Architecture – A Definition I Like

Posted by Rich Crowley in Architecture, Design, IT Architecture

My father was a draftsman by trade. His old school skills were beautiful to behold. “Lettering” was the name given to the printing of labels on drawings done on those old drafting boards with sliding arms that allowed lines to be drawn anywhere. He could letter clearer than a typewriter could type.

He took his trade to the classroom in later years and I would often practice drawing stuff out of books that he provided – funny shapes, blocks, etc. It was this stuff that first stoked the fires in me about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Since my father also designed his own cottage (a classic by any definition) and his own house, (you can never beat a colonial home for style and comfort), I grew up surrounded by building plans and predictably, decided architecture was for me.

I don’t really remember where this dream left the road but I still have a passion for beautiful buildings and elegant design in general. I’d also like to think that I didn’t really abandon architecture completely since so much of the IT work I’ve been involved with over the years has an architectural component.

But what is architecture? I believe there is a fine line between design and architecture but the disciplines are different. I did some reading recently on the topic and came across a definition I really like. Architecture is about those things that are difficult, or expensive to change, the later on in the build cycle you are, for whatever it is you are building (or words to that effect). This was from the book Microsoft .Net: Architecting Applications for the Enterprise.

Another tidbit from this book that resonated with me – the best architects are really just very experienced, talented developers. They still code and stay very close to the actual technologies being implemented. I couldn’t agree more.

If you’re looking for a couple of good reads that are related to architecture, check out House by Tracey Kidder. If you ever build a custom home, read this first. Also by Kidder, and one of my favourite business / computing / entrepreneur books of all time is The Soul of a New Machine.