Table Of ContentThe Architecture of Persistence
The Architecture of Persistence argues that continued human use is the ultimate measure of sustain-
ability in architecture, and that expanding the discourse about adaptability to include continuity as
well as change offers the architectural manifestation of resilience. Why do some buildings last for
generations as beloved and useful places, while others do not? How can designers today create build-
ings that remain useful into the future? While architects and theorists have offered a wide range of
ideas about building for change, this book focuses on persistent architecture: the material, spatial,
and cultural processes that give rise to long-lived buildings.
Organized in three parts, this book examines material longevity in the face of constant physical and
cultural change, connects the dimensions of human use and contemporary program, and discusses
how time informs the design process. Featuring dozens of interviews with people who design and use
buildings, and a close analysis of over a hundred historic and contemporary projects, the principles of
persistent architecture introduced here address urgent challenges for contemporary practice while
pointing towards a more sustainable built environment in the future.
The Architecture of Persistence: Designing for Future Use offers practitioners, students, and scholars
a set of principles and illustrative precedents exploring architecture’s unique ability to connect an
instructive past, a useful present, and an unknown future.
D. Fannon is an architect and building scientist whose work integrates research and design to pro-
vide occupant comfort and wellbeing in long-lasting, low-resource consuming buildings. He is jointly
appointed associate professor in the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Environ-
mental Engineering at Northeastern University. David earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a master’s from UC Berkeley, and is a registered architect in the State
of New York. He is a Member of ASHRAE and a LEED Accredited Professional with B+DC specialty.
M. Laboy is an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Northeastern University, with affili-
ate appointments in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Public
Policy and Urban Affairs. As co-founder of FieLDworkshop LLC, she leads research-based transdis-
ciplinary approaches to heighten the connections between people, buildings, and landscapes. Her
research and teaching examine how socio-ecological thinking influences architectural theory and
practice to shape human experience, performance, and adaptability to dynamically changing envi-
ronments. Michelle holds a Master of Architecture and a Master of Urban Planning from the Univer-
sity of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, and
is registered as a Professional Engineer.
P. Wiederspahn is an associate professor at Northeastern University, Boston, MA, and principal of
Wiederspahn Architecture, LLC. His research and pedagogy are focused on architectural design,
production, performance, and systems. In particular, he has conducted research on: wood con-
struction and its cultural impact at the detail, architectural, and urban scales; high-performance,
rapid-assembly, structural/thermal component construction system as an alternative to wood
framing; light-weight flat-pack, rapid-deployment, long-term-use emergency shelter systems; and
furniture design. His architectural practice has received numerous design excellence awards for res-
idential, multi-family, commercial, and interior architecture projects. Peter earned his Bachelor of
Architecture from Syracuse University and his Master of Architecture from the Harvard University.
The Architecture of Persistence
Designing for Future Use
D. Fannon, M. Laboy and P. Wiederspahn
First published 2022
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 David Fannon, Michelle Laboy, and Peter Wiederspahn
The right of David Fannon, Michelle Laboy, and Peter Wiederspahn to be
identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fannon, D. (David J.), author. | Laboy, M., author. |
Wiederspahn, P., author.
Title: The architecture of persistence: designing for future use /
D. Fannon, M. Laboy, P. Wiederspahn.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical
references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020052435 (print) | LCCN 2020052436 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367486389 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367486372 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003042013 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Architecture—Human factors. | Architecture—Philosophy.
Classification: LCC NA2542.4 .F36 2021 (print) | LCC NA2542.4 (ebook) |
DDC 720.1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052435
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052436
ISBN: 9780367486389 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780367486372 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003042013 (ebk)
Typeset in Corbel
by codeMantra
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Motive, Context, Method 1
D. Fannon, M. Laboy, and P. Wiederspahn
PART I
Material Ecologies 15
M. Laboy
1. Essential 41
M. Laboy
2. Durable 61
D. Fannon
3. Simple 69
P. Wiederspahn
4. Situated 87
M. Laboy
PART II
Changing Uses 113
P. Wiederspahn
5. Timely 146
P. Wiederspahn
6. Humane 160
M. Laboy
7. Complex 180
P. Wiederspahn
8. Anticipatory 197
D. Fannon
vi COnTEnTS
PART III
Alternative Futures 213
D. Fannon
9. Memorable 227
D. Fannon
10. Evolving 236
M. Laboy
11. Indeterminate 257
D. Fannon
12. Timeless 268
P. Wiederspahn
Conclusion: Towards an Architecture of Persistence 283
D. Fannon, M. Laboy, and P. Wiederspahn
List of Interviews 291
Index 295
Acknowledgments
This work is primarily the product of the 2017–19 Latrobe Prize, awarded
by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows, and
we are very grateful for this honor and support. Special thanks to Terri
Stewart at AIA National for her coordination through the grant period.
In addition to the financial support, our work was greatly aided by the
connections and opportunities that emanate from this prize.
We gratefully acknowledge Dean Elizabeth Hudson and the Northeast-
ern University College of Arts Media and Design (CAMD) for material
and moral support of our endeavors, with a special recognition of Tammi
Westgate and Katherine Calzada. We also extend our sincere gratitude
to Mary Hughes, the Administrative Officer of the Northeastern Univer-
sity School of Architecture for her constant assistance.
We are deeply indebted to the numerous students who contributed
to this project as research assistants. Joshua Friedman, Hannah Ost-
wald, Nina Shabalina, Sara Soltes, Kristen Starheim, Sarah Warren,
and Dominik Wit all worked to document the case-study buildings and
support the early development of the themes. Alya Abourezk, Ghalia
Ammar, Alex Bondi, Emma Casavant, Josie Cerbone, Laura Gómez,
Jennéa Pillay, Abby Reed, and Avery Watterworth prepared additional
drawings, models, graphics, and data. Kanani`ohokulani D’Angelo,
Ellen Eberhardt, and Elizabeth Tandler all assisted with transcribing
interviews. Adline Rahmoune was instrumental in securing images and
rights for publication.
Several exhibitions related to our Latrobe Prize research helped refine
and clarify the essential concepts for this book, and we gratefully
acknowledge the people and organizations who supported them. The
Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) Foundation sponsored Durable:
Sustainable Material Ecologies, Assemblies and Cultures. Special thanks
to Paige McWhorter, Pamela de Oliveira Smith, and Maia Erslev, and
our co-curators at OverUnder, Hannah Cane, Chris Grimley, and Shan-
non McLean. Anthony Morey from the Architecture + Design Museum
in Los Angeles, along with John Dale and Stephen Kendall from the
Council on Open Building supported Persistent: Evolving Architecture in
a Changing World. Michael Grogan at Kansas State University College of
Architecture, Planning and Design, and the Flint Hills Chapter of the AIA
supported Persistent traveling to the Midwest.
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the many colleagues and crit-
ics with whom we taught the comprehensive design studio at north-
eastern University School of Architecture: the crucible in which we
developed and refined ideas of future-use architecture. We would like
to offer special recognition to Michael Leblanc for his many years of
contributing to this studio.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the generations of comprehensive
design studio students, who helped test the ideas of designing build-
ings to anticipate future change and then carried these concepts into
the world through their practice.
As a work of grounded theory, this book grows out of the seeds of
ideas that emerged from our many delightful and thought-provoking
research interviews with historians, architects, building owners, and
managers from around the world who shared their time, thoughts, pro-
ject histories, and documentation, we thank them all. A critical sample
of their intellectual contributions is quoted in the chapters and their
names are listed at the end of the book. We would like to offer special
appreciation to Bob Miklos and Nick Berube from designLAB for their
willingness to test the interview questions early in the process and pro-
viding valuable feedback that informed our process. We also appreciate
all the firms and artists that granted us permission to use drawings and
photographs to illustrate and explain these ideas.
Thanks to Erin Laboy for providing editorial advice, and guidance on
interview citation strategy. Additional thanks to Russell Wiederspahn
and Donald Fannon for editorial advice.
Thanks also to our team at Routledge, especially our Editor Krys-
tal Racaniello and Editorial Assistant Christine Bondira for their sup-
port and answering our many questions, and to Katharine Maller who
walked us through the initial stages. We are grateful to Sofia Buono for
suggesting many improvements to the manuscript text and index, but
of course any remaining errors are our own.
Finally, a special thanks to our families for their love and support.
Leah, Eleanor, Samuel, and Benjamin.
Noah and Josh
Michaele, Russell, David, and Elizabeth
Introduction
MOTIVE, CONTEXT, METHOD
D. Fannon, M. Laboy, and P. Wiederspahn
Motivation
In a prominent site in the Tuscan city of Florence, between the Piazza
della Signoria and the Baptistery of Saint Giovanni, stands a building
with a 700-year history of changing human uses. Originally built circa
Figure 0.1 Exterior
view, with original
arches, replica
sculptures in the niches
with tabernacles. Neri
di Fioravante, Benci di
Cione and Francesco
Talenti, Simone di
Francesco Talenti;
Orsanmichele (Florence,
Italy), 1337–1404.
Photograph by Gabriele
Maltinti.
