IN CONCLUSION

Through analysis of the research and evidence set forth by this paper, an appropriate method of adaptability to be tested within the studio design project was devised. A technical approach, as explored by the test project, was used to achieve flexibility at a tangible level within the site, incorporating understanding and analysis of the layers of change set forth by Brand. Simultaneously, the conscious consideration of an open space, susceptible to adaptation, worked to ensure the flexibility of use, together ensuring the overall preservation and sustainable use of our buildings.

Through careful observations of the existing structure of St. Catherines National School, a method of restraint and ‘doing less’ came to be. Despite this, a rich character emerged. Langauges of cutting and infilling, retrofit and extension, heavy and light, old and new were all formed. The final proposal was one that remained true to the reality of the existing school . Rather than covering up original features and replacing with a new sqeaky clean architecture, the proposal celebrates the building as a layer of history and time, which is explicity expressed throughout. A new layer provided to the building equips it with a new sense of resilience, providing the dated structure to be adapted to modern uses and beyond.

The answer to the question “how can architects better equip buildings for future adaptation and promote active flexible engagement between user and architecture without compromising the role of design?” is one of compromise and balance. Such balance is demonstrated in varying relationships, between fixed and temporal, between the architect and the user, though open and closed space as well as between theory and tectonic. It is through these relationships that a physical architecture, driven by adaptability, will be formed.