{"id":20109,"date":"2013-04-09T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T17:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\/?p=20109"},"modified":"2013-04-08T17:20:23","modified_gmt":"2013-04-09T00:20:23","slug":"book-review-from-the-stacks-flexible-architecture-that-responds-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\/2013\/04\/09\/book-review-from-the-stacks-flexible-architecture-that-responds-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – From The Stacks: Flexible: Architecture that Responds to Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Author: Robert Kronenburg (Laurence King Publishing, 2007)<\/b><\/p>\n

Human settlements are colossal endeavours. Made of hard, solid materials we often take for granted that they are constantly changing. In a continually undulating – almost musical – dance of construction and demolition, parts of our towns and cities are rising and falling at any particular time. \"\"<\/p>\n

Within this context, the ability of a settlement – and its respective architecture – to accommodate change becomes extremely important, for this dictates the ease which it can adapt to various dynamic forces…its ‘resilience’ to use a more popular term.<\/p>\n

Although adaptable architecture has been around since the earliest settlements, the growth of the sustainability movement and the responsible use of our increasingly limited resources has resulted in a “rebirth” of this essential attribute. This has resulted in a number of innovative architectural experiments that incorporate the most recent technologies towards this end.<\/p>\n

And it is this subject that is the focus of Robert Kronenburg’s Flexible: Architecture that Responds to Change<\/i>. To be more specific, it looks at architecture “that consists of buildings that are designed to respond easily to change throughout their lifetime.”<\/p>\n

The book is simply divided into two parts, each subdivided into four chapters. Part I<\/em> begins with a general introduction and concise history of flexible architecture. From the tents and yurts of nomadic tribes to the growth of the pre-fabrication industry, it succinctly describes the role of change in architecture and its contemporary relevance.<\/p>\n

It then examines the flexibility in the context of the home, public architecture, and architecture in general – each given its own chapter. In both cases, Kronenburg showcases a number of projects from around the world that have managed to successfully accommodate change and adaptation into their being – be it in layout, building systems\/envelope, or both. Rich in drawings and photographs, this provides a broad look at a number of interesting projects. But this comes at a price, because the information about each work remains quite superficial – touching only upon the most general information<\/p>\n

Part II<\/em> is organized around what Kronenburg sees as the four essential characteristics of flexible architecture – adaptation, transformation, movability and interaction. Similar to Part I, each theme is given its own chapter:<\/p>\n