Christopher Alexander is a Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.
He is the father of the Pattern Language movement in computer science, and A Pattern Language, a seminal work that was perhaps the first complete book ever written in hypertext fashion.
He has designed and built more than two hundred buildings on five continents: many of these buildings lay the groundwork of a new form of architecture, which looks far into the future, yet has roots in ancient traditions. Much of his work has been based on inventions in technology, including concrete, shell design and contracting procedures needed to attain a living architecture.
He was the founder of the Center for Environmental Structure in 1967, and remains President of that company. In 2000, he founded PatternLanguage.com, and is Chairman of the Board. He has been a consultant to city, county, and national governments on every continent, has advised corporations, government agencies and architects and planners throughout the world.
Alexander was elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996, is a fellow of the Swedish Royal Society, and has been the recipient of innumerable architectural prizes and honors, including the gold medal for research of the American Institute of Architects, awarded in 1970.
Alexander holds a Master's in Mathematics and a Bachelor's in Architecture from Cambridge University, and a PhD in Architecture from Harvard University. In 1958, he moved to the United States, and since 1963, has lived in Berkeley, California.