Interesring discussion on emergent architecture. Emergent architecture is much more philosophy than anything else.
The emphasis behind emergent design on adding value increment by increment, and not necesarily trying to refactor or extend an existing system, especially if it is a big, monlothic blob.
In other words, if a legacy system already works, don't try to fix it (unless, of course, it's broken)!
Traditional Cost of Change Curve
Kent Beck's Cost of Change Curve
Emergent Architecture - The natural selection of small designs
NANO Applications Growing out of a Legacy System
Nano Application 1...N
One can only infer that the above applications would lend themselves exceptionally well to SO application design.
The above arrows are representative of a series of "Nano Applications" that evolve or develop outside of the application (or organism). This was paradoxical, I thought to how service oriented applications may develop (or mutate) outside of, or in support of a legacy system. The point was clear: Most mutations are (eventaully) fatal for the organism.