Organic Design

Ao investigar uma outra coisa que por acaso não tinha nada a ver com teorias do design, depareime com o tópico "organic design", que pelo nome em si dava para perceber o que era, contudo decidi aprofundar o tópico. Eis o que descobri sobre o que é realmente "organic design":

It needs:

• "Good design”: design which respects the users. It’s the basic concept of form follows function, but with a few extra twists.
• The influence of nature. Nature is governed by the interaction of forces, and organic design recognizes the forces that arise from the needs of the users and in turn shape the design.
• The process of evolution. There’s no need for each design to be completely new. Designs improve upon what has gone before, until they are refined to the point where those designs become timeless.
• An awareness of the finished product as a unified whole, where every aspect of the design contributes to the final outcome.

The term organic design was popularised by master architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who argued that form and function were one. He did not design according to style. He designed according to function and allowed the style to emerge. He was never a slave to tradition, never doing something simply because it had “always” been mindlessly done that way.

Organic design has always been about sensitivity. Subsequent to Wright, the organic design movement has become sensitive to ecological issues. Modern organic design takes into account energy conservation, uses natural materials, emphasizes renewable resources and recycling, supports local economies and results in healthy buildings.

Organic design is not a monolithic movement; it’s diverse and sometimes perverse. It’s frequently controversial and certainly unusual. It’s the antithesis of the right-angled box designs which dominate modern building.

An early exponent of organic design was German philosopher Rudolf Steiner. His buildings tended to be free of sharp elements and featured muted but harmonious natural finishes. 

The term organic design is most commonly applied to architecture, but it is also found in other aspects of design: art, furniture, industry and even typography.