Davis, Howard;
Griffiths, Sam;
(2022)
Bill Hillier, Christopher Alexander and the representation of urban complexity: their concepts of ‘pervasive centrality’ and ‘field of centres’ brought into dialogue.
In: de Koning, Remco, (ed.)
Proceedings of the 13th International Space Syntax Symposium.
(pp. pp. 1-19).
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL)
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Abstract
This paper draws attention to what we propose as a shared sensibility towards the life of cities in the work of Christopher Alexander and Bill Hillier. Specifically, it reflects on some similarities in their conceptions of urban centrality, while also acknowledging their very different intellectual trajectories. A consideration is how both men grounded their theoretical and analytical insights in their personal experience of cities. Alexander’s emphasis on detailed multimodal observation and awareness as a source of design understanding is writ large throughout his many publications. The same could hardly be said of Hillier who consistently prioritized the configurational modelling of urban form. Yet those familiar with Hillier’s teaching and design practice know how his analytical understanding drew on a deep knowledge of cities worldwide. For Hillier space syntax models were not simply outputs of a computational process but a stage in his ongoing dialogue with real places. Direct points of contact between Alexander and Hillier are few. Hillier’s engagement with Alexander in Space is the Machine (1996) takes issue with the inductive epistemology in Notes on the Synthesis of Form (1964), while Hillier (2009) refers approvingly to Alexander’s critique of the modernist city in ‘A city is not a tree’ (1965). Conversely, in The Nature of Order, Alexander makes brief but positive reference to Hillier and Hanson’s analysis of ‘G’ in The Social Logic of Space (1984). This paper concludes by explaining why the connection of Alexander and Hillier, two of the great urban thinkers of last half-century, is worth developing further.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Bill Hillier, Christopher Alexander and the representation of urban complexity: their concepts of ‘pervasive centrality’ and ‘field of centres’ brought into dialogue |
| Event: | The 13th International Space Syntax Symposium |
| Location: | Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL). |
| Dates: | 20th-24th June 2022 |
| ISBN-13: | 978-82-93677-67-3 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.hvl.no/en/research/conference/13sss/pr... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Bill Hillier, Christopher Alexander, urban centrality, ervasive centrality, field of centres |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10148515 |
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