ABSTRACT
People are flexible creatures. We interact continuously with our physical environment regardless of whether it is living or inert, animate or inanimate. And yet, though architecture is the setting for much of human life, it is largely perceived as a part of the inert and inanimate fabric of our world. There is, however, a form of architecture that has existed throughout human history that is receptive to human desires and responsive to human needs. Architecture that adapts rather than stagnates; transforms rather than restricts; is motive rather than static; enables rather than inhibits. This flexible architecture has continuously developed alongside humanity’s evolving creative skills and its changing physical relationship with technology and the material world. This chapter explores flexibility as a continuous and developing component in architectural design. It examines how the human need for architectural change has resulted in design strategies that are both innovative and timeless. It surveys the global typological characteristics of successful flexible buildings and compares these with types that have failed and consequently wasted valuable resources. Its ultimate focus is on the new flexible developments that are essential if architecture is to remain relevant to cultural and societal trends.
