Open architecture is a type of computer architecture or software architecture that allows adding, upgrading and swapping components. For example, the IBM PC and Apple IIe have an open architecture, whereas the Apple IIc and Amiga 500 computers have a closed architecture. In a closed architecture, the hardware manufacturer chooses the components, and they are not generally upgradable by the end user.

Open architecture is also beginning to be pushed to extend into the context of Architectural Design of Buildings by the group Architecture for Humanity. The group has developed a project called the Open Architecture Network which aims to bring the discipline of Architecture away from the closed format which is promoted by firms that choose not to share their work.

Open architecture allows potential users to see inside all or parts of the architecture without any proprietary constraints. Typically, an open architecture publishes all or parts of its architecture that the developer or integrator wants to share. The open business processes involved with an open architecture may require some license agreements between entities sharing the architecture information.

Cameron Sinclair (b. 1973, London, England) is the co-founder and 'chief eternal optimist' (CEO) for Architecture for Humanity, a charitable organization which seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crisis and brings professional design services to communities in need.

Educated at Kingswood School, Bath. In the mid-1990s Sinclair trained as an architect at the University of Westminster and The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Having developed an interest in social, cultural and humanitarian design, his postgraduate thesis focused on providing shelter to New York's homeless through sustainable, transitional housing. This thesis served as the basis for starting Architecture for Humanity. Architecture for Humanity was founded by Sinclair in April, 1999 and has grown to include 80,000 professionals and 50 chapters in 14 countries. In 2008 the University of Westminster awarded Sinclair an honorary doctorate for his services to the profession.

After graduating from university in 1997, Sinclair moved to New York City, where he worked as a designer for Steve Blatz Architects, Christidis Lauster Radu Architects and Gensler.

Enrique Norten, Hon. FAIA, is a Mexican architect and principal of the design firm TEN Arquitectos (Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos). Norten was born in Mexico City in 1954 where he graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana with a degree in architecture in 1978. He obtained a Master of Architecture from Cornell University in 1980. In 1986, he founded TEN Arquitectos in Mexico City, initiating a lifelong commitment to architecture and design.

In February 2008, Enrique Norten was presented with the "Excellence in Architecture and Design Award” by PODER - Boston Consulting Group Business Awards, and in 2007 obtained the “Legacy Award” from the Smithsonian Institution for his contributions to the US arts and culture. In 2005 he received the “Leonardo da Vinci” World Award of Arts by the World Cultural Council and was the first Mies van der Rohe Award recipient for Latin American Architecture in 1998. Enrique Norten has lectured all over the world and is a regular speaker at the Urban Age Conference, dedicated to shaping the thinking and practice of urban leaders and sustainable urban development through a worldwide investigation into the future of diverse cities around the world.