Last month, the architect and author Christopher Alexander received the Vincent Scully Prize, given annually by the National Building Museum “to recognize exemplary practice, scholarship or criticism in architecture, historic preservation and urban design.” For the last 45 years, Alexander has been a controversial figure on the architectural scene, both revered and reviled; yet in an period burdened by flocks of architectural theorists, I would guess that he is one of very few whose work will endure.

If Alexander often irritates his critics, it is in part because he is so obviously gifted.

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Alexander argued that the standardized, mass-produced way in which buildings are designed and built today is wrongheaded, and to demonstrate an alternative he started to build himself—houses in Mexico, institutional buildings in Northern California, eventually an entire university campus in Japan —to date more than 200 projects. Alexander often uses decorative patterns derived from his intimate familiarity with Oriental carpets, which gives his buildings a handmade quality. While quite beautiful, his built work has received less attention than his books. Traditional in appearance—some of it reminds me of the Swedish painter/builder Carl Larsson —it is not witty enough for Postmodernists, not historic enough for die-hard Classicists, and too traditional for the architectural mainstream.