#adaptive-architecture

#adaptive-architecture

Architectural space has long been framed by permanence: rooms for fixed functions, facades that clearly define where exterior ends and interior begins. Yet contemporary life is defined by overlap and transition: between work and living, interior and exterior, privacy and community. Spatial needs evolve continually, demanding architecture that can respond, adapt, and remain relevant over time. In this context, adaptability has emerged not only as a design ambition but as a sustainable necessity.

Constructive Deconstruction by architect Siyu Zhu examines how processes of construction and dismantling can shape new forms of public space on Manhattan's waterfront. The project positions architecture as a transitory system rather than a fixed object, drawing from utilitarian structures such as scaffolding and fencing. These elements are reinterpreted as mediators between body, structure, and landscape. Focusing on the Lower West Side, the proposal introduces two temporal interventions across distinct urban sites:

The space has been conceptualised and designed by architect and artistic director Sumayya Vally, Counterspace, whose practice is internationally recognised for redefining cultural typologies through community, memory, and ritual. Envisioned as an incremental unfolding - a gathering of gatherings - the headquarters will grow and evolve, responding to how people use and inhabit it. At its heart, the project is less about static architecture and more about an ongoing choreography of space, activated by dialogue, learning, and exchange.

Garcia Saxe positioned movable wooden wall systems at the heart of Ocean Eye's design philosophy, creating what we'd now recognize as analog smart home technology. These systems transform static architecture into dynamic, responsive living spaces. The walls aren't simple sliding panels but full-height wooden screens that fold completely away, turning enclosed rooms into open pavilions. When fully retracted, the main living spaces become continuous with the exterior terraces, creating a single flowing space from interior to pool deck.