Reflecting on Wk 3 Reading: Shearing Layers by S.Brand

This reading has given me a new outlook on how I conceive the make-up of a building.  Previously I had thought buildings compromised of a series of components that all worked together to produce a building.  However, I now realise that these ‘components’ are better looked at as active layers to which none can exist without the other. This reading describes this layering classification as, “The 6 S sequence” and notifies that different parts of a building/ sequence change at different rates.  It theorises that every building consists of the following six layers; Site, Structure (skeleton), Skin (exterior surfaces), Services, Space Plan (Walls, ceilings, floors, etc) and Stuff (furniture).  The Site is the most crucial layer as it will outlast longevity itself and it is the foundation to the whole. All constructions must conform to its terrain in order to exist. On the other hand of the sequence is the ‘Stuff’ which has the lowest rate of longevity and the quickest and easiest rate of change.  This sequence description reminds me of a play in which the Stage represents the fixed Site, sets are the Structure and Skin, equipment as the Services, scenes are the Space Plan and props are the Stuff, as they move constantly.  This analogy directly relates to our assignments, in which we have to think about a future development and consider it in terms of its future context/ story, by setting the scene/ stage, and inhabiting it with realistic characters.  In terms of incorporating this analogy into the now, the components of daily life can even be broken down into these components.  Should we as designers have a checklist in the future that ensure that these six layers have been incorporated into all future developments and to the degree it has been done? It could be a checklist of ‘dwelling livability’ that tells possible inhabitants of buildings’ positive (and also less desirable features) and compares it to the ‘average building liveability.’  In this way, users will be more aware of the capabilities of the buildings they inhabit.