The success of distributed object technology depends on the advent of Object Request Broker (ORB) architectures that are able to integrate flexible support for various non-functional requirements such as security, real-time, transactions, etc. We promote component framework technology as the cornerstone for realizing such generic platforms. An ORB component framework leverages the “glue” that connects customized ORB components together. In this paper, we present a reflective component architecture that improves the dynamics of this glue, such that system-wide integration of new non-functional requirements into a running ORB system becomes possible.