I know many of you cohousers out there are ardent Christopher Alexander fans.  In my visits to 20-something cohousing communities, at least a quarter mentioned his name or one of his design principles in talking about how their community or common house was designed.  For anyone looking for a quite academic and lofty (one might even say, esoteric) discussion of Alexander, you perhaps might enjoy this piece written by an architecture student wrestling with some of Alexander’s ideas.   Don’t say I didn’t warn you on the esoteric stuff, though!  :)