ABSTRACT
A building properly conceived is several layers of longevity of built components. The lifetime of different elements of a building can vary from well over a hundred years down to a matter of months, or even weeks. The structure of the building has the longest potential lifespan and is the limiting factor in adapting a building to a new use. The structure and fabric can be made to be adaptable and over-engineered to last a lifetime, while the internals will be fickle and have to be designed to be reusable or compostable. Keeping each of the layers independent allows the structure to be retained when upgrading the fabric and the building will be easier to disassemble at end-of-life so that the components can be reused, remanufactured or recycled. Using the layered approach helps to make the building easier to maintain, as the services will be more accessible for repair and maintenance.
