WEEK 3 | READING

Brand, S. (1997) Shearing Layers

A building consists of several layers - 1 SHELL 2 SERVICES 3 SCENERY 4 FURNITURE.  
1 & 2 don't change all that regularly whilst 3 & 4 have a more frequent turn around.
DEGW (Architectural Firm) like to build long-term relationships with their client, so how the building responds over time plays a very important role in the design process.  If they overlook 1 & 2 in these stages, then the building will not perform very well over time, meaning that expenditure increases and flexibility decreases.
Revised layers by the author:1 SITE 2 STRUCTURE 3 SKIN 4 SERVICES 5 SPACE PLAN 6 STUFF
Having adaptive space saves time and money. If you embed services in structure, it may seem the cheap alternative at first, but means that is a hassle to replace services (which happen every 7-15 years).
The dynamics of the system will be dominated by the slow components: the rapid components simply follow along - a comparison to nature slow (trees in nature; 1, 2 & [to a degree] 3 in buildings) therefore the slow components constrain the quick, and they also control the quick.
"While all buildings change over time, only some improve" (Christopher Alexander). Adaptability is what makes buildings come to be loved.

Zelfde, J. V. (2012) "The aspatial city."

The city is no longer a city in space but a city in time; another city being added to the city we live and work in by social media (4square, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc) - we are becoming more and more connected virtually and although we may not see someone physically in years, because we have kept in contact with them through social media, when we do see that person physically again, its like no time has passed.