Towards Changeability The Adaptable Buildings Design (ABD) Framework FAHAD ALLAHAIM, ANAS ALFARIS Faculty of Architecture Design and Planning, University of Sydney fall5762@uni.sydney.edu.au Engineering Systems Division, School of Engineering, MIT anas@mit.edu AND DAVID LEIFER Faculty of Architecture Design and Planning, University of Sydney david.leifer@sydney.edu.au Abstract. Many buildings around the world have undergone successive changes over their life cycles. These changes might be in the building’s spatial, structural or service systems. This can be due to changes in the needs of occupants, the market demand or technological advances. This paper proposes an Adaptable Buildings Design (ABD) framework to help design buildings that can adapt to change to increase the building’s longevity. Using this framework, uncertainties are first identified. Flexibility options are then embedded and design rules are formulated to trigger these options when necessary. The value of adaptability is then assessed by implementing several simulations using Real Options Analysis (ROA). To demonstrate the approach, the ABD is applied to a multi-use commercial building case study. Flexibility is embedded in the building’s design across several systems allowing it to evolve over time based on a set of design rules. The building’s flexibility value is then assessed using ROA. The positive results obtained demonstrate the strength of the proposed methodology in addressing future change and uncertainties. Keywords: Flexibility, Adaptability, Change, Building Systems, Design for Uncertainty, Design Rules, Real Options Analysis. Paper published by the fifth international Conference of Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2010), Fes, Morocco, October 19 th to 21 st , 2010