Shelf Life: Addressing Consumption, Permanence through Adaptability

Abstract

This thesis intends to investigate an architectural response to contemporary need for a built environment that is adaptable, portable, and flexible in order to prevent architectural consumption. A vast amount of solid wastes created by our society are the result of the construction or demolition of architecture. Initially, we must generate a new attitude towards the permanence of buildings, and the value of the infrastructure in place. The intent is to create a system in which portions of an architectural construct can be manipulated or re placed as deemed necessary by its users, thereby extending the shelf life of the whole. What architectural response can remove the associations of the commodified object, and retain value over time?