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- Premise
- The Four Freedoms
- Why is it Important?
- What needs to be represented?
- How can it be represented?
- Can this form a system of practice?
- Why would it actually work?
- Who is behind this project?
- Where has this project reached?
- Presentations
- More questions?
Why is it important?
Indeed, why should the source code of architecture be exposed? Why can't we live with whatever quality of architecture one is producing?
- No man is an island. No knowledge is an island.
To say that the world is a village has now become a cliché. It is no longer possible for each of us to live isolated lives, taking isolated decisions. Decisions taken in one part of the world can easily affect another, remote part. Conventional systems that have served us so well in a reductionist world are no longer viable. If we have to explore the design in the mind, we need to get back to new epistemoligical approaches suited for the new, complicated world.
- The terms profitability, stakeholder have changed.
Profits were once equated with money. Today, profits are measured in how we conserve our forests, reduce pollution, reduce toxic waste, improve the quality of life, etc. Economists and capitalists no longer talk about shareholder wealth but now it is the stakeholder wealth that has become more important. And these include humane values that we must nurture for our future generations. It would require all of us to think afresh how we parameterize data so that our new systems will include all such issues.
- Sensitive dependence on initial conditions.
The field of Chaos Theory has conclusively proved that even the slightlest variation in the interpretation and/or measurement of the implication at the onset of any activity; possibly even the design of an architectural project, can sometimes set in motion a sequence of events leading to the failure of the project. Often the effects are uncontrollable. Old systems of practice did not predict this. In fact, it was assumed that nothing would really change. But that is no longer true and so we need to rethink.
- Just-in-time issues have started becoming critical.
Today, the entire world is in a flux. Boundaries of countries are forming and re-forming. Even large conglomerations such as the European Union are undergoing tectonic shifts. Hence, when taking a decision, often the correct decision can only be made at the very last moment. This has already been seen in the manufacturing sector where they have to use just-in-time methods to reduce inventory costs and improve control over options. The same approach is needed even consulting services like architectural practices.
- Communities of Practices (COP) are now required for effective rendering of service.
Today, people have to form collaborations on a project by project basis. Architectural practice is a multi-dimensional dynamic organization that literally gets setup for each project. Often, the team members are not familiar with each other and may even have to work across continents and cultures. All the more that we need to carefully work out a system that is as culturally neutral as possible.
All the above reasons point to one thing: We sorely need a system of practice using a representation system which democratically exposes the source code of the problem to all the team members. It could be contested that the 'team members' are not necessarily the world at large and so an architectural project need not always be an open-source project. That may be true. But at least the capability of making an architectural project an open source one is no longer just a remote option.
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