The Sagrada Família is the closest thing to a perfect design in the real world. I spent some time there last week, and felt incredibly inspired to channel a little bit of Gaudí's genius in my own work. This week I wrote about three ways I felt inspired.

1. Completeness: Gaudí had a hand not only in the architecture of the building itself, but in every imaginable detail, from site and placement, to the lighting, to the art, down to even the furniture. Software would be better if we thought of it, too, as a connected whole.

2. Longevity: Gaudí knew he wouldn't live to see the basilica completed, which had a huge impact on how he designed and built it: feature by feature, rather than from the ground up. What would software look like if we built it to be a 1000 year project like Gaudí's?

3. Integration of form and function. Literally every aesthetic element of the Sagrada Família serves a structural purpose, and the functional structure is in turn hidden behind beautiful designs. What would software look like if we tried to unite form and function like this?

Gaudí deviated heavily from traditional architecture, took risks, and created something truly unique and special. He was literally 100 years ahead of the state of the art and pioneered many design and construction techniques that have since become commonplace. It's one of the best, clearest examples of genius I've ever witnessed. If you haven't been, I highly encourage you to visit, and take your time to marvel at the completeness and attention to detail. You can't help but feel inspired.

Read the whole article here: Perfection, by @lrettig