"Adaptability and the Role It Plays"

 

Adaptability is a quality that everyone should have. Granted, it’s not just something that you ­can go out and buy or take with you anywhere. Adaptability is something that you have to work towards, something that doesn’t just show up one day.  Adaptable Architecture is a very important design feature, everything having two purposes. Architecture is not the only thing that needs adaptability but life in general needs it. Things come up every day that we had no idea that was coming, but we take them head on and adapt to the situation at hand. We can never see what is coming, but that doesn’t mean we can’t run full steam ahead. Just, when a junction comes into our path we need to be ready and not shy away from the problem and make the best out of any situation.

 

Several students in our class took and are taking on probably one of the most adaptive situations that life can give us. It affects us both in our lives outside of Architecture and it affects those of us inside the realm of Architecture. Our children are always our greatest achievement, and is generally the greatest change in our lives. There is nothing more changing in my life then the birth of my daughter, before the beginning of this school year. My time in the Marines changed me, but nothing like the adapting that I’ve made this year. Others have had children and had new ones this year. Others are just beginning this journey later this year and it too will change them, make them adapt to the new responsibilities. There is one thing that I can say for certain, is that it will change us for the rest of our lives. These changes might not be immediate but they will certainly change every part of us. From how we act, to our priorities, all the way down to how we treat our designs. This life experience has taught us to adapt. We can translate this into our Architecture, and it can only make our designs better.

 

We as designers need to reach out to our clients and try to make them understand that the building they may want is and will change over time. Nothing is ever set in stone, nothing is never the exact same day after day. We, the designers, need to facilitate to our clients that the flexibility and adaptability over time brings the greatest asset to any design. More than a high quality façade, or amazing material usage, the longevity of a building can and is the most valuable asset that anyone owner or client can hope for. Twenty or thirty years down the road after a building is completed, there is no reason to just tear it down and build anew. We must see in the future as best we can to bring a next level of flexibility to all the spaces we design. We have to convince our clients that this is in their best interest. Some of the greatest buildings in history are still here because their designs are flexible and not so specific that the original reason makes them unusable in other contexts. The Pantheon of Rome is still used today and has been active over the last two millennia. Originally a Roman temple, it is now a Christian church, this building was used to bury king, and is one of the greatest tourist attractions in the world. Another instance of longevity is the Hagia Sophia of Turkey. This building originally designed as a Christian church, turned Islamic mosque, and now it has become a museum. These two buildings have been changed, been reused, and adapted to fit the need of the people. We need to take a que from history and make our buildings in the flexible image that are these two buildings.