This paper draws an overall picture of the new scientific field that can be defined as having its roots in the lifework of Christopher Alexander. It is a large field, spanning many disciplines and containing many profound concepts. A map might be useful but we currently have none. An intermediate step towards a map is to increase our distance from the field by stepping back and describing its overallstructures. Such a bird’s eye view should be seen as a simplified construction. Therefore, one canexpect controversial discussions about what it has to say, especially at the upcoming PURPLSOC workshop and conference. My hope is that these discussions will contribute to the development of the scientific field, even if there should be no general agreement on some of the issues at the end of the conference.