ABSTRACT
This chapter sheds light on what makes architecture humane, and how design can advance higher human values that can transcend the time and physicality of its construction. It examines the human condition as both constant and ever-changing. When examining ideas through interviews and case studies, it became clear that these humane qualities can be translated into very measurable forms of performance in architecture. New buildings for research universities embody ambitions to be leaders of a global community advancing knowledge through collaboration and peer review. For some universities, the building experiment is not only a demonstration of new knowledge but an instrument for advancing knowledge on and about buildings. These buildings provide an accelerated model of how static systems remain open-ended enough to allow dynamic technologies and systems to be tested and replaced.
