On November 5 of this year, Christopher Alexander was awarded the Vincent Scully Prize. The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., established the Prize in 1999 to recognize exemplary practice, scholarship or criticism in architecture, historic preservation and urban design.
Alexander is noted for an unusual combination of accomplishments. He is known as the "father" of the pattern language movement in computer science. But he is better known as an influential architect.
Alexander's book (written with several other contributors), A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction has been hugely influential on architects and builders, although some architects have disapproved of the idea that the nuances of designing great buildings. Slate.com recently published a nice overview of Alexander's influence.
Although there are many wonderful books about furniture design, including many overviews, I don't think any have been as important and influential as Alexander's book has been to architecture. Alexander's books is useful for furniture designers and interior designers. His thoughts about sunlight, in particular, are crucial to creating a great room.
I'd love to see suggestions of books that might be the "Pattern Language" of furniture design.
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