Design Teams: More is More

A camel is a horse designed by a committee, they say. Large design teams stand for compromises and mediocre results. Common wisdom says we’d better leave it to a small team of professionals.

Even though, there are examples that prove different. Mass collaborative projects like software applications Linux and Apache are of superior quality and run a great deal of the Internet today. And Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia, which is maintained by volunteers, is said to be as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Though these kinds of projects are usually associated with democracy, the real secret to their success is relentless control. New features are only added to the kernel of Linux if its founder, Linus Torvalds, agrees. In fact, his nickname is The Benevolent Dictator of Planet Linux. And Wikipedia has a sophisticated system of peer review in place.

These projects could be successful as they took place on the Internet, where space and time and money play virtually no role. Architecture however is a different story. True, cities are in itself giant collaborative projects, and the community has its say in new developments. But public consultation usually just happens at the end of the design process, and any influence is usually limited to Yay or Nay. There is no active participation, and collective intelligence is being neglected.

That is why governments, architects and planners have to start using the Internet. A mentality change will be necessary: they will have to let go control over the design, and gain control over the process instead. This will be particularly hard for the architects, but they will find out that the design gets better. We will be able to build better cities and better communities, and improve our lives.

Just don’t forget the key principle.

Relentless control.

Maurits, the author, is a Dutch architect currently working and living in the UK. As he has a daytime job and a family, most work on this blog is being done at night. More info here.