Mediating Change: A Japanese Perspective on Adaptable Architecture

Adaptable buildings that are effectively left open, in a perpetual state of making, have the greatest potential to cater for society's needs in the face of demographic change. Here Robert Schmidt III , architect and researcher, and Toru Eguchi , associate professor at Yokohama National University in Japan, explore how Japan, which has a rich tradition of adaptable architecture and also the highest life expectancy in the world, has embraced this approach.