Age plus adaptability is what makes a building come to be loved. The building learns from its occupants, and the occupants learn from it too.
Book: How Buildings Learn
Why do older buildings oftentimes feel comforting and personal despite their imperfection?
Buildings, like living beings, are meant to evolve. A truly cherished building isn't perfect or static. Instead, it tells a story of continuous adaptation and growth alongside its residents.
Age adds charm. Whether it's worn bricks, polished steps, or faded paint, signs of time make us curious about a building's past. Such structures have outlasted transient fashions and become more timeless and relatable.
Adaptation is the other key ingredient. People constantly adjust buildings to fit their lives. They add rooms, modernize kitchens, or convert old factories into trendy apartments. These changes reflect practical needs and creative expression.
Age and adaptation deepen the bond between building and occupant.
MIT's Building 20 is a famous example. Shabby yet beloved. Its imperfections allowed occupants to adapt spaces in unconventional ways. Such buildings teach people how to live and work differently, shaping their habits, routines, and identities. Occupants, in turn, continually shape the building through small modifications.
Ultimately, this reciprocal relationship between a building and its occupants creates a lasting emotional connection. It's why adaptable, aging buildings often feel more like home than perfect, static ones, and architectural design should create adaptable spaces rather than attempting to predict and design for future needs perfectly.
This also reminds me of how languages evolve when there are more people learn it as a second language and evolutionary success with individual suffering.