uncritically on models that he argues lead automatically to non-adaptivity and unsustainability. Anthropologists K. Sorvig and J. Quillien commented: “The spirit of Jacob Bronowski permeates the work of Nikos Salingaros. "A Theory of Architecture" takes us directly to the heart of difficult questions. Salingaros explores ways to clarify and formalize the understanding of aesthetic forms in the built environment, using mathematics, thermodynamics, Darwinism, complexity theory and cognitive sciences. He postulates that cross-cultural universals derived from scaling rules in nature govern human appreciation of architecture.” Architect and educator Ashraf Salama observed: “This book is of great value to architectural educators. It helps them correct some of the misconceptions inherited in architectural education … Knowledge is usually presented to students in a retrospective way where abstract and symbolic generalizations used to describe research results do not convey the feel of the behavior of the phenomena they describe; the late Donald Schön emphasized this view in 1988 … Rather than giving students ready-made interpretations about the work of star architects, this book offers a deeper insight into the understanding of the true essence of architecture...” Individual chapters have been translated into several languages. Primary topics Darwinian processes Designs evolve in two ways: in the architect's mind towards a final conception, and by variants of a building typology being built on the ground. A Darwinian process plays a significant role in both design and in the evolution (or persistence) of architectural typologies. Salingaros creates a framework where these mechanisms determine how designs evolve, and outlines a detailed model. The key concern is understanding the criteria for selection among competing variants: is selection driven by adaptation to human needs, or is it based upon matching to arbitrary images; what type of architecture results from each? Salingaros builds on the work of Richard Dawkins, especially the meme model, to explain how architectural typologies and design elements are transmitted in society; an innovative application, but one that underlies a trenchant criticism of modernist, post-modernist, and deconstructivist architectural styles. Salingaros claims they are not really adaptive: he argues that they transmit in society in the manner of an advertising jingle, and not because of intrinsic worthwhile qualities. Supporting arguments are explored in this book. Complexity Salingaros uses a model of organized complexity to estimate the degree of “life” in a building, a quantity that measures the organization of visual information. His model is based on an analogy with