Change Factors and the Adaptability of Buildings

Kamara, John M. and Heidrich, Oliver and Tafaro, Vincenza E. and Maltese, Sebastiano and Dejaco, Mario Claudio and Re Cecconi, Fulvio (2020) Change Factors and the Adaptability of Buildings. Sustainability, 12. p. 6585. ISSN 2071-1050

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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.

Item Type:	Scientific journal article, Newspaper article or Magazine article
Subjects:	Architecture, building and planning > Architecture Architecture, building and planning > Building
Department/unit:	Dipartimento ambiente costruzioni e design > Istituto sostenibilità applicata all'ambiente costruito
Depositing User:	Sebastiano Maltese
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2020 11:32
Last Modified:	14 Dec 2020 08:11
URI:	http://repository.supsi.ch/id/eprint/12209

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