ORGANICA - Whither thence?

In a series of progressively developed forms, the content of the web resources served collectively under the domain name of Organica.org has been available on the Internet since 1995. The purpose of this site has always been to collate information about a progressive movement in American art and architectural design that lasted, essentially, from the late 1880s to the mid-1920s.

Organica evolved into three core components:

The oldest and presently defunct section called Progressive Architecture On-Line, although dormant for new content since 1998, remained useful for rare architectural publication images that were hard otherwise to obtain. Contributors emerged with the incorporation of photographs by Scot Zimmerman produced through a grant from the Graham Foundation, the presentation of John S. Van Bergen's work by Marty Hackl, and the extraordinary photography of Tom Shearer showing close up detail of surviving decorative work by P&E. Donors have periodically volunteered small financial gifts that were much appreciated (and necessary) to cover the $50 a month that it costs to keep Organica on-line.

This seventeen year long effort generated some success beyond the immediate web browser. Organica.org pages are cited in scholarly print publications, both journals and monographs; the site is linked on prominent architectural metapages, while remaining the number one return on Google for the "Purcell and Elmslie" search term; and the content has supported researchers, graduate students, and historians in a variety of surprising ways. Often, these people in turn contributed original documents or unknown information.

Understanding that the nature of existence is impermanence, Organica is at the cross roads of functional obsolescence. The mix of technologies underlying the site has reached a critical fragility best described as old age. On one hand, a large number of pages were designed purposely to be plain HTML -- mostly to support linking by other sites, and cascading style sheets (CSS) had not yet been invented when the site began to accumulate. The balance of database-driven sections, built through a proprietary Windows-based application called HyperFind, were paradoxically very cutting edge for their time. The mechanisms at both ends of the spectrum have antiquated. Coding languages continue their advance away from simplicity while offering more powerful potential; HTML5 and CSS3 head for current implementation. Decisions made long ago about resolution and image size no longer apply. Page formats now must display not just on larger, horizontally expanded screens at vastly increased definition, but also need to recognize the increasing demand to function within tablet and mobile device interfaces. The 32-bit software components built into the Active Server Pages backend of HyperFind are obsolete in the current 64-bit environment (never mind what may come later), and the underlying database connections are equally outmoded.

The decay of this site under these circumstances is irreversible. The proliferation of web browser programs produces unintended results from old HTML code (mostly in archaic table structures) that is sometimes inconsistent merely from being created separately decades apart. The HyperFind-based sections of Organica no longer can be made available without a comprehensive recoding of the entire structure. Aesthetically, the old, if once admirable, design does not respond well to being scaled up to 1080p on 16:9 ratio wall screen or down to an iPad or iPhone (yes, Apple has crept in as a consideration, including unintended results in Safari page rendering).

With many other unspoken considerations, the question is not if the current site is going to be extinguished, but when. I have spent 30 years in the service of this philosophical cause. I, too, am moving inexorably toward retirement from the field. Nevertheless, I am considering whether to extend the life of Organica one more time; a last trip to drydock for bon voyage. At present I am examining the amount of work it will take for a complete redevelopment of the site; whether and how to recreate databases and reproduce images at higher resolutions; and what coding languages and components might best serve and last longest in the ever-mutating cyberworld.

Meanwhile, Organica must limp along without the HyperFind driven portions. The server hardware and software that delivered those pages has departed. There used to be an astonishingly popular blog feature here called The Grindstone. The Grinds started out as an account of keystrokes and became full scale news and essay pieces. Now the premise will devolve into a report of the rehabilitation process, perhaps; though no doubt I will be tempted to share tidbits of fresh research.

No deadlines. No worries. Don't know yet what will happen.

Mark Hammons                                                                         Onward to Purcell and Elmslie - The Web Sanctuary