A century ago, Troy, New York, was a thriving industrial capital. Today many of its residents live in poverty. Studio 360’s Lu Olkowski went to Troy with poet Susan B.A. Somers-Willet and photographer Brenda Ann Kenneally to document some of Troy’s stories. They spent a lot of time with a single mother, Billie Jean Hill.
His groundbreaking book A Pattern Language urged architects consider emotional and spiritual ideas when designing. It was the beginning of an elaborate, nuts-and-bolts philosophical system. Alexander failed to revolutionize the practice of architecture, but he inspired a movement in computer programming that affects how all of us use the Web. Studio 360’s Lu Olkowski talked to the architect and some of his disciples, including “wiki” inventor Ward Cunningham.