Systems Thinking in Architecture

The objective of systems thinking is a methodology to solve problems. It follows two basic premises: first, that reality is regarded in terms of wholes ('Gestalten'), and that the environment is an essential situation as systems interact (affect and are affected by) their environments. Why is systems thinking important for design in general and architecture in particular? Because the more research is done on disparate subjects, the clearer it becomes that, since all things are influenced by the environment in which they exist, to understand the aesthetics, functioning and relative ongoing usability of a chosen subject, one must also have an understanding of the factors which have influence in that context. The purpose of this paper is to discuss systems theory as understood and expressed in comparative architectural design history and theories of the Archigram in the West and the Metabolism Movement in Japan.

Over the ages, observations, perception and data collection has resulted in the formulation of theories. According to Bohm and Peat (2000), "Theories have become science's most important link with reality à theories determine not only the design of scientific instruments but the kinds of questions that are posed in the experiments themselvesà even raw data that they yield are fed directly into computers in the form of numbers and digitized signals."

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60s before fizzling out in the 70s ù and it was quickly forgotten or, worse, mocked ("Design Museum Show" 12). Although the Archigram never actually built anything, their legacy was a series of futuristic blueprints offering a fantastic vision of what was possible: continually evolving technologically advanced cities that were made up of mobile, interconnected buildings. They sought to transform the drab post-war British landscape into interesting blobs and alien forms. In 1961, the collective launched a magazine, "The Archigram" (from "architecture" and "telegram"), to publish its 'manifesto of dynamic ideas for new architecture'. The first issue of the magazine Archigram in May, consisted of a single page with a foldout and David Greene's polemical substitution of the "poetry of bricks" with a poetry of "countdown, orbital helmets, and discord of mechanical body transportation and leg walking". Eight issues followed, during the years from 1963 to 1970, developing themes embracing issues of expendability and consumerism at the broadest scale. The designs proposed included the "Blow Out Village", which was an inflatable canopy that could be raised to provide large areas of shelter for masses of people made homeless by disa
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Approximate Word count = 3496
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page)

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