Adaptive Re-Use

After reading Rem Koolhaus's writing on junk space, I think it can be very easy to get discouraged as an architect. Koolhaus addressed Junk Space as an almost unavoidable entity. As Julian discussed in his blog post, "Junk Space is." It does exist and it will exist until the needs of the population and developers change. Many contemporary architects would not choose to design entities such as strip malls or shopping malls or movie theaters but, for many firms, this is their primary means of making money. 

To me, the onus is on us as the architect to understand that junk space does exist and it will exist. In the design process we need to plan for junk space. By that I mean it is imperative for us to consider ideas such as adaptive re-use and "long life, loose fit" in all aspects of our architecture so that junk space can be avoided. If columns lines are placed appropriately and a strip mall is angled in the right way, an abandoned strip mall, with the right changes to the parking lot, could become a simple apartment complex or, depending on the community, a low income housing options. To me, our goal as architects should be to design for the present and the future. That way, we simply design present and future spaces, not present spaces and future junk spaces.