FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE

WHAT IS FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE

FLEXIBILITY IS NOT THE EXHAUSTIVE ANTICIPATION OF ALL POSSIBLE CHANGES.
MOST CHANGES ARE UNPREDICTABLE. FLEXIBILITY IS THE CREATION OF MARGIN
-EXCESS CAPACITY THAT ENABLES DIFFERENT AND EVEN OPPOSITE INTERPRETATIONS
AND USES. (REM KOOLHAAS ARCHITECT 1995)
WHEN ONE BEGINS TO EXPLORE THE SUBJECT OF FLEXIBLE/MORPHING
ARCHITECTURE, IT LEADS TO THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION THAT WHAT IS FLEXIBLE
ARCHITECTURE.
NOTHING IS PERMANENT. EVERYTHING IS IN CONSTANT FLUX AND
CHANGE.THROUGH DAY AND NIGHT, THROUGH SUMMER AND WINTER, YEAR AFTER
YEAR, FROM BIRTH TO DEATH, LIFE FLOWS IN A TIMELESS CYCLE- ZUK AND CLARK
1970
SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, ANIMALS HAVE BEEN THE SOLE ARCHITECTS OF THEIR OWN
UNIQUE HABITATE THAT CATERS TO THEIR MOST INTRINSIC NEEDS. EVERY BIRD,
MAMEL, AMPHIBIAN,OR OHERWISE IS BORN WITH AN INNATE KNOWEDGE OF ITS OWN
SHELTER AND HOW TO BUILD IT. AND THIS IS WHERE WE AS HUMAN BEINGS DIFFER.
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF SHELTER AND CONCEPTS OF HABITATE GO BEYOND THE BASICS
AND REFUSE TO ATTAIN STAGNATION. WE POSSES THE QUALITY OF MEMORY AND
HENCE EVERY SPACE VISITED CREASES TO BE JUST A VOLUME AND BEGINS TO
ACQUIRE A PLACE VALUE.
DUE TO THIS TRAIT, WE KEEP IMPROVISING OUR LIVING CONDITIONS AND HABITAT TO
SUIT OUR CHANGING LIFESTYLES.IT IS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSCIOUSLY MEMORIZING
OUR SURROUNDINGS THAT WE HAVE CONCEPTS OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR A
FAIMLY HOME OR EVEN AN EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO SAY A ROOM IN A HOUSE OR
A TREE IN THE BACKYARD. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS THE MEMORY THAT FACILITATES
THE PERMANENCE.
THE WORD FLEXIBLE CAN BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD WHEN JUXTAPOSED AGAINST
SOMETHING RATHETR THAN AS DEFINATION IN SOLITUDE. FLEXIBILITY AS OPPOSED
TO PERMANENCE DIFFERS FROM FLEXIBILITY AS OPPOSED TO RIGIDITY AND SO ON. IN
THE FORMER CASE, WE ARE REMINDED OF TENTS, EMERGENCY DISASTER HOUSING
AND MOBILE ARCHITECTURE WHILE LATER TALKS OF OPEN FLOOR PLANS, MOVABLE
PARTITION AND KINETIC ARCHITECTURE.
FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE HAS A LONG AND INTERESTING HISTORY. OUR NOMADIC
BEGINNINGS AND INATE FLEXIBILITY CALLED FOR ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT
COULD KEEP PACE WITH OUR LIFESTYLE AND ACCOMMODATE OUR CHANGING NEEDS.
TO GIVE THIS TYPOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURE A DEFINATION, FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE
CAN BE DEFINED AS THE RELAM OF ARCHITECTURE THAT ALLOWS FOR CHANGE
PERIODICALLY.

CLASSIFICATION
FLEXIBILITY IN ARCHITECTURE IS FEASIBLE IN AN INFINITE NUMBER OF WAYS; IN
TEMRS OF MATERIAL AND FINISHES, EXTERNAL FAADE, INTERIORS, FURNISHING,
PARTITIONS, STRUCTURAL MEMBERS AND MANY SUCH ELEMENTS. MORPHING
ARCHITECTURE IS A VAST AREA OF INTEREST TO THE ARCHITECTURAL COMMUNITY
TODAY AND HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED IN SEVERAL WAYS BY MANY AUTHORITIES ON THE

SUBJECT. FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING A HYBRID OF TWO DIFFERENT

CLASSIFICATIONS FROM TWO DIFFERENT INDEPENDENT SOURCES HAS BEEN
FOLLOWED:
FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE BY ROBERT KRONENBURG
LAWRENCE KING PUBLISHING 1997 (KRONENBURG 1997)
BLOGGER: GEOFF, AT WWW.WORDPRESS.COM
http://thewaywelive.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/flexibility-in-architecture/ (Geoff,
2007)
KRONENBURG (2007, P.7) STATES THAT, FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE CONSISTS OF
BUILDINGS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO RESPOND EASILY TO CHANGE THROUGHOUT
THEIR LIFETIME. THE BENEFITS OF THIS FORM OF DESIGN CAN BE CONSIDERABLE: IT
REMAINS IN USE FOR LONGER; FITS ITS PURPOSE BETTER; ACCOMODATES USERS
EXPERIENCE AND INTERVENTION; TAKES ADVANTAGE OF TECHNICAL INNOVATION
MORE READILY; AND IT IS ECONOMICALLY AND ECOLOGICALLY MORE VIABLE.
FLEXIBILITY IS BROADLY DIVIDED IN FOUR CATEGORIES NAMELY:
INTERACTIVE
THESE ARE RESPONSIVE BUILDINGS THAT CAN RESPOND TO A NUMBER OF EXTERNAL
STIMULI, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT, INTERACTION,
USAGE, OR OCCUPATION.
DEALS WITH BUILDINGS FEATURING THE TRIO OF SENSORS, PROCESSORS AND
EFFECTORS, EMBEDDED AS A CORE PART OF ITS NATURE AND FUNCTIONING.
INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTURE ENCOMPASSES BUILDING AUTOMATION BUT GOES
BEYOND IT BY INCLUDING FORMS OF INTERACTION ENGAGEMENTS AND RESPONSES
THAT MAY LAY IN PURE COMMUNICATION PURPOSES AS WELL AS IN THE EMOTIVE AND
ARTISTIC REALM

ADAPTABLE
ADAPTABLE STRUCTURES FEATURES REPOSITIONABLE PARTIONS OR ARE
CHANGEABLE PER USER/OCCUPANT. WHAT TYPIFIES A UNIVERSALLY FLEXIBLE DESIGN

IS ITS EASE OF ADAPTATION PER USE. THESES BUILDINGS ARE OFTEN

CHARACTERIZED BY OPEN FLOOR PLANS AND TYPOLOGY FREE DESIGNS.
ADAPTABILITY AS A DESIGN CHARACTERISTIC EMBODIES SPATIAL, STRUCTURAL, AND
SERVICE STRATEGIES WHICH ALLOW THE PHYSICAL ARTEFACT A LEVEL OF
MALLEABILITY IN RESPONSE TO CHANGING OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS OVER TIME.
THIS STRATEGIC SHIFT REFLECTS BUILDINGS, NOT AS FINISHED WORK REMOVED
FROM TIME, BUT AS
IMPERFECT
OBJECTS WHOSE
FORMS ARE IN
CONSTANT FLUX
CONTINUOUSLY
EVOLVING TO FIT
FUNCTIONAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL,
AND AESTHETIC
METAMORPHOSISES
IN SOCIETY.

MOVABLE
MOVABLE FLEXIBLE BUILDINGS CONSIST OF RELOCATABLE OR REPOSITIONABLE
STRUCTURES OR BUILDINGS CAPABLE OF BEING TORN DOWN AND REASSEMBLED IN
ANOTHER LOCATION. BUILDING DESIGNED AND BUILT TO BE MOVABLE RATHER THAN
PERMANENTLY LOCATED. A COMMON MODERN DESIGN IS SOMETIMES CALLED
A MODULAR BUILDING, BUT PORTABLE BUILDINGS CAN BE DIFFERENT IN THAT THEY
ARE MORE OFTEN USED TEMPORARILY AND TAKEN AWAY LATER.

TRANSFORMABLE
CHARACTERIZED BY MODULAR DESIGN (CAPABLE OF ADDING OR REMOVING UNITS OR
COMPONENTS) TRANSFORMABLE STRUCTURES CAN ALSO BE OPEN AND CLOSE,
CHANGE FORM OR CHANGE COLOR.

ADAPTABLE ARCHITECTURE
THE TERM ADAPTABLE ARCHITECTURE DESCRIBES AN ARCHITECTURE FROM WHICH
SPECIFIC COMPONENTS CAN BE CHANGED IN RESPONSE TO EXTERNAL STIMULI, FOR
EXAMPLE THE USERS OR ENVIRONMENT. THIS CHANGE COULD BE EXECUTED BY THE
BUILDING SYSTEM ITSELF, TRANSFORMED MANUALLY OR COULD BE ANY OTHER

ABILITY TO TRANSFORM BY AN EXTERNAL FORCE. DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ADAPTATION

ARE DETERMINED TO PINPOINT THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT
CONNOTATIONS OF ADAPTABLE. REALIZED ADAPTABLE PROJECTS ARE STUDIED TO
DEFINE THE RELATION OF INNOVATION AND REALIZATION. TO GENERALIZE THE
OUTCOME OF THE ANALYSES THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE BUILDING ARE
CATEGORIZED.
FOR A DWELLING TO BE ADAPTABLE/FLEXIBLE, SCHNEIDER AND TILL (2005) POINT
OUT THAT SPACE MUST BE FLEXIBLE EVEN TO THE EXTENT OF ALLOWING CHANGE OF
FUNCTION THEREBY ACCOMODATING DIFFERENT USES AND USER GROUPS.
THEREFORE THE INTERIOR LAYOUT OF THE UNITS SHOULD BE EITHER ADJUSTABLE TO
ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT USE OR DESIGNED SO THAT THE FUNCTION OF THE SPACE IS
NOT PREDETERMINED. MOREOVER, THE UNITS MUST BE EQUIPPED SPATIALLY AS WELL
AS TECHNICALLY IN ORDER TO ALLOW FOR EXPANSION OR REDUCTION OF SIZE.

NEED OF ADAPTABLE DWELLINGS

THE ADAPTABILITY IS AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT IN THE DESIGN OF HOUSING,
PARTICULARLY FOR THE ECONOMICAL WEAKER SECTIONS AND LOWER INCOME
GROUPS OF POPULATIONS, AS MOST OF THE OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN AREAS LIKE
SLUMS FIND DIFFICULT TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR FAMILIES BECAUSE OF THE FIXED
SPACE AVAILABLE IN MEGA CITIES OF INDIA.
THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE SEVERE SHORTAGE OF LAND AT AFFORDABLE PRICES TO
THE GROUP FOR BUILDING INDIVIDUAL HOUSES AND FORCED TO CHOOSE THE
AVAILABLE SHELTER OPTIONS NOT DESIGNED SUITING TO THEIR REQUIREMENTS.
FOCUSE IS ON THE ADVANTAGES OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL FLEXIBLE LIVING SPACE AND
THE CONCEPT OF MODULAR PLANNING BY USING MULTIPLE UNITS CONSISTING OF
MOVING AND FOLDING OF PARTITION WALLS AND FURNITURE, TRANSFORMED INTO
DIFFERENT OBJECTS BY SPLITTING THEM FOR MORE OCCUPANCY.