Beyond Bohm 2025: The Quality without a Name

With the publication in 1977 of A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander initiated a revolution in how to think about built and inhabited spaces. His emphasis on “the quality without a name” – a mysterious but graspable quality that touches the human soul – was radical and provocative. This weekend we will explore various approaches to that quality – the relation of space and form; the Chinese “heaven-earth-human” principle; Japanese flower arranging (ikebana); the aesthetics of landscape architecture; and traditional architectural forms. We will also give detailed attention to Alexander’s magnum opus on wholeness, The Nature of Order, and his remarkable work delineating the spiritual geometry and color of early Turkish carpets, A Foreshadowing of 21^st Century Art.

Some Pari patrons may know that Alexander was an early friend of the Pari Center. He visited there around 2000 or 2001, sharing insights with David Peat and Maureen Doolan regarding the architecture and renovations of the village itself. There was also a multi-day meeting between Alexander and David Bohm in 1986, in which the two discussed their various perspectives on wholeness.

This weekend will provide the option for those attending to experiment directly with certain basic approaches to the “quality without a name.” This will include activities that can be done between the first day and second day, which can then be shared with the group on the second day. As in our first weekend, we are aiming to broaden the manner in which the Pari community can engage with the Beyond Bohm programs.

Possible reading (helpful, not required):

• The Luminous Ground (vol. 4 of The Nature of Order), Christopher Alexander (this is the culmination of Alexander’s lifework, unafraid to address the metaphysical, religious, and mystical import of his oeuvre)
• https://archive.org/details/natureoforderess0000alex
• A Foreshadowing of 21^st Century Art, Christopher Alexander (groundbreaking assessment of the underlying nature of early Turkish carpets, lavishly illustrated)
• https://archive.org/details/AForeshadowingOf21stCenturyArt/page/n55/mode/2up
• A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander (detailed applications of Alexander’s early work)
• The Timeless Way of Building, Christopher Alexander (provides the underlying theory behind Alexander’s work, emphasizing “the quality without a name”)

(Each of these books is best appreciated in physical paper, but as some of them are quite expensive, links to high-quality digital versions are provided).

Aja Bulla Zamastil is an architectural and landscape architectural designer, public artist, and educator. As a Lecturer in the Landscape Architecture and Urbanism graduate program at the University of Southern California, she leads design studios that address adapting our constructed world to shifting natural and socio-cultural forces. As the Creative Director at Watershed Progressive, she is responsible for managing and designing landscape projects and educational programs throughout California. These projects explore how we can transform monolithic systems into resilient ecological cycles that re-enchant everyday experience and promote alternative cultural practices.

Aja is a contributor to Holoflux: Codex (Pari Publishing 2022), and is a founding member of the Pari Holoflux experiments. As part of her undergraduate work at UC Berkeley, Aja studied under senior students of Christopher Alexander, particularly regarding The Nature of Order.

Lee Nichol is Director of Bohmian Studies at the Pari Center. As a freelance writer and editor his latest works are Entering Bohm’s Holoflux and Holoflux: Codex (both from Pari Publishing). He was a long-time friend and collaborator of David Bohm, and is editor of Bohm’s On Dialogue, The Essential David Bohm, and On Creativity.

Lee has been on the faculty of the Tibetan Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, California, and Denver University in Denver, Colorado. He sits on the Advisory Committee of the Pari Center, the Advisory Council of the Indigenous Education Institute, and is a member of the Founding Circle of the Native American Academy. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife Eva Casey.