International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

In his paper on the possibility of a general theory of growth, K. BOULDING underlines the necessary and unavoidable relation between growth and structuration.

He shows how the necessity to maintain a sufficient input of resources, as well as their distribution in a growing system implies also a growing differentiation of its structures and, for each functional structure, the need to subdivide (1956, p.71).

He uses as an example school buildings: "A one-room schoolhouse, like the bacterium, can afford to be roughly globular and can still maintain effective contact with its environment" (Ibid). It can receive, for example, light from its four sides. Should the school include various classrooms, it will have to be lenghtened, in order to provide some light to every room. If it is still larger, internal structures for communication (lobbies, a telephone system, etc… ) become necessary. It will possibly take the classical form of a comb, or create alternative internal subsystems providing light, power, heating, cooling, etc… The only alternative solution should be several separate buildings in a campus.

The alveolar or fractal aspect of many biological structures illustrates the same phenomenon.