Architectural Styles

What kind of architect are you?

Scratch that...

What style of architect are you?

We constantly draw comparisons between building architecture and I.T. architecture some comparisons are valid and some are not. I used to work for an hotel owner who trained under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. Frank Lloyd Wright developed an architectural style that he described as Organic Architecture.

Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. (see Wikipedia Organic Architecture)

The term "Organic Architecture" is explained by Frank Lloyd Wright as follows...

"So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of materials..." - Frank Lloyd Wright, An Organic Architecture, 1939

(he had an opaque writing style so you may want to re-read this quote (I did ))

Others have contributed to the definition of this style; David Pearson's Gaia Charter lays out a list of rules for organic architecture.
"Let the design:

• be inspired by nature and be sustainable, healthy, conserving, and diverse.
• unfold, like an organism, from the seed within.
• exist in the "continuous present" and "begin again and again".
• follow the flows and be flexible and adaptable.
• satisfy social, physical, and spiritual needs.
• "grow out of the site" and be unique.
• celebrate the spirit of youth, play and surprise.
• express the rhythm of music and the power of dance."

I read Wright's description and the Gaia charter rules and I believe they are for the most part (trying to convince a customer to invest in the celebration of youth, play and surprise may be a stretch) a really good fit for the style in which I.T. projects should be approached.

We seem at the moment as an industry to be talking about architecture very much in terms of the functional concern it addresses e.g. infrastructure, business, information and solutions architecture. These descriptions are perfect from the point of view of delineating roles within an organization but the notion of defining a style crosses these boundaries and sets up a value system within which to be an architect. Thinking this way prompts one to think in terms of the people and the ecosystem within which you work and away from the purely functional aspects of what you do.

 

Organic architecture resonates with me; it's something to, aspire to. Organic architecture evolves rather than imposes. Organic Architecture has a light touch on the environment. Our I.T. architectures should display these same qualities? What do you think?