This information paper addresses the adaptability of building designs, particularly using structural steel. The focus is on the characteristics of buildings that make them more adaptable, and how concepts of open building can be applied.
Adaptable building incorporates, at the design and construction stage, the ability to make future changes easily and with minimum expense to meet the evolving needs of occupants. It means designing a building to allow its hierarchical layers to change, each in its own timescale. Incorporating adaptability into a building during initial construction saves time, money, and inconvenience when changes are needed or desired later in the life of the building. The following are a series of strategies identified from technical studies that can help to make a building more adaptable:
- Optimise structural grids to allow changing uses of space. Use simple structural grids with clear support lines.
- Allow some redundancy so that additions and changes to the building can be accommodated. Over-designed structural capacity may be appropriate to allow alternative uses and the option of extending the structure.
- Separate structure and cladding to allow independent alteration and replacement.
- Separate services into clearly accessible locations to allow easy change and upgrade. Raised floors can also permit easy upgrade of services.
- Loose fit to allow some redundancy to accommodate future additions/changes.
- Increase floor to ceiling heights; offices require greater ceiling heights than residential buildings.
- Integrate finishes to facilitate easy upgrade and replacement, without making access to other components difficult.
- Keep designs simple to facilitate future change; independent systems allow changes where necessary. Strong inter-dependence reduces the scope for change.
- Provide sufficient space for machinery needed for dismantling, renovation, and addition.
- Avoid irreversible processes. Reversible mechanical fixings - bolts and screws - can usually be removed; adhesives, welding, and cement often cannot.
- Avoid complex composite materials that are difficult to separate. This includes some treatments and finishes applied on site.
- Incorporate each component so that it can easily be removed and recycled when obsolete.
There may be lessons to learn from the principles of theatre construction, as it requires constant change and may be an appropriate model for creating opportunities for buildings to be altered, particularly offices and retail spaces which are regularly remodelled. Services such as lighting, heating and power are provided from backstage, allowing the front stage to be restyled constantly with minimum time and impact.