lighting. The floors cantilever from the tubes and connect to the building envelope, thereby tying all three systems together structurally. The depth of the floor structure also becomes a horizontal chase for mechanical, electrical and lighting systems. The glazed envelope has different levels of light permeability depending on its solar orientation. The south faรงade is a double skin to trap the air warmed by the greenhouse effect in the winter and to expel it with A model of transformability per excellence in modern natural convection in the summer. architecture is the Salk Institute by Louis Kahn. The vertically staggered floors for the free-span laboratories, and This analysis of adaptable building precedents yields some the commensurate structural/mechanical lofts above that consistent configuration attributes: the building footprint serve them, provide maximal flexibility for both levels be- is large enough to accommodate a wide range of uses; cause of their functional independence. The labs are un- the structural configuration optimizes the span-to-depth encumbered by structure and mechanical equipment so ratio for each construction type to provide the most open they are free to be reorganized as the scientific research space; the building footprint is not too deep to prevent demands. The sectional separation of the lofts above can daylight from pervading the depth of the floor area; the also preclude any interference to the experiments below building envelope maximizes daylight so it can permeate when the mechanical equipment needs to be reconfig- all points of the interior space; the building systems are ured. integrated and play more than one role to maximize efficiency; the architectural expression is derived from the A contemporary example of an adaptable and envi- integrated performative systems. ronmentally responsive architecture is the Sendai Mediatheque by Toyo Ito. This building consists of just three primary systems: the vertical structural tubes, the horizontal STUDIO SEQUENCE REVERSED floors, and the building envelope. The vertical structure consists of thirteen dia-grid tubes that resist both gravitaThe Comprehensive Design Studio pedagogy is an altional and lateral forces. Other building functions are in- ternative to a conventional design studio sequence that tegrated with these tubes, such as vertical circulation, me- starts with a site and program, moves through strategies chanical and natural air systems, and artificial and natural of visual conformity with the context, and ends with suor heavy-timber frame, however, has persisted unaltered. The fenestration is repetitive and omnipresent to ensure the availability of daylight, and the structure is minimized to create the greatest use-flexibility. These buildings transcend history by accommodating nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century uses while maintaining their architectural and cultural presence.
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