The Tendency Of “Open Building” Concept in the Post-Industrial Context

When N.J. Habraken proposed the conception of support-infill in housing construction in 1960s, housing issues was centered by drawn material construction and consumption, although the needs of involving in the final occupants' participation emerged. It reflected a transition from the industrial economy to the post-industrial economy. Since the rapid development and evolution in the field of technology and social culture in the last several decades, both the social structure and ideology have been changing. The consumption conception of dwelling has also shifted from physical substance to some invisible items, such as knowledge and service. Therefore, open building, as an architectural design method, should adapt to this situation in its future development. This paper firstly describes the characteristics of the post-industry society. Based on analyzing and summarizing the theories and some examples, this paper tries to re-explain the definition of “flexibility” in the context of the post-industrial society. It concludes that the possible tendency of open building is to establish a service system for future occupants to adapt to the changing living environment in addition to physical changeability of the building.