Open Source Architecture
Encyclopedia
Open-source architecture (OSArc) is an emerging paradigm describing new procedures for the design, construction and operation of buildings, infrastructure
and spaces. Drawing from references as diverse as open-source culture, avant-garde
architectural theory
, science fiction
, language theory, and others, it describes an inclusive approach to spatial design
, a collaborative use of design software and a transparent operation throughout the course of a building and city's life-cycle
.
Cooking is often hailed as an early form of open-source; vernacular architecture
– producing recipes for everyday buildings – is another form of early lo-fi open-source culture, openly sharing and optimising technologies for building. A contemporary form of open-source vernacular is the Open Architecture Network
launched by Architecture for Humanity
, which replaces traditional copyright restrictions with Creative Commons licensing
and allows open access to blueprints. Wider OSAarc relies on a digital commons
and the shared spaces of the World Wide Web
to enable instantaneous collaboration beyond more established regimes of competition and profit. Traditional architectural tools like drawings and plans are supplemented and increasingly replaced by interactive software applications using relational data and parametric connectivity
.
OSArc is not only involved with production; reception to a given project – critical, public, client, peer-related – can often form part of the project itself, creating a sort of feedback loop that can ground – or unmoor – a project's intention and ultimately becomes part of it. OSArc supersedes architectures of static geometrical form with the introduction of dynamic and participatory processes, networks, and systems. Its proponents see it as distinguished by code over mass, relationships over compositions, networks over structures, adaptation over stasis, life over plans. Its purpose is to transform architecture
from a top-down immutable delivery mechanism to a transparent, inclusive, and op–down and bottom–up design|bottom–up ecological system – even if it still includes top–down mechanisms.
Open-source architecture revolutionises every step of the traditional building process , from brief-building to demolition, programming to adaptive re-use, including the following:
strategies like Sponsume
and Kickstarter
, offer new modes of project initiation and development, destabilising the traditionally feudal hierarchy of client/architect/occupant. Financing of private projects increasingly moves to the public domain, offering mass rather than singular ownership, whereas funding of public projects can be derived from more flexible, responsive frameworks than simple levies or taxation. OSArc should have particular appeal for builders entirely outside the mainstream economy, such as squatters, refugees and the military.
Traditional developments require engagement programmes in which the 'community' is 'consulted' with respect to incoming developments, often with blunt tools such as focus groups, which often result in lack of representation and input, or at worst can result in NIMBYism. With crowd-funded models, forms of engagement are built into the process, enabling a kind of emergent urbanism, in which use of space is optimised on terms set by its users. This reclamation of people's power can be seen as a soft, spatial version of Hacktivism
. OSArc is likely to suffer some of the organizational drawbacks of open-source software
, such as forking of projects, abandoned projects, the emergence of cliques and incompatibility with the installed base of buildings. Organized campaigns of fear, uncertainty and doubt are probable.
, GenerativeComponents
, Revit
and Digital Project
enable new user groups to interact with, navigate and modify the virtual designs, and to test and experience arrays of options at unprecedented low cost – recognizing laypeople as design decision making agents rather than just consumers. Open-source codes and scripts enable design communities to share and compare information and to collectively optimise production through modular components, accelerating the historical accumulation of shared knowledge. BIM
(Building Information Modelling) and related collaboration tools and practices enable cross-disciplinary co-location of design information and integration of a range of platforms and timescales. Rapid prototyping
and other 3D printing
technologies enable instant production of physical artefacts, both representational and functional, even at an architectural scale, to an ever-wider audience.
There are severe criticisms of the use of currently popular design software, however, because of the impossibility of future residents and users to access them. P2P Urbanism promotes low-tech design solutions that collect traditionally-derived design knowledge and makes it available on an open-source web platform. This focus instead promotes traditional local materials and building techniques in vernacular architecture
and is entirely distinct from that of the virtual design groups focusing upon the extremely expensive parametric design. The proponents of P2P Urbanism also philosophically oppose what they see as "fashionable" design approaches because of a link to unsustainable products, strong commercial interests, and total control by only a few participants -- which is the opposite of opening up design to the whole population. The point of open-source design should be to facilitate users designing and building their own dwellings, not to continue promoting a design elite that includes current starchitects.
", evolving ever closer towards Bruce Sterling
's vision of a world of Spimes. Materials communicate their position and state during fabrication and construction, aiding positioning, fixing and verification, and continue to communicate with distributed databases for the extent of their lifetime.
put it. This aspect is enhanced by today’s fully sentient networked spaces, constantly communicating their various properties, states and attributes – often through decentralised and devolved systems. Crucial system feedback is supplied by a wide range of users and occupants, often either by miniature electronic devices or mobile phones – crowdsourcing
(like crowd-funding) large volumes of small data feeds to provide accurate and expansive real-time information. Personalisation replaces standardisation as spaces 'intelligently' recognise and respond to individual occupants. Representations of spaces become as vital after construction as they are before; real-time monitoring
, feedback and ambient display become integral elements to the ongoing life of spaces and objects. Maintenance and operations become extended inseparable phases of the construction process; a building is never "complete" in OSArc's world of growth and change.
If tomorrow’s buildings and cities will be like "computers to live in" (apologies to Le Corbusier
) OSArch provides an open, collaborative framework for writing their operating software.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
and spaces. Drawing from references as diverse as open-source culture, avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
architectural theory
Architectural theory
Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, or most importantly writing about architecture. Architectural theory is taught in most architecture schools and is practiced by the world's leading architects. Some forms that architecture theory takes are the lecture or dialogue, the...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, language theory, and others, it describes an inclusive approach to spatial design
Spatial design
Spatial design is a relatively new discipline that crosses the boundaries of traditional design disciplines such as architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and landscape design as well as public art within the Public Realm....
, a collaborative use of design software and a transparent operation throughout the course of a building and city's life-cycle
Building life cycle
Building life cycle refers to the view of a building over the course of its entire life - in other words, viewing it not just as an operational building, but also taking into account the design, installation, commissioning, operation and decommissioning phases...
.
Cooking is often hailed as an early form of open-source; vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
– producing recipes for everyday buildings – is another form of early lo-fi open-source culture, openly sharing and optimising technologies for building. A contemporary form of open-source vernacular is the Open Architecture Network
Open Architecture Network
Open Architecture Network is a free online, open source community dedicated to improving global living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. It was developed by Architecture for Humanity after one of its founders, Cameron Sinclair, won the 2006 TED Prize from the Technology...
launched by Architecture for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity is a charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brings professional design services to communities in need...
, which replaces traditional copyright restrictions with Creative Commons licensing
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
and allows open access to blueprints. Wider OSAarc relies on a digital commons
Digital commons
Digital Commons is a hosted repository platform. This hosted service is licensed by the Berkeley Electronic Press. It is used by associations, consortia, universities and colleges to preserve and showcase their scholarly output.- History :...
and the shared spaces of the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
to enable instantaneous collaboration beyond more established regimes of competition and profit. Traditional architectural tools like drawings and plans are supplemented and increasingly replaced by interactive software applications using relational data and parametric connectivity
Parametricity
Parametricity is a result in the theory of programming languages in computer science. The principle of parametricity dictates that functions with similar types have similar properties.- Theory of parametricity :...
.
OSArc is not only involved with production; reception to a given project – critical, public, client, peer-related – can often form part of the project itself, creating a sort of feedback loop that can ground – or unmoor – a project's intention and ultimately becomes part of it. OSArc supersedes architectures of static geometrical form with the introduction of dynamic and participatory processes, networks, and systems. Its proponents see it as distinguished by code over mass, relationships over compositions, networks over structures, adaptation over stasis, life over plans. Its purpose is to transform architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
from a top-down immutable delivery mechanism to a transparent, inclusive, and op–down and bottom–up design|bottom–up ecological system – even if it still includes top–down mechanisms.
Open-source architecture revolutionises every step of the traditional building process , from brief-building to demolition, programming to adaptive re-use, including the following:
Funding
New economic models, exemplified by incremental microdonations and crowd-fundingCrowd funding
Crowd funding describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations...
strategies like Sponsume
Sponsume
Sponsume is an online crowd funding platform founded by Gregory Vincent in 2010. Its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom. Creative individuals and organisations use Sponsume to raise awareness and funds for their projects...
and Kickstarter
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.-Model:...
, offer new modes of project initiation and development, destabilising the traditionally feudal hierarchy of client/architect/occupant. Financing of private projects increasingly moves to the public domain, offering mass rather than singular ownership, whereas funding of public projects can be derived from more flexible, responsive frameworks than simple levies or taxation. OSArc should have particular appeal for builders entirely outside the mainstream economy, such as squatters, refugees and the military.
Engagement
OSArc relies upon amateurs as much as experienced professionals, the genius of the mass as much as that of the individual, eroding the binary distinction between author and audience. Like social software, it recognises the core role of multiple users at every stage of the propose – whether as clients or communities, designers or occupants; at its best, it harnesses powerful network effects to scale systems effectively. It is typically democratic, enshrining principles of open access and participation, though political variations range from stealth authoritarianism to communitarian consensualism.Traditional developments require engagement programmes in which the 'community' is 'consulted' with respect to incoming developments, often with blunt tools such as focus groups, which often result in lack of representation and input, or at worst can result in NIMBYism. With crowd-funded models, forms of engagement are built into the process, enabling a kind of emergent urbanism, in which use of space is optimised on terms set by its users. This reclamation of people's power can be seen as a soft, spatial version of Hacktivism
Hacktivism
Hacktivism is the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends. The term was first coined in 1994 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective named Omega...
. OSArc is likely to suffer some of the organizational drawbacks of open-source software
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
, such as forking of projects, abandoned projects, the emergence of cliques and incompatibility with the installed base of buildings. Organized campaigns of fear, uncertainty and doubt are probable.
Standards
An important aspect of OSArc is the emergence of standards of collaboration. The establishment of common, open, modular standards (such as the grid proposed by the OpenStructures project) addresses the problem of hardware compatibility and the interface between components, allowing collaborative efforts across networks in which everyone designs for everyone. The establishment of universal standards also encourages the growth of networks of non-monetary exchange (knowledge, parts, components, ideas) and remote collaboration.Design
Mass customisation replaces standardisation as algorithms enable the generation of related but differentiated species of design objects. Parametric design tools like GrasshopperGrasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
, GenerativeComponents
GenerativeComponents
GenerativeComponents is parametric CAD software developed by Bentley Systems, was first introduced in 2003, became increasingly used in practice by early 2005, and was commercially released in November 2007. GenerativeComponents has a strong traditional base of users in academia and at...
, Revit
Revit
Autodesk Revit Architecture often referred to as simply Revit is a Building Information Modeling software developed by Autodesk. It allows the user to design with both parametric 3D modeling and 2D drafting elements...
and Digital Project
Digital Project
Digital Project is a computer-aided design software application based on CATIA V5 and developed by Gehry Technologies, a technology company owned by the architect Frank Gehry....
enable new user groups to interact with, navigate and modify the virtual designs, and to test and experience arrays of options at unprecedented low cost – recognizing laypeople as design decision making agents rather than just consumers. Open-source codes and scripts enable design communities to share and compare information and to collectively optimise production through modular components, accelerating the historical accumulation of shared knowledge. BIM
Building Information Modeling
Building information modeling is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle.BIM involves representing a design as objects – vague and undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented , that carry their geometry, relations and attributes...
(Building Information Modelling) and related collaboration tools and practices enable cross-disciplinary co-location of design information and integration of a range of platforms and timescales. Rapid prototyping
Rapid prototyping
Rapid prototyping is the automatic construction of physical objects using additive manufacturing technology. The first techniques for rapid prototyping became available in the late 1980s and were used to produce models and prototype parts. Today, they are used for a much wider range of applications...
and other 3D printing
3D printing
3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable, and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. However, the term 3D printing is...
technologies enable instant production of physical artefacts, both representational and functional, even at an architectural scale, to an ever-wider audience.
There are severe criticisms of the use of currently popular design software, however, because of the impossibility of future residents and users to access them. P2P Urbanism promotes low-tech design solutions that collect traditionally-derived design knowledge and makes it available on an open-source web platform. This focus instead promotes traditional local materials and building techniques in vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
and is entirely distinct from that of the virtual design groups focusing upon the extremely expensive parametric design. The proponents of P2P Urbanism also philosophically oppose what they see as "fashionable" design approaches because of a link to unsustainable products, strong commercial interests, and total control by only a few participants -- which is the opposite of opening up design to the whole population. The point of open-source design should be to facilitate users designing and building their own dwellings, not to continue promoting a design elite that includes current starchitects.
Construction
The burgeoning open-source hardware movement enables sharing of and collaboration on the hardware involved in architecting kinetic or smart environments that tightly integrate software, hardware, and mechanisms. Through these various tools, informed by sensor data, design becomes an ongoing, evolutionary process, as opposed to the one-off, disjointed fire-and-forget methodology of traditional architecture. This is an acknowledgement of the fact that design has always been an unending process, as well as a collaboration between users and designers. Operating systems for the design, construction and occupancy phases become possible, created as open platforms stimulating a rich ecosystem of 'apps'. Various practices jostle to become the Linux, Facebook or iTunes of architectural software, engaging in 'platform plays' at different scales rather than delivery of plans and sections. Embedded sensing and computing increasingly mesh all materials within the larger "Internet of thingsInternet of Things
The Internet of Things refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an Internet-like structure. The term Internet of Things was first used by Kevin Ashton in 1999. The concept of the Internet of Things first became popular through the Auto-ID Center and related...
", evolving ever closer towards Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
's vision of a world of Spimes. Materials communicate their position and state during fabrication and construction, aiding positioning, fixing and verification, and continue to communicate with distributed databases for the extent of their lifetime.
Occupancy
Today’s OSArc enables inhabitants to control and shape their personal environment – “to Inhabit is to Design”, as John HabrakenN. John Habraken
N. John Habraken is a Dutch architect, educator, and theorist. His major contributions are in the field of mass housing and the integration of users and residents into the design process.-Biography:...
put it. This aspect is enhanced by today’s fully sentient networked spaces, constantly communicating their various properties, states and attributes – often through decentralised and devolved systems. Crucial system feedback is supplied by a wide range of users and occupants, often either by miniature electronic devices or mobile phones – crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
(like crowd-funding) large volumes of small data feeds to provide accurate and expansive real-time information. Personalisation replaces standardisation as spaces 'intelligently' recognise and respond to individual occupants. Representations of spaces become as vital after construction as they are before; real-time monitoring
Real-time data
Real-time data denotes information that is delivered immediately after collection. There is no delay in the timeliness of the information provided. Real-time data is often used for navigation or tracking....
, feedback and ambient display become integral elements to the ongoing life of spaces and objects. Maintenance and operations become extended inseparable phases of the construction process; a building is never "complete" in OSArc's world of growth and change.
If tomorrow’s buildings and cities will be like "computers to live in" (apologies to Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
) OSArch provides an open, collaborative framework for writing their operating software.
See also
- Open DesignOpen designOpen design is the development of physical products, machines and systems through use of publicly shared design information. The process is generally facilitated by the Internet and often performed without monetary compensation...
- Commons-based peer productionCommons-based peer productionCommons-based peer production is a term coined by Harvard Law School professor Yochai Benkler to describe a new model of socio-economic production in which the creative energy of large numbers of people is coordinated into large, meaningful projects mostly without traditional hierarchical...
- Open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
- Knowledge commonsKnowledge commonsThe knowledge commons encompass immaterial and collectively owned goods in the information age. Normatively loaded, it promotes free share of knowledge...
- Open-source appropriate technology
- Open-source softwareOpen-source softwareOpen-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
- Open-source hardware – open-source computer and electronic hardware
- Open Standards