Spaces of mutable shape and the human ability to adapt

Abstract

Life in our present world demands of man an increasing degree of mobility, and increasing flexibility from his environment. Users and recipients demand more and more from architects. Architecture should be a reflection of specific individual characteristics of its user. Introducing dynamic aspects to architecture is rooted in history. It always had its causes, since architecture functions as a mirror of social phenomena. Man's social and environmental evolution maintained equilibrium. However, the application of mechanisms for mobile facades, or mutable shapes in general, exposes the individual to even more dynamic conditions in his or her immediate spatial surroundings. This prompts us to consider human's actual adaptive capabilities, so as to maintain optimal conditions for live in such a dynamic environment. By introducing artificial control over the intensity of changes in the space surrounding us, do we risk disturbing the evolutional equilibrium of the individuals living in that space? © 2011 Springer-Verlag.