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The Idea Program

The Reincarnation of Building

"They took a dead heap of stones, which is not a cathedral, and they turned it into a cathedral…"

Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man.

In the Industrial Age, buildings died.
Clients invested in buildings.
This lasted a lifetime.
Then they died.
Pulled down and buried.
Never to be seen again.

In the Information Age, buildings are reincarnated.
Clients invest in materials.
The configuration of materials is the investment.
Like information, a building dies when it is no longer useful, in the myriad of ways this is possible.
But the structure can live on.
Reincarnate your material being.
Reincarnate your client's material being.
Dis-semble.
Re-design
Re-assemble.
Resemble a new life for the materials.
The investment lives on.
The Lifetime Design Brief lives on.
The opportunity and the responsibility is yours.
When will you allow your building to die?
Long live euthanasia.


Related Articles: Flexibility and Adaptability:
We propose three questions to ask about Flexibility and Adaptability in architectural design.

The Future of Architecture Table of Contents
Next Article: Past, Present and Future


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