THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGY FOR

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADAPTABILITY

IN BUILDING STRUCTURES

Roel Gijsbers
Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Topic: Kinetic tectonics, m ovement and adaptability

The Dutch building stock has proven to be inflexible. A building will be abandoned if it fails to provide functionality for the
user, therefore many buildings are demolished long before
their economical and technical lifespan has expired. Premature demolition of buildings causes numerous social and environmental problems such as destruction of capital, waste and
energy consumption.
For example, in the Dutch non-residential building sector
there is a surplus of dysfunctional office buildings. As a result,
as much as 6,3 million square meters of floor area is unoccupied, which is almost 15% of the total stock [Voordt, et
al., 2007]. One of the reasons is that companies prefer to be
settled in a new building than in an older building, because of
better communication services, more free space or, maybe
the most important reason, the image of the building. In the
residential sector older buildings also suffer from dysfunctionality. However, these building remain inhabited because of a
quantitative housing shortage.
Many researchers have sought to provide flexibility-in-use for
the users. As far back as 1960 Habraken observed that the
Dutch building practice could not offer the right solutions to
create a sustainable building stock. He developed a theory to
increase the functionality of buildings, partly by emphasizing
the importance of flexibility-in-use. In this theory he stated
that a building is divided into two parts: Support and infill.
This theory has inspired numerous researchers to execute
further study in this field to achieve flexibility in buildings (for
an overview until 1990: Eldonk, Fassbinder, 1990). The support is represented by the building structure and is seen as
rigid. The infill represents the remaining building components
like facades, services, interior spacing and furniture, which
are considered to be flexible.
The theory has been further elaborated ever since (SAR, 1965,
1973) and a number of projects were realized already in the
1970s, such as Ommoord in Rotterdam (NL) and Molenvliet
in Papendrecht (NL), and in the 1980s, such as Keyenburg in
Rotterdam (NL), to enable the researchers and designers to
discover if the theory performed well in practice. In order to
take the theory further in practice and to organize research
activities, in 1990 the Open Building Foundation was founded.
The lack of long-term functionality of the Dutch building stock
received broader attention when in 1999 a fund was raised by

the Dutch government, known as the IFD (Industrial, Flexible

and Demountable) program, to stimulate institutes and contractors to develop flexible solutions for the building sector.
This program ended in 2004 and produced about 90 projects
with a diversity of solutions for mostly practical and/or project orientated problems.
The work of Habraken and SAR gained probably even more
recognition internationally and it stimulated researchers to
implement the theory and design principles into building research and building practice in their countries, including the
United States, Japan, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Especially in the residential building sector a number of design
strategies were developed (Brand, 1994; Kendall, Teicher,
1995; Leupen, 2002) and several projects were realized, such
as Next21 (JP) and SATO PlusHome (FIN).
The aforementioned researchers and organizations mainly
realized projects with the aim of achieving an increase of
functionality and lifespan of the building by implementing flexibility on the infill-level. However, many of these projects and
designs could not stand the test of time because of rapidly
changing user demands and building regulations.
At the Technical University of Eindhoven a strategy is developed to anticipate on dysfunctionality of buildings. This strategy is named Slimbouwen, which is an integral view on
building and possibly a system of agreements and guidelines at
strategic level [Lichtenberg, 2005]. The current research on
Structural adaptability is part of the Slimbouwen research
program. Slimbouwen is developed to tackle social and environmental problems which are caused by the building industry, such as waste, energy consumption and CO2-emission,
but also to reorganize the building process.
Slimbouwen aims particularly at the following aspects:
Flexibility and comfort;
Reduction of waste, energy saving and emission of
CO2;
Efficiency, such as reduction of failure costs, weight
saving, reduction of volume and a reorganisation of the construction process.
In the current research is observed that although flexibility
has been an issue for researchers for at least four decades, a

solution for the main problem, loss of functionality, has never

really been found. It seems that the design strategies of former researchers do not deliver a satisfactory level of flexibility. The problem is that when flexibility is only implemented
in the infill, the structure of the building acts as a limitation
to the flexibility-in-use, which leads to a lower level of functionality. However, if flexibility is implemented not only in the
infill, but also in the support of the building, it is possible that
a satisfactory level of flexibility may be achieved
In other words, a rigid structure acts as a limitation or a
boundary condition for flexibility-in-use. However, when it is
possible to perform an adaptation to the building structure, in
combination with a flexible infill, a larger range of possibilities
becomes available, which are expected to increase the level
of flexibility-in-use of the building.
This paper reports on work in progress. In the current research a strategy is developed which seeks to determine the
measures to be taken to achieve a satisfactory level of flexibility-in-use by the implementation of adaptability into the
building structure. In this paper four steps in the research are
described, of which the second is in progress. First, a broad
literature review has been executed to understand which
steps have been taken and which strategies are developed in
earlier research to increase the level of functionality of buildings by implementing flexibility or adaptability. Second, a theoretical relational building model has been developed to clarify
the effect of an adaptation of a structural component on the
main research aspects. At this moment the structure of the
model is ready and data-input is being processed. Third, the
results that will be derived from the building model will be
analyzed and validated to reveal in which parts of the building
structure adaptability is valuable. The fourth and last step is to
technically develop an adaptable structural element according
to the results from the building model, which allows putting
theory into practice.
The main focus of this paper is to report on the development
of the model. In addition, it explores the advantages for the
flexibility-in-use of buildings.

of a structural element can cause to the usable space, to the

infrastructure in the building and to the structure as a whole.
The model (Fig. 1), which is purely theoretical, represents a
building structure which is occupied by six users. All of the users are connected to a services-zone and a traffic-zone. The
structure itself contains all possible configurations related to
the public space, which is defined as external space in this
research. These characteristics ensure the completeness of
the model; hence, no important effects are overlooked. The
picture below gives an overview of the model and its configuration.

Fig. 1: Theoretical relational building model

To validate the effect of an adaptation of a certain structural

element, the relations between the adjacent spaces will be
qualified in future work. The following relational aspects
were selected:
o
Internal space (Fig. 2): This relation describes the effect of an adaptation of a structural element on the use of
internal space, which is defined as space which is only meant
for private use of the user concerned.

METHODOLOGY
Fig. 2: Relation 1: Internal space

A theoretical and relational building model was developed

to discover in which part of the building structure an adaptable structural element is valuable for flexibility-in-use. In this
model the effect of a structural adaptation can be observed
for numerous groups of users and building types. The problem of dysfunctionality exists in both the residential and nonresidential building sectors, therefore a wide range of building
types and users are worthwhile to be researched. However,
to limit the research to an appropriate size and to restrict data
to the implementation of structural adaptability in the building
sector, a number of building types and their user-groups will
be excluded from this research.
In fact, structural adaptability only has value if a buildings
structure is designed repetitively, which means that the structure is designed grid-wise and every building layer has the
same configuration. Mostly, these buildings with a uniform
structure are big sized buildings, which is the main reason
why it is difficult to execute an adaptation. In this case the
reaction of the total structure is difficult to predict when an
adaptation is made. Consequently, these buildings with rigid,
repetitive structures are usually the buildings which are demolished before their expected lifespan.
Therefore, in the residential building sector the research is
restricted to multi-family housing, apartment buildings and
housing for the elderly. In the non-residential sector the research is restricted likewise to office buildings and buildings
for the care sector.
The theoretical and relational building model has been developed to provide insight into the effects that an adaptation

o
External space (Fig. 3): This relation describes the
effect of an adaptation of a structural element on the use of
external space, which is defined as space which is not meant
for private use of the user concerned, such as public space or
private space of other users.

Fig. 3: Relation 2: External space

o
Infrastructure (Fig. 4): This relation describes the effect of an adaptation of a structural element on the placing
and use the infrastructure of the building, represented by traffic zones and building services

Fig. 4: Relation 3: Infrastructure

o
Building structure (Fig. 5): This relation describes
the effect of an adaptation of a structural element on the performance of the building structure as a whole

Fig. 5: Relation 4: Building structure

When a certain structural element is adapted, the effect on

all four relations is described and validated. Criteria for the
validation have to be quantified beforehand to make validation possible.
To ensure that none of the building elements are neglected,
it is important that every simulated adaptation is categorized
and validated. This is supported by the steps taken during the
construction of a sequential building process (according to
Slimbouwen, Lichtenberg 2005), as shown in figure 6. To
ensure that all building elements are classified in a similar way
the international Sfb-encoding [BNA, 2005] is used. Slimbouwen aims on saving of material, building weight and volume.
Other aspects are flexibility and re-use. Therefore, skeleton
steel structures are most likely to be used because of volume
and weight saving reasons.

space available in the building, a division in function levels per

space type is created based on the required presence of building services. Also other factors define the function possible in
the available building space, but the presence and amount of
services remains unaltered for the functionality of a particular
function.
3.
Flexis [Geraedts, 1996]; this method is developed to
define the level of flexibility of the building services in a building. For the research on structural adaptability it is important to require insight into the relation between the building
services and the building structure. The DFV method already
defined the internal coupling of both these building parts. The
Flexis methodology will be applied for a more profound examination of the dependence of the building services to the
elements of a building structure.
4.
Design For Variety 2; this is the same methodology as the first one described. However, in this part of the
study it will be applied specifically to clarify the internal coupling of the elements for traffic space, such as staircases, elevators and the network of corridors. Staircases and elevator
shafts are often designed as element of stability of the building
structure, especially within large scaled buildings with multiple storeys.
5.
2D Structural analysis; the 2D analysis methodology is meant to provide insight into the effect on the surrounding structural elements caused by an adaptation of
a structural element. In fact, a well-founded choice can be
made to maintain or exclude certain adaptations of elements
based on the size of the occurring effects on the other elements in the building structure. A simplified model based on
the relational model will be used for this methodology.
6.
3D Structural analysis; the 3D analysis of the
structure is similar to the 2D analysis. Apart from the addition of a dimension, the analysis will be on a smaller scale and
not for a total section of a building. The picture below shows
the planned scale wherein the analysis will be executed. The
same approach has proven to be valuable in the optimization
process of a structural system concerning environmental effects [Dobbelsteen, 2004].

Fig. 6: Sequential building process according to Slimbouwen [Lichtenberg,

2005]

The four relations that are present in the building model should
be quantified and validated to draw trustworthy conclusions
from. Therefore six methodologies/strategies are selected to
provide the different relational aspects with information. The
selected methodologies and strategies are shown below including a short explanation.
1.
Design For Variety 1 (DFV) [Martin, Ishii, 2002];
this method is developed as an aid during a product development trajectory to create a design which can be adapted at
low cost and effort in the future. The method is an addition to
the Quality Function Deployment of Akao and Mazur [1990],
wherein user demands are coupled to functional product
qualities. The advantage of the DFV approach is that during
the design stage fluctuations caused by uncontrollable factors
are already taken into account. In the case of this research
the building acts as the product. A somewhat similar study
[Veenstra, Halman, Voordijk, 2006] for a dwelling has proven
to be worthwhile, however the purpose was different.
2.
Functionality Factor (FF); this method is developed for this specific research. The main goal of the FF method is to discover whether the usable space within a building
matches qualitatively with the required space from the schedule of requirements. To compare the required space with the

Fig. 7: model for 3D structural analysis

Each of the six methodologies, which are applied for the validation of the relations in the theoretic building model, serves
another purpose in the process of finding the most optimal
solutions for structural adaptability. The matrix below shows
for which relations and building parts the selected methodologies provide valuable information. Naturally, because of
the topic of this research, all methodologies provide input for
the link between the structure of the building and all of the
relational aspects.

Table 1: Application of methodologies linking the relational aspects to the

building parts

At the moment the first methodology (DFV 1) has been executed. Results generally show that a building which is built the
Slimbouwen way will be approximately 50% less difficult
to adapt when necessary because of a lower level of internal
coupling of building elements. More specific conclusions still
have to be drawn from the data. These results will be shown
in following publications. The second methodology, Functionality Factor, has been developed and will be tested in October
2007 during a Master project with eight students. The other
four methods are scheduled to be executed during the first
months of 2008.
When all of the effects are described and validated, the results
from the four relations, which are provided with input from
the six described methodologies, can be combined. By combining the results the structural elements which provide the
highest level of flexibility-in-use can be selected. Then these
elements can be converted to solutions on the product level,
which subsequently need to be tested on the functional, the
technical and the practical level to verify if the solution is practicable.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
This research is based on the hypothesis that a physically
adaptable building structure leads to a higher level of flexibility-in-use of a building in comparison to the often used design strategy of implementing flexibility only into the infill of
a building.
This paper describes the development of a strategy to determine the measures to be taken to achieve a satisfactory level
of flexibility-in-use through the implementation of adaptability
into the building structure.
Figure 1 to 5 display the building model, which provides the
researcher with a tool that ensures the presence of every possible relation between the selected criteria of users, space,
infrastructure and the building structure itself. The steps in
the sequential building process, which contains all building
components represented in new buildings, as shown in figure 7, supply a guideline to ensure that no influence will be
overlooked.
Adaptation of a structural element to increase the flexibilityin-use of (a part of) a building can be realized in numerous
ways, such as a replacement (Fig. 8), a breakthrough, a division, a combination, a growth or a shrinkage. The influence
on every building element will be validated for all four relational aspects by 6 specifically selected methodologies. To
reveal which structural elements can provide maximum flexibility-in-use as a result of an adaptation, the validated effects
for the four relational aspects must be combined.

Fig. 8: A possible solution could be the replacement of columns within a

predefined zone

CONCLUSIONS
If this study theoretically proves that a limited adaptation in
a building structure is valuable for an increase in flexibilityin-use and therefore for the functionality of the building, the
next step is to research if this approach is practicable. Therefore, in further research a number of solutions will be developed on the component level. If an adaptable structure is able
to provide a higher level of functionality and it appears to be
technically possible, it will provide new insights to integrated
design strategies for flexibility. One recommended area of future research is to take the theoretical solutions that appear
valuable and to test them in practice through a product development trajectory. Similarly, fine-tuning of the design strategy
is suggested to implement newly discovered possibilities and
insights, due to usage of the strategy in practice. Furthermore,
market research has to be executed to find out under which
circumstances the building user is willing to make use of such
an innovation in the building practice.
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