ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces general systems theory (GST) as a way to look at wholes as relations between different parts of an interconnected system such as a building or a construction process. By downplaying the individual characteristics of each of the elements in a system, system models represent an alternative and a supplementary way of handling complexity. The basic assumption of GST is that complex systems present general characteristics that are relatively independent of the characteristics of their individual parts. This capacity of abstraction could make system models a useful intermediary tool between architectural concept and realisation that could be applied already from early design phases. The examples and concepts drawn from the general systems theory and examples of its application in architectural design presented in the chapter point in several ways towards the adequacy of looking simultaneously at a building and the construction of it as one coherent system.
