Adaptive structural systems

(original title: Wandelbare Tragwerke)

Author: Lukas Meuli
Language: German

Abstract

The experience and knowledge from the past decades have shown how buildings change over the course of their lifetime. The user requirements are constantly changing and the buildings must be adaptable to give the users freedom in the way they use the space. Adaptable buildings allow the use of the load-bearing structure up to the end of its life cycle. An adaptable building is flexible and changes within the structure can be accommodated without alteration or modification of the structure. This topic is an important part of the general initiative towards a sustainable future as adaptability allows the building to last longer and resources can be saved.
The issue of building adaptable buildings has been addressed in a few research initiatives, mainly with respect to architectural aspects. The aim of this thesis lies in the development of adaptable load bearing concepts. The thesis shows how different load bearing concepts affect the adaptability of structures.
Different development scenarios show the degree of change that a structure must accommodate during its lifetime. The thesis focuses on three different types of flexibility: flexibility of use, flexibility of expansion and internal flexibility. Four key areas are identified that favour a high adaptability of the building services: accessibility, reserve capacity, permeability, supply of the whole floor plan.
In order to provide an in-depth analysis regarding the adaptability of different load bearing structures, an example building is defined. The building typology, grid and floor height of the example building facilitate a high flexibility of use. Based on the usage requirements and development scenarios different load bearing concepts are developed. These concepts were tested regarding their adaptability and measures to increase their flexibility were proposed. It was shown that permeability of the load bearing structure is particularly important to allow different usage scenarios and thus increase the usage flexibility.