Like Water Changes Stones, People Change Architecture

"Good architecture, we instinctively believe, is the stone in the midst of running water. The common environment, however, is the running water, and change by way of adaptation over time is essential for its continued existence. " - N. John Habraken (Questions that won't go Away)

The way in which running water can alter rocks, stones, and river banks, people living and moving throughout our built environment can also alter the way architecture transforms and changes over time as well. It started to make me reflect on what in our built environment have I seen being altered by people who encounter it. It reminded me of our architecture building Lee 1, 2, and 3. Over the past six years, Lee has been altered to fit the ever-changing needs of faculty, staff, and students. From the simple rearrangement of desks from year to year to defining a new setup that works best with our adapting methods of teaching to an entire new upfit of specific rooms throughout the buildings. One example of this is the "lounge/ greenscreen room in Lee 1". In the beginning years of my architecture education, that space, as I was told, was a classroom space. However, by the time I got here, it was a dead space used for the storage of old models and drawings from previous students; the space was unusable. As the world changes and develops new ways of doing things, architecture and methodologies have shifted as well. 

Specifically, the way in which we visualize architecture before it is built. Even more specspecificallyific, VR. Once a classroom, a dormant storage space, and now an opportunity to advance our education and give students an opportunity to design and build to meet the needs of our ever-changing education and the advanced updates to the architectural profession. During my time as a student, I was able to witness the shift from an unusable storage room to a full setup of lounge space, a technology center, and a greenscreen VR space. Because of the changes in people and their needs, the shift in the architectural world, and a dormant space in need of revitalization by the people inhabiting the space, a new space was adapted. 

Instances like this happen every single day; like running water changes stones in the river, people change spaces as the move throughout them.