Architectural Exaptation
When Function Follows Form
- 254 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Architectural Exaptation
When Function Follows Form
About this book
Architectural Exaptation: When Function Follows Form focuses on the significance and the originality of the study of exaptation. It presents exaptation as an opportunity to extend architectural design towards more sustainable approaches aimed at enforcing urban resilience.
The use of exaptation's definition in architecture supports the heuristic value of cross-disciplinary studies on biology and architecture, which seem even more relevant in times of global environmental crises. This book aims to make a critique of the pre-existing and extensive paternalistic literature. Exaptation will be described as a functional shift of a structure that already had a prior, but different, function. In architecture, a functional shift of a structure that already had a function may apply to forms of decorative elements embedded in architectural components, and to both change of function of tectonic elements and the change of use of an architectural space. The book is illustrated with examples from around the globe, including China, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, the USA and the UK, and looks at different civilizations and diverse historical periods, ranging from the urban to the architectural scale. Such examples highlight the potential and latent human creative capacity to change the use and functions, something that cities and buildings could consider when facing disturbances. Exaptation is shown as an alternative narrative to the simplifications of evolutionary puritanism. It also offers an innovative perspective and presents an opportunity to re-think the manner in which we design and redesign our cities.
This book will be of interest to architecture, planning, urban design and biology researchers and students.
Winner of the 'Gerd Albers Award 2024'. This award is for the best book contribution in the field of Urban Planning and is awarded by International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP).
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- List of figures
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction: Architectural Exaptation
- 2 Exaptation: The Interplay between Forms and Functions
- 3 Morphospace: The Possible Is Greater Than the Real
- 4 Back to the Future
- 5 Redefining Architecture: Towards a Taxonomy of Exaptation
- 6 Dynamic Adaptation: Shifting Functions in Architecture across Time and Contexts
- 7 Göbekli Tepe: Challenging Narratives and Rethinking Architecture History
- 8 Learning from History: The Case of Venice and the inexplicability of Mannerism
- 9 Romantic Architecture as a Manifestation of Exaptation: The Case of Alessandro Gherardesca
- 10 Austrian Radicals as a Case Study in Architectural Exaptation
- 11 Temporary Appropriation and the Exaptation of the Urban Space
- 12 Architectural Exaptation and Informality
- 13 Practice Based Research and Exaptation: Case Studies
- 14 The Art Is a Spandrel: Drawings as a Manifestation of Exaptation
- 15 Artificial Intelligence as an Exaptive Design Dimension
- 16 The Italian Pavilion at La Biennale Venezia 2021: Embracing Complexity and Darkness
- 17 Conclusion: Architectural Evolution, Exaptation and Adaptive Spandrels
- Epilogue
- Index