Emacs is often talked about as a structure that does have some kind of quality without a name. But it doesn't make sense to attribute that to any individual genius. The essence of Emacs is its openness.
I think there's some important thing to say about the arbitrariness of distinctions like compile-time/run-time, and the architectural implications of "open source," etc, but I don't have time to think it through...
Another example is Blender (3D). Created with and by the people who are using it (http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Source/Architecture). I think it's one of the best software programs I've ever seen. Both compelling and Original/Unique.
I think there's some important thing to say about the arbitrariness of distinctions like compile-time/run-time, and the architectural implications of "open source," etc, but I don't have time to think it through...