Abstract
The adaptability of buildings addresses the responses of buildings to the changing needs of owners/users and the demands of external factors, over their lifecycle. An understanding of these changes is therefore key to the creation of adaptable buildings. This paper reports research which was aimed at modelling building changes to better understand the challenges for their adaptability. An in-depth study of the changes in selected case studies was conducted to understand the nature, characteristics, and implications of these changes for buildings and their ability to adapt. The findings from these case studies were analyzed against theoretical models reported in the literature on change and adaptability. As a result, a model was developed that identified and categorized a wide spectrum of changes to the building fabric within the broad remit of adaptability that are triggered by many factors, which are sometimes external to the building or organization. In the cases investigated, it was found that the factors that lead to actual changes to buildings were not necessarily due to the ease of making those changes, but rather the organizational will and means to make the changes. Similarly, changes were made not because the building systems were obsolete, but because of non-building factors. The timings of changes therefore did not correspond to the assumed lifespan models of different building layers, suggesting that a new way of predicting and/or categorizing building changes is needed. Furthermore, the interrelationships and nature of the triggers for change suggest that the adaptability of buildings is not just about building systems, but also about non-building factors. Thus, the further exploration of non-building triggers and enablers for change using the developed model presented here, will further enhance the creation of more adaptable buildings.
Highlights
A key question underpinning this research was: how can an understanding of change further enhance our ability to create more adaptable buildings? The conceptual model of building change (Figure 2) provides the framework for analyzing the findings from the research with respect to the triggers for change and the actual changes made to the building fabric
This underscores the fact that change is at the heart of building adaptability, but that it incorporates both the extent to which users adapt to buildings as well as the changes made to the building fabric to accommodate the changing contexts of the building
In the context of buildings, this translates to a wide spectrum of changes (Table 1) to the building fabric and changes in ownership, users, and external entities interacting with the building
Summary
” in buildings, which is inevitable over their lifecycle, involves the ability of the building fabric as it is to readily support the varied and changing needs of its users (i.e., the flexibility of a building), or to be modified/adapted to accommodate such changes when day-to-day adjustments are no longer feasible or desirable [2,3,4,5]. Adaptability or adaptive capacity is linked to resilience (a key theme in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [18]); Circular Economy principles [19]; and the Open Building concept, a design approach that focuses on designing for change [20]
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