S. Brand’s “How buildings learn: what happens after they’re
built”, presents a very interesting idea that is widely understood but rarely
acknowledged in such a meaningful way. The concept of buildings having six layers
(site, structure, skin, services, space plan and stuff) is identified as
separated by their average lifetime, from longest to shortest respectively. Because
of this, the structure must support future adaptability as the functionality
will advance consistently throughout the building’s lifetime in order to allow
for evolving external factors that affect the internal space of the building.This is reiterated in a quote by Frank Duffy, stating, "thinking
about buildings in this time-laden way is very practical. As a designer you
should avoid such classic mistakes as solving a five-minute problem with a
fifty-year old solution, or vice versa".
A perfect example of this within Brisbane is the powerhouse,
which has been altered from a warehouse into a modern multi-arts venue with
only minor changes to the original structure. This can be seen below.
Image Source: http://2009.2highfestival.com/blog/
This article intrigues me in regards to its relation with
the concept of architectural fiction, as the discussion of the fundamental
building characteristic of adaptability is directly tied to future thinking in
design. Although it is a very obvious concept, the idea of adaptability can be
expanded upon greatly to form new types and forms of buildings that respond to
a currently non-existent scenario.
Briefly mentioned in the article is the notion of an “edge
city” (proposed by Joel Garreau in Edge City: Life on the new Frontier),
described as an urban area where a new commercial zone surrounds the older
city. I found this strikingly similar to our proposed idea of a future CBD
where the commercial buildings requiring vehicle access circle the residential
and retail district. After reading Garreau’s book summary, the major difference
appears to be that his edge city acts as an independent economic entity, as the
commercial ring resides on the outer boundaries of the overall city limits. Because
of this, his argument is proven as impractical due to increasing suburbanisation,
although this would not be an issue in our scenario as the commercial ring is
within the city, and only surrounds the actual CBD. His concept is roughly shown in the image below where the original city is on the interior of the new commercial precinct.
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