ADAPTIVE  VALUE
ALEKSANDR DMITRASHCHUK

ADAPTIVE  VALUE
ALEKSANDR DMITRASHCHUK
MASTER OF SCIENCE, ADVANCED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
DECEMBER 2021
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, ART, AND PLANNING
CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Copyright © 2021 
By Aleksandr Dmitrashchuk
All Rights Reserved.
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ABSTRACT
The traditional notion of architecture as a mostly static 
condition is being increasingly challenged by the ever-
accelerating pace of change in the modern world. 
Architecture that cannot accommodate change comes 
to be underused, demolished, and replaced with new 
construction, thus contributing to an unsustainable 
cycle of material production. In order to achieve a more 
responsible architectural practice, I propose to disrupt 
this cycle by implementing adaptability into the design 
of new built environment. 
The following essay is the result of my investigation into 
adaptability of architecture completed over the course 
of the Master of Science, Advanced Architectural Design 
program. The text begins with an attempt to define 
adaptable architecture and outline the extent of my 
inquiry. It further presents seven different approaches 
to adaptability. Each one is supported by a case study 
of either a design studio or an architectural elective. 
The third part of the essay synthesizes all the work 
and proposes a new conceptual framework for viewing 
adaptability in architecture. 
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vi | 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For their contributions to this research project I would 
like to thank
Lily Chi and Caroline O’Donnell, members of my Special 
Committee, for their helpful input on this essay;
Katharina Kral, for a design studio that allowed me to 
directly address and investigate adaptable architecture 
on the scale of a building;
Jesse LeCavalier, for a design studio that expanded 
my thinking about adaptability into the realm of 
infrastructural systems;
Jeremy Foster, Ioanna Theocharopoulou,  Elisa Iturbe, 
Misako Murata, James Lowder, Mark Milstein, for 
teaching the electives and studio modules that allowed 
me to develop my investigation;
Aleksandr Mergold and Felix Heisel, advisors for my 
Bachelor of Architecture thesis project, which served 
as the foundation for this investigation;
AAP NYC Program, for the wonderful and insightful 
semester in New York City;
My friends and family, for their support through the 
course of my studies;
The M.S. AAD class of 2021, for the three semesters we 
spent together and everything we learned from each 
other. 
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CONTENTS
DEFINING ADAPTABILITY 1
MATERIAL ADAPTABILITY 4
PLASTICS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY 6
LIMITS TO ADAPTABILITY 12
AGAINST GOOGLE BUILDING 14
ANTICIPATING ADAPTABILITY 22
RED HOOK FLOODED 24
POST–HUMAN ADAPTABILITY 28
RUINS AS FUTURE MONUMENTS 30
ADAPTABILITY AS A SYSTEM 36
URBANANAS 38
ADAPTABILITY AS A STRATEGY 44
MEADOWLANDS REIMAGINED 46
DESIGNING FOR ADAPTABILITY 56
HOUSING AD-APT 58
CONCLUSIONS 74
ADAPTIVE VALUE 76
78
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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DEFINING ADAPTABILITY
“There is nothing permanent except change.” 1 1  Heraclitus, 535 BCE.
Change remains the one constant in all spheres of life. 
Economic, political, ecological, and social conditions 
continuously evolve and fluctuate. Architecture, on 
the other hand, has been traditionally conceived 
as a static condition, as the production of physical 
space that can be preserved in its original state for 
decades or even centuries. The current conditions of 
the globalized world are increasingly accelerating the 
processes of change.2 Therefore now, more than ever, 2 Arjun Appadurai, Modernity 
at Large (Minneapolis: 
the static notion of architecture must be challenged. University of Minnesota 
Press, 1996), 27–47.
One potential resolution to this complex project can be 
found in the adaptability of architecture, approaching 
design of built environment with the consideration of 
future change in mind.
Adaptability is certainly not a new concept in    architectural 3 Sherban Cantacuzino, 
Re-Architecture. Old 
discourse or architectural practice. Reappropriation Buildings/New Uses (New 
and reuse of existing structures has existed for as York: Abberville Press, 
1989),  8.
long as buildings themselves.3 More recently, adaptive 
4 Bie Plevoets and Koenraad 
reuse has been framed as an established discipline of van Cleempoel, Adaptive 
Reuse of the Built Heritage 
architectural practice in the 1970s.4 Simultaneously, (New York: Routledge, 
multiple architectural movements and radical proposals 2019), 16.
emerged that argued for making architecture more 5 Such as the works of 
Archigram, Cedric Price, 
transient and impermanent.5 However, while these Archizoom Associati.
 | 1
practices addressed adaptability in some way, there has 
never been a general agreement on what constitutes 
adaptable architecture. So how could a more precise 
definition of adaptability in architecture be generated?
Over the course of my investigation I found it helpful to 
outline some concepts that are related to adaptability, 
and in fact are often used interchangeably with the 
6  The following definitions term.6 Polyvalence is the ability of a building or a space 
has originally been outlined 
by me within the context to be used in multiple ways without requiring any 
of research for Cornell adjustments. The term has been defined by a Dutch 
Design Studio ARCH 
7112: Minimax - Polyvalent architect Herman Hertzberger, who tried to implement 
Housing.
polyvalence into his projects by creating ambiguous 
7  For a better understanding spaces.7 Flexibility is the ability of a building or a 
of the architect’s ideas, 
read Hertzberger, space to undergo certain adjustments to satisfy a new 
Lessons for Students function. Many modernist architects experimented 
in Architecture or 
Architecture and with flexibility by means of movable partitions, and 
Structuralism. 
many contemporary projects are likewise designed 
with flexible elements.
While polyvalent spaces can simultaneously satisfy 
multiple functions, and flexible spaces can be easily 
adjusted for multiple programs, an adaptation of a 
building or a space implies a more extensive and long-
term modification in response to the changes in internal 
requirements or external conditions. Adaptability 
therefore becomes the extent of a building’s potential 
to accommodate a range of adaptations over long 
8  This definition of periods of time.8
adaptability has also been 
first outlined by me for 
Minimax design studio.
2 | 
With a more precise definition of adaptable architecture 
in mind, it is equally important to outline the wide range 
of this approach, both in its conceptual understanding 
and its practical implementation. The extent of 
conceptual discourse on adaptability could address 
such subjects as material accumulation,9 ruination,10 9 Multiple works of Walter 
Benjamin address the 
mnemonic connection to the past.11 Most importantly, subject. 
thinking about adaptable architecture should allow for 10 Plevoets and Cleempoel, 
the multiplicity of interpretation and an open-ended Adaptive Reuse of the Built 
Heritage, 42.
approach. At the same time, practical considerations 
11 Sally Stone, UnDoing 
can help develop strategies for the implementation Buildings: Adaptive Reuse 
of adaptability in the architectural production. Some and Cultural Memory (New 
York:Routledge, 2020), 
of those considerations include economic efficiency,12 32-35.
reevaluation of the built material,13 and sustainability of 12 Cantacuzino, 
    Re-Architecture, 11.
construction.14
13 Andreas and Ilka Ruby, 
   The Materials Book, (Berlin: 
To properly describe the whole extent of adaptable Ruby Press, 2020), 27-52.
architecture would require a very extensive and 14 Muck Petzet, Florian 
Heilmeyer, eds., Reduce, 
thorough academic work.15 Over the course of my Reuse, Recycle: Rethink 
Architecture (Ostfildern, 
investigation I was able to more closely address some Hatie Cantz, 2012), 49.
of the important manifestations of adaptability. The 
15 All the subjects mentioned 
following sections present seven distinct approaches to above have been 
addressed by multiple 
adaptable architecture and highlight their contributions researchers. The provided 
sources should be seen 
to the discourse of adaptability. as a small excerpt of 
numerous points of 
reference. 
 | 3
MATERIAL ADAPTABILITY
A meaningful point of departure for the investigation 
of adaptable architecture is at the scale of building 
materials. Architectural industry currently has a massive 
ecological impact on the planet, namely through 
excessive material extraction and waste production. 
These incredible inefficiencies can be attributed to the 
current architectural paradigm, in which buildings are 
constructed for limited lifespans, after which they are 
demolished and their debris transported to the landfills. 
The current disposability of construction materials 
needs to be eliminated. 
Certain developments in architectural practice could 
allow for a more sustainable use and reuse of materials. 
Urban mining proposes to take advantage of the already 
16 Ruby, The Materials Book, existing built environment for extracting materials.16 
39.
Modular construction, if designed intelligently, could 
allow for building elements to be created more 
intelligently with higher efficiency and  lower waste 
17 Ruby, The Materials Book, production.17 A more focused approach of design for 
34.
disassembly specifically concentrates on developing 
non-permanent projects with material assemblies that 
18 Ruby, The Materials Book, can be easily taken apart for subsequent reuse.18
47.
The project to increase the reusability of construction 
materials however is not merely a technological 
4 | 
challenge — of equal importance is the broader shift in 
the current way of thinking about materials as infinitely 
available and disposable. In order to challenge the 
current highly unsustainable paradigm of architectural 
production, one needs to start with the technical 
configuration of the building materials. Only based 
on the foundation of disassembleable and reusable 
construction materials can adaptable architecture exist 
in the first place. 
 | 5
Image credit: Todd Fratzel
6 | 
PLASTICS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY
ARCH 6605: The Circular Economy
Spring 2021
Instructors: Felix Heisel, Mark Milstein
Partners: Aishah Alhady, Adriana Contarino, 
                Joseph McGranahan
The concept of circular economy can be defined as a 
closed-loop system of continuous material reuse with 
the goal of minimizing the environmental impact of 
material production.19 In the architectural sphere this 19 For a more extensive 
overview of circular 
could be achieved through practices of local production, economy see Walter 
adaptive reuse of buildings, and design for disassembly, Stahel, The Circular 
Economy: A User’s Guide 
among others. This elective addressed circular economy (New York: Routledge, 
2019).
on the local scale of Ithaca region, identifying issues in 
construction industry and proposing solutions for more 
sustainable economic and architectural models.
Plastics in Circular Economy proposes to mitigate 
the massive environmental impact of the plastics 
20 Raw materials (crude oil) 
production. It identifies several major issues within is primarily extracted in 
the plastics industry: lack of local production Texas, while the largest 
manufacturing facilities 
(Fig. 1),20 highly insufficient recycling system,21 and are located in Ohio. 
current construction practices. The project concentrates 21 Only 9% of plastics 
are currently recycled, 
on a common to Upstate New York region application see Laura Parker’s “A 
of plastics in construction: insulation. The current most Whopping 91 Percent of 
Plastic Isn’t Recycled” 
wide-spread method — spray-foam insulation — is highly in National Geographic 
Society.
unsustainable, as this product is not only unreusable, 
22 For more on spray foam 
it also prevents the potential reuse of any materials insulation see Erin Shine, 
it is applied to.22 The project proposes an alternative “The Great Debate: Pros 
& Cons Of Spray Foam 
product of the insulation panels locally-produced from Insulation” in Attainable 
Home.
 | 7
Fig. 1 National production 
of construction 
plastics
8 | 
the abundance of plastics sent for recycling. By reusing 
the already existing material, the proposal establishes a 
closed loop system of plastic application in the region. 
More importantly, the proposed product facilitates 
the ease of eventual building disassembly and can be 
subsequently reused in new construction. 
 | 9
Fig. 2 Supply chain diagram 
of construction 
plastics industry
10 | 
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LIMITS TO ADAPTABILITY
When setting out to increase the adaptability of 
a building, one’s first instinct might be to envision 
limitless adaptations over time. However, it is important 
to acknowledge that architectural adaptability cannot 
be implemented without limits. The spatial specifics 
of a building’s site will impose certain limitations. 
The natural deterioration of material over time would 
also prevent limitless adaptability. Finally, the social 
and environmental impact of extreme adaptability 
should also be viewed as a limitation. Without such 
considerations, a limitlessly adaptable building might 
easily become appropriated for unsustainable or 
damaging purposes. Therefore, the goal of adaptable 
architecture should be a strategic approach to the 
limitations the project imposes.
12 | 
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14 | 
AGAINST GOOGLE BUILDING 
ARCH 6308: Overcoming Carbon Form
Fall 2021
Instructor: Elisa Iturbe
Elisa Iturbe’s work describes carbon form as the 
spatial manifestation of the abundant fossil fuel 
energy paradigm.23 Against Google Building identifies 23 Elisa Iturbe, “Architecture 
and the Death of Carbon 
111 8th Avenue, more widely known as the Google Modernity”, Log 47 (2019), 
Building, as such an example. My project recognizes 11–23.
the initial reasons for the building’s construction 
and its subsequent uses as the features that make it 
carbon form. The most important aspect, however, is 
the enormous scale of the building, which occupies 
a whole city block in Midtown Manhattan (Fig.5). 
Interestingly, the building’s open floor plan has allowed 
it to be adapted for multiple purposes over its lifespan. 
However, because of the floor plates’ massive scale, 
large parts of the building lack access to the facade 
and therefore daylight. Based on this fact and within 
the context of the free market economy the building 
was adapted for an economically viable but largely 24 For an detailed historic 
overview of the Google 
unsustainable purpose of a data center.24 The high Building’s development, 
adaptability of the open floor plan buildings thus does see Greg Estren’s talk: 
https://www.youtube.com/
not necessarily ensure their sustainability. watch?v=fVx59XOZtSA.
Against Google Building proposes to break down the 
enormous scale of the building in order to disrupt 
the structure’s impact as a carbon form (Fig. 6). Two 
cuts made through the volume transition the private 
property of the building into public ownership and 
 | 15
60’
29%
798’
205’
56%
16 | 
programmatic uses. Technically, the intervention would 
increase the naturally illuminated area of the building 
from 29% to 56% (Fig 3, 4).25 Conceptually, the project 25 Calculations based on the 
optimal for daylighting 
aims to redefine the relationship between the public depth of 60 feet, 
and private ownership of space into a more sustainable referenced from a Whole 
Building Design Guide 
intertwined system. Ultimately, it demonstrates how article.
through the implementation of strategic limitations 
into the design a more sustainable and responsible 
result could be achieved.  
Fig. 3 Existing daylight 
(16, efficiency
top)
Fig. 4 Proposed daylight 
(16, efficiency
btm)
 | 17
18 | 
Fig. 5 Existing condition of 
the Google Building
 | 19
Fig. 6 Proposed 
deconstruction of the 
Google Building
20 | 
 | 21
ANTICIPATING ADAPTABILITY
One approach to pursuing adaptability is figuring out 
which potential future developments that the building 
might be forced to respond to, known in urbanism as 
26 For an overview of scenario planning.26 While such scenarios of adaptation 
scenario planning, see 
“Scenario Planning”, might not become the reality, there is still value in 
American Planning outlining and considering the extent of their impact. 
Association, https://
www.planning.org/ They can be further classified into several general 
knowledgebase/
scenarioplanning/. categories based on the nature of the processes.
Ecological scenarios might be the most straightforward 
ones to plan for, since the processes of climate change 
could be largely anticipated with at least partial 
accuracy. They would include such developments as 
sea level rise, more often extreme weather events, and 
more extreme temperature fluctuations, among others. 
Responses to shifting climates are already widely 
27 See Robyn. Wilson implemented in architectural and planning projects.27
“Designing buildings 
to cope with extreme 
weather events”. World Demographic scenarios could also be to an extent 
Built Environment Forum. anticipated and taken into account in the development 
March 16, 2020. https://
of projects. They would include population growth, 
www.rics.org/es/wbef/
megatrends/. centralization or decentralization tendencies of urban 
settlements, and aging of the population. 
Economic scenarios might be more difficult to predict, 
since economic processes can develop in both directions 
22 | 
and fluctuate relatively easily. Economic developments 
with a direct impact on the built environment include 
gentrification of an area, disinvestment after an 
economic crisis, or rising economic inequality.
Political scenarios are perhaps the most difficult 
to anticipate. Some of the more obvious political 
developments involve urban planning policies, such as 
rezoning of neighborhoods, or construction of massive 
infrastructural projects. 
Finally, it is also important to remember that particular 
developments that would require architectural 
responses do not happen in isolation and therefore 
cannot be easily classified. In most cases, the reasons 
for adaptations would involve a combination of the 
categories listed above.
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24 | 
RED HOOK FLOODED
ARCH 6509: Urban Nature
Fall 2021
Instructor: James Lowder, Misako Murata
Partners: Seerat Athwal, Ian Crouch
Red Hook Flooded investigates the historic, currently 
existing, and potential future conditions in the Brooklyn 
neighborhood of Red Hook. The project demonstrates 
that the topography of the area, with large parts of the 
urban fabric located very close to the water level,28 28 Topographic information 
sourced from www.
makes the neighborhood very prone to flooding (Fig. cadmapper.com.
7).29 In fact, the impact of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was 
29 See New York City 
extremely severe, with the majority of the neighborhood Department of City 
Planning’s 2014 report on 
flooded.30 Additionally, the history of heavy industrial Red Hook.
use left Red Hook with various types of toxins buried 30 See Surging Seas: Risk 
underground. Finder website for an 
interactive projection: 
https://sealevel.
climatecentral.org/about. 
The current reality of climate change and sea level rise 
makes the situation increasingly more serious. With 
the more often extreme weather events, certain types 
of toxins are expected to rise from the ground and 
contaminate the harbor. Through the close investigation 
into the urban ecologies of the neighborhood, past, 
present, and future, the project uncovers the broad 
processes of change on urban scale that would force 
the property owners and the neighborhood in general 
to adapt in order to keep functioning.31 31 Watch the competed 
video project for the 
class here: https://
vimeo.com/manage/
videos/656391380.
 | 25
26 | 
Fig. 7 Storm surge flooding 
(26) of 20 feet
Fig. 8 Impact of the storm 
(27) surge on the IKEA 
Brooklyn store
 | 27
POST–HUMAN ADAPTABILITY
It could be valuable for the discussion of adaptability 
to extend one’s scope of study beyond the human uses 
of the architecture. This consideration of post-human 
end of a building’s life span is almost entirely absent 
from both architectural practice and architectural 
32 Outside of the discourse.32 However, while left largely overlooked, the 
architecture, the 
subject gets extensively increasing accumulation of the built environment has 
addressed in the discourse very real material consequences on the ground. Once 
on ruination. See, in 
particular, works of Caitlin constructed, any project is set to remain on Earth in one 
DeSilvey, Shannon Lee 
Dawdy, Walter Benjamin. form or another, whether as a functioning building, an 
abandoned ruin, or a dispersed pile of debris in a landfill. 
Therefore it becomes the architect’s responsibility to 
consider what agency the buildings they design could 
potentially have after their human uses expire. Could 
the building provide a habitat for non-human species 
or would it act as a barrier in its context? Could its 
material decompose over time or would it result in the 
contamination of its site? How would the building look 
like, feel like, and act like as a ruin?
28 | 
 | 29
30 | 
RUINS AS FUTURE MONUMENTS
A+D Design Studio Module
Fall 2020
Instructor: Jeremy Foster
Partners: Chen Chen, Yangli Hu, Zhongyuan Liu
Ruins as Future Monuments proposes to develop a 
new definition of monumentality at the sites that have 
been abandoned and turned to ruination. Ruins should 
be viewed not as static objects, but rather as active 
processes of cultural memory and natural decay. Ruins 
become a representation of a non-defined temporality, 
acting as an intersection between their past lives and 
their future deterioration.33 It is this fluid nature of ruins 33 The project has been 
specifically informed by 
that allows them to achieve their status as monuments. Caitlin DeSilvey’s Curated 
Decay: Heritage Beyond 
Saving (Minneapolis: 
My project specifically looks at an abandoned waterfront University of Minnesota 
Press, 2017).
warehouse site in Richmond, Virginia.34 It proposes to 
34 This particular site is 
remove parts of the hard edge waterfront (Fig. 9), thus Intermediate Terminal 
Warehouse No.3, 
allowing for the rising water levels to progressively flood 
constructed in 1937 and 
the site (Figs. 10–17). This intervention is not meant to abandoned in 1980.
reintegrate the building into the urban life, but rather 
create a visual indicator of the climate change’s effects 
on the built environment for the people visiting the site.
The project ultimately poses the question of how 
the remains of the abandoned past can inform our 
understanding of the upcoming future. Rather than 
providing a conclusive answer, it encourages people to 
search for new frameworks of understanding in the very 
transience and non-definition that the ruins represent.
 | 31
Fig. 9 Current state of the 
site
Figs. Progressive flooding 
10–11 of the site
32 | 
Figs. Progressive flooding 
12–14 of the site
 | 33
Figs. Progressive flooding 
15–17 of the site
Fig. 18 Site plan with 
(35) indication of flooding 
periods for particular 
site features
34 | 
 | 35
ADAPTABILITY AS A SYSTEM
When attempting to practically deploy adaptability 
for an architectural production, it becomes important 
to approach the project in a systematic way. As 
discussed previously, certain limitations are required 
for adaptability to be applied in a sustainable manner. 
A developed systematic thinking builds upon those 
constraints to establish a framework for expansion and 
35 Systematic thinking is adaptation.35
specifically addressed 
in the discourse on 
infrastructure. See, for Several architectural approaches can be applied for the 
example, Brian Larkin, 
“The Politics and Poetics physical manifestation of such a system. The structure-
of Infrastructure”.
infill approach focuses on the construction of a fixed 
structural frame to be populated with flexible infill 
over time. The modular approach develops a modular 
logic for the allocation of spaces and distribution of 
programs within the building. The prototype approach 
generates a prototypical condition that when deployed 
on different sites can be adapted to satisfy their specific 
36 Modular approach to conditions.36 Ultimately, systematic architecture 
infrastructural systems 
is at length discussed therefore transcends its status as a singular object and 
by Jesse LeCavalier in becomes a part of a wider approach to architectural 
The Rule of Logistics 
(Minneapolis: University of production.
Minnesota Press, 2016).
36 | 
 | 37
38 | 
URBANANAS
A+U Design Studio Module
Fall 2020
Instructor: Jesse LeCavallier
Partners: Ien-Jung Chen, Karisma Dev, 
                Youngnjune Lee, Felix Samo
Urbananas is developed around the study of how a single 
commodity — bananas — is produced, transported, 
and distributed around the world. The inefficiencies, 
frictions, and injustices within the current global supply 
chain (Fig. 19) serve as a starting point for proposing a 
more considerate and sustainable system.37 The project 37 For a quick summary of 
the global supply chain 
first develops a prototype proposal for a food hub that of bananas see Chelsea 
accommodates the processes of growing the fruit, its Semiklose’s “Going 
Bananas”: https://blog.
storage, distribution, and public education (Fig. 20). americold.com/blog/
going-bananas-a-look-at-
The central idea is to make all the stages of the global the-supply-chain-for-the-
most-consumed-fruit.
supply chain that are usually obscured from the final 
consumers visible to the public and, moreover, allow 
the public to engage in these processes. 
The prototype is then deployed on two very different 
sites — a suburban neighborhood (Fig. 21) and the 
city center (Fig. 22).38 The core principles that govern 38 The sites are located in 
the city of Rochester, New 
the spatial organizations in the project make possible York.
the prototype’s application in different contexts and 
at different scales. The modular logic of the project 
additionally allows for volumes to be added or 
subtracted over time, thus implementing a consideration 
of temporal adaptability within the system.
 | 39
Fig. 19 Mapping the global 
supply chain
40 | 
Fig. 20 Prototype Food Hub
 | 41
Fig. 21 Food Hub deployed 
in a suburban 
neighborhood
42 | 
Fig. 22 Food Hub deployed 
in a city center
 | 43
ADAPTABILITY AS A STRATEGY
Rather than focusing on the physical manifestations 
of adaptability as systematic thinking does, strategic 
thinking brings the consideration of adaptability 
39 An original concept into wider strategies of development.39 As such, it 
defined within the context 
of this essay. addresses the full extent of potential adaptations 
on a range of spatial and temporal scales. It brings 
together multiple previously discussed approaches 
to adaptability into a comprehensive conception of a 
project. Potential scenarios of the future are recognized 
as drivers for adaptation. Ecological factors and non–
human agencies are also acknowledged. Different 
organizational systems are seen as potential solutions 
to implementing adaptability.
Ultimately, strategic thinking ingrains the consideration 
of adaptability into the very core of one’s thinking 
about a project. Its ultimate product is not a specific 
built environment, but rather the complete way of 
strategically conceptualizing the potential for future 
development. 
44 | 
 | 45
46 | 
MEADOWLANDS REIMAGINED
Design Option Studio
Fall 2021
Instructor: Jesse LeCavalier
Partner: Natane Deruytter
Meadowlands Reimagined attempts to propose 
new sustainable strategies for the region of the New 
Jersey Meadowlands. The project acknowledges that 
developing a masterplan vision for the area proves 
challenging, as it is hard to predict the specifics of the 
future economic, ecological, and social developments.40 40 Nevertheless, New Jersey 
Sport & Exposition 
The intervention it proposes is deliberately designed as Authority’s “Hackensack 
open-ended strategy that could accommodate change, Meadowlands District 
Master Plan Update 2020” 
expansion, and underutilization over time. could be a useful resource 
for an overview of the 
region.
The project specifically focuses on the bio-mobility 
of the Meadowlands. It proposes to transition away 
from the current vehicular-dependent regional system 
of mobility into a more sustainable human-centered 
system (Figs. 23, 24). It utilizes the abundance of 
existing abandoned or underutilized infrastructural 
material in the Meadowlands41 (Fig. 27) to create a new 41 Such as abandoned rail 
lines, abandoned swing 
network of pedestrian trail circulation (Fig. 26). Most bridge, and a historic 
importantly, instilled into the very core of the project is vertical lift bridge planned 
for demolition.
the anticipation of sea level rise, which is perceived not 
as a threat to the infrastructural systems, but rather as 
an opportunity to create a more sustainable system. All 
the pathways are designed to be floating, allowing them 
to rise up with daily tides, extreme weather events, and 
ongoing sea level rise. Extending out from the central 
 | 47
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circulation pathways are floating armatures, which 
house floating platforms with a variety of programs 
(Fig. 28). The platforms are conceived as plug-ins that 
would be able to rotate around the region based on 
the specific requirements of the people occupying the 
spaces. Ultimately, Meadowlands Reimagined proposes 
a fundamentally new approach to occupying available 
space within the reality of rising sea levels. 
Fig. 23 Existing vehicular-
(48, based system of 
top) mobility
Fig. 24 Proposed human and 
(48, non-human centered 
btm) system of mobility
 | 49
LOWER MEADOWLANDS
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 | 51
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52 | 
Fig. 25 Proposed pathway 
(50) layout
Fig. 26 Proposed phases of 
(51) project development
Fig. 27 Reactivation 
(52– of existing 
53) infrastructures
 | 53
Fig. 28 A system of floating 
armatures and 
plug-in platforms
54 | 
 | 55
DESIGNING FOR ADAPTABILITY
All of the strategies and expressions of adaptable 
architecture discussed above could prove useful when 
designing a building for adaptability. Many of these 
approaches are mutually exclusive, therefore they 
should be viewed as a wide range of possibilities out 
of which the more appropriate ones for the building’s 
program and context can be selected. At the same time, 
based on the specifics of a project, there can be also 
opportunities for synthesizing multiple approaches to 
develop a more adaptable system.
One additional consideration that is important to keep 
in mind is the actual users of the built environment, who 
would ultimately benefit from its potential adaptations. 
All architecture should be designed with the primary 
goal of enhancing lived experiences of the people. A 
socially responsible system therefore needs to give 
the agency over adaptability to the architecture’s 
42  A similar approach of occupants, rather than removed governing agencies.42 
participatory design is 
explored in Esra Ackan’s Only then can adaptability transcends its notion as a 
Open Architecture (Basel: theoretical framework and become a practical system 
Birkhauser, 2018).
that improves the lives of people it is supposed to serve. 
56 | 
 | 57
58 | 
HOUSING AD-APT
Design Option Studio
Spring 2021
Instructor: Katharina Kral
Housing AD-APT is a multi-family affordable housing 
development on the Long Island City waterfront of 
Queens, New York.43 From the outset the project 43 The design studio 
addressed multiple 
is developed around the core idea of adaptability. aspects of a socially 
The building is designed to have a fixed space frame responsible housing 
design: affordability, 
structure and easily adjustable walls and partitions sustainable mass timber 
construction, healthy 
separating the spaces within it. Thus, the layouts of the environments, etc.
units in the project are open to adaptations over time, 
such as inserting an additional bedroom for a new child, 
sacrificing part of a bedroom for a larger living room, or 
transforming a part of the living room into an enclosed 
home office (Fig. 29). Likewise, the cluster arrangements 
can be transformed, combining neighboring units to 
create a larger apartment, separating large apartments 
into smaller ones (Fig. 30), or expanding the area of 
the unit by building outward into the previously empty 
parts of the space frame (Fig. 31). Thus the residents are 
granted additional agency over the spatial layouts of 
their units, allowing the architecture to respond to their 
changing family structures, professional requirements, 
or even personal preferences.
 | 59
60 | 
Fig. 29 Adaptations of the 
(60– interior layouts of the 
61) units
 | 61
62 | 
Fig. 30 Reconfigurations 
(62) of the cluster 
arrangements
Fig. 31 Expansions of the 
(63) units
 | 63
64 | 
 | 65
An important part of the project is the modular nature 
of the building components. Built from sustainably 
44  For more on mass timber sourced timber,44 there are multiple types of structural 
construction see Mass 
Timber Design Manual, members, floor and wall panels that are inserted into 
published by Think Wood the structural system (Figs. 33–38). The project allows 
and WoodWorks.
for these panels to be easily removed, replaced, and 
reused over time. The building stores extra panels on 
site, thus allowing for the residents to request changes 
to the layouts or the window arrangements of their 
units (Fig. 39). 
Housing AD-APT ultimately achieves a high degree of 
adaptability by balancing the developed system and 
the open-ended anticipation of changes within this 
system. 
Fig. 32 Floor plan of the 
(64– housing complex, 
65) Floor 3
Fig. 33 Modular system, 
(67, structural frame
top)
Fig. 34 Modular system, floor 
(67, plates
btm)
Fig. 35 Modular system, 
(68, interior unit-to-unit 
top) walls
Fig. 36 Modular system, 
(68, interior in-unit 
btm) partitions
Fig. 37 Modular system,
(69, facade panels
top)
Fig. 38 Modular system,
(69, shared spaces facade 
btm) panels
66 | 
 | 67
68 | 
 | 69
70 | 
 | 71
72 | 
Fig. 39 Formal configuration 
(70–71) of the project, 
potential adaptations 
of the elements
Fig. 40 Common roof 
(72– terrace, replacement 
73) of a facade panel
 | 73
CONCLUSIONS
My investigation into adaptability has uncovered 
the broad extent of the approach’s definition, as its 
application can vary greatly in the specific contexts of 
different projects. Nevertheless, a number of common 
themes can be identified that help inform the thinking 
about adaptability in the architectural practice.
 1. Adaptability can be deployed on a wide 
range of spatial scales, from private residences to 
public spaces and urban design;
 2. Likewise, adaptability should be considered 
on different temporal scales: days, seasons, years;
 3. A modular approach to building elements 
can allow them to be removed, replaced and reused, 
thus promoting adaptability;
 4. A modular approach to the spatial 
organizations within a building can allow for them to 
be likewise expanded or modified;
 5. It is impossible to accurately predict the 
full extent of the potential future conditions that the 
building would need to adapt to;
 6. Instead, adaptable architecture should 
focus on establishing an open-ended system that can 
allow for the different adaptation scenarios to occur; 
          7. Adaptable architecture should seek the 
balance between the fixed and flexible elements within
74 | 
the system it develops;
 8. It is important to consider the actors of 
adaptability and assign agency to the immediate 
occupants of the space;
 9. Limitless adaptability should not be the 
goal of a project;
 10. Rather, a project should be strategic about 
the limitations it imposes.
 | 75
ADAPTIVE VALUE
Over the course of my investigation, adaptable 
architecture has proven to be a viable and responsible 
approach to architectural production. Therefore, I argue 
for the need of its higher degree of implementation into 
the practice. In order to achieve this goal, I propose to 
define a conceptual framework of adaptive value — the 
capacity of the built environment to undergo a wide 
45 This original concept, range of potential future adaptations.45
defined through the 
course of my investigation, 
was inspired by Alois Adaptive value as a concept can be interpreted from two 
Riegl’s conception of 
values assigned to perspectives. First, it declares that there is indeed value 
buildings, in “The Modern 
Cult of Monuments” in the adaptability. More projects need to start viewing 
(1903).
adaptability as a feasible and valuable parameter of 
construction. Only then can adaptability be more 
widely implemented into the architectural practice. 
Second, adaptive value can be viewed as a metric for 
measuring the extent of a project’s adaptability. While 
not suggesting to assign numeric values to adaptability, 
adaptive value can still be used as a tool to compare 
the degrees of adaptability in multiple projects. As 
discussed above, limitless adaptability should not be 
considered the optimal or desired condition. Through 
the adaptive value as a metric of comparison, the 
appropriate degree of adaptability could be determined 
for each specific project.
76 | 
A paradigm shift towards adaptive value in the 
architectural practice could allow adaptability to 
become an important factor in the design of new 
construction. It is my belief that this new approach 
would ultimately establish a much more sustainable, 
responsible and enduring mode of architectural 
production. 
 | 77
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Aleksandr Dmitrashchuk 2021