Principled Architecture

This book aims to describe some high-level principles that can be used to develop sustainable software and community.

A Tale of Two Houses {#a-tale-of-two-houses}

Imagine building a house. There are a lot of decisions and steps along the way. We can use guidelines, or principles, to help us make decisions and work effectively. Lets consider two imaginary houses, where the developers apply differing principles.

Ticky-Tacky House

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky tacky

-- Malvina Reynolds

The first house, we'll call the Ticky Tacky House. The developer of the Ticky Tacky House wants first and foremost to build cheaply, so they can build as many houses as possible. They source cheap materials, labor, and a large tract of land sold at auciton. The Ticky Tacky House developer uses a generic template to build the house, nearly identical to other houses in the neigborhood. Little thought is given to energy efficiency and consumption for the occupants of the house.The Ticky Tacky House is build to last around 30-40 years before significant repairs are needed, or otherwise the house should be demolished and built anew.

Situated House

“We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

Aldo Leopold

Image by SuSanA Secretariat [CC BY 2.0]

We will call the second house the Situated House. The Situated House developer is personally invested in it's design, as they, or their family and friends, intend to live in the house. As such, the Situated House developer wants to use quality, regionally sourced materials and skilled workers for construction. The Situated House is considered as a 'guest' to the land on which it is developed, so care is taken not to cause undue disruption to the biome. The Situated House development proceeds with care, and the form reflects both the local landscape and functionality needed by the occupants. Since resources, such as materials, energy, and time, are scarce, the Situated House is built to consume as few resources as possible. This includes considerations for efficiency and longevitiy, so the house is sustainable throughout its lifespan.