Shearing Layers

The concept of buildings being comprised of separate layers is in no way revolutionary, but the way that Brand discusses these layers in "Shearing Layers" is something that does provoke a lot of thought. Brand separates the building into 'six S's',which are layers of; site, structure, skin, services, space plan and stuff. He then talks about how these layers become less and less permanent, and inversely how they can become harder and harder to change. 

                                                    Brands Layers of a Building

Brand identifies that there is a seventh S, souls, people inhabiting the building and changing the arrangement. He talks about how they constantly rearrange the easiest spaces, getting new stuff all the time, and only changing the space plan and the services as often as is necessary. I envision that in the future architecture could cater to the souls, allowing them to change more then the basic layer, providing buildings that allow the space plan, the services, the skin and maybe even the structure with ease. This is also not something that is that outlandish, OMA and REX designed the Wyly Theater to have a space plan that can constantly be rearranged (see image below), letting the souls use it how they wish. 50 years ago this may not have been possible, yet today it is. Is it to much of a leap to say that in another 50 years technology may allow for this sort of thing to be done with the services, the skin, the structure even?

I feel that this concept that I like to call "adaptable architecture" is something that could be very interesting to pursue as this semester continues. Looking back at the architecture of the metabolist movement, and designs from Cedric Price among others, and learning the from these, trying to adapt these concepts into a new era, full of new technologies and new challenges, is something that I look forward to. 

Back to the reading, one thing that Brand talks about that i disagree with in some way is his discussion on enernity of site. I feel that site can and does change, it might not happen immediately but tghe context of a space changes dramatically, especially due to urban expansion and population growth. Some areas of the world  are today completely different then they were in the past. Even parts of brisbane today are flat when once they possessed a vastly changing topography.

reference:
Brand, S., 1997. Shearing Layers, in How buildings learn : what happens after they’re built, London: Phoenix Illustrated. pp12-23