What is an Architecture?

Architecture is………

• A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures.
• The art and science of designing and erecting buildings and other physical structures.
• The style and method of design and construction of buildings and other physical structures.
• The practice of the architect, where architecture means the offering or rendering of professional services in connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments.
• The design activity of the architect, from the macro-level (urban design, landscape architecture) to the micro-level (construction details and furniture).
• The term “architecture” has been adopted to describe the activity of designing any kind of system, and is commonly used in describing information technology

ISO/IEC 42010:2007 defines “architecture” as:

“The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution.”

TOGAF,  defines “architecture” as :

• A formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at component level to guide its implementation
• The structure of components, their inter-relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time