwoven principles correspond roughly to physical, biological, and social domains.

Historically, "ordinary" environment was the background against which architects built the "extraordinary." Drawing upon extensive examples from archaeological and contemporary sites worldwide, the author illustrates profound recent shifts in the structure of everyday environment. One effect of these transformations, Habraken argues, has been the loss of implicit common understanding that previously enabled architects to formally enhance and innovate while still maintaining environmental coherence. Consequently, architects must now undertake a study of the ordinary as the fertile common ground in which form- and place-making are rooted. In focusing on built environment as an autonomous entity distinct from the societies and natural environments that jointly create it, this book lays the foundation for a new dialogue on methodology and pedagogy, in support of a more informed approach to professional intervention.

About the Author: N. J. Habraken is Professor, Emeritus, of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and ...
Publisher: The MIT Press (edition Revised)
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Fair
Edition: Revised.