ABSTRACT
ON EVOLUTIONS Life evolves and so must architecture, carrying the past into the present and future. If contemporary architecture is to faithfully express life, then it must accept the full conditions of contemporary life as unique and positive influences. Global digital unification since the late Twentieth Century has intensified both similarities and differences between people and places. As digital communication and digital tools drive a desire to unify cultural life and expression around the world, these same tools support an increased demand for expression of qualities unique to each regional community, each specific situation, and each individual person. Everything local is becoming more global and all things global are becoming intimately local. For example, global awareness of ecological stewardship and social justice has increased dramatically as common ideas, while local response to these issues has diversified in often contradictory ways. The Digital Vernacular is a mode of thinking and making that responds to the paradox of wanting to be global and local simultaneously, and offers a way of working that supports the evolutionary conception and development of architecture.
