Architecture in Portland
Peter Lindberg (tesugen.com) liked an old article I wrote on the relationship between Information Architecture and Librarianship.
Architects have always competed with craftsmen, construction firms, and engineers; what architects offer is an original and coherent vision that inspires and entire Web site or building.
I also touch on this in the current Tekka, where I compare the Bauhaus manifesto to the IA literature.
The purpose of architecture, in the end, is to reconcile the forces of art and engineering , to make ideas and materials support each other, even when they are naturally inclined to tear each other apart. In the literature of Information Architecture, art (or The Designer) is often the opponent, the irrational follower of coolness and novelty that must be disciplined and tamed.
I'll be saying more about this on Sunday at the Information Architecture Summit. I'm going to be drawing connections to IA practice from the Bauhaus, from Louis Sullivan (the first great skyscraper architect), from fascist architecture in the 20th century. The talk may be followed by a conclave of angry villagers wielding pitchforks and wireframes. If you're in Portland, drop by.