“Buildings start where architects end.” With that sharp observation, Stewart Brand opens his book How Buildings Learn – a truth that we architects often fail to fully grasp. We love the moment of completion – the photos, the shine, the perfection – but forget that the real life of a building only begins after we’re done. Buildings change. They get altered, expanded, stripped, subdivided, boarded up, rediscovered. And they’d better be ready for that.

Brand calls for a radically different way of thinking about architecture: not as a frozen work of art, but as a living system. In that light, the case of The Hague’s city hall becomes almost tragicomic. The architect had it written into the contract that even years after completion, every modification to the building had to be approved by him – including the color of the mayor’s curtains. That’s when you know you’ve missed the point. A building needs the freedom to grow, to learn – just like its users.

Brand points to the barn as an archetype of a building that evolves. Everyone knows the image: a wooden structure that serves multiple generations, its function shifting over time – from storage to workshop to studio – with each new owner adding their own layer. But we would like to add the canal houses of Amsterdam to that list. These deep, robust homes with their thick masonry partition walls that can be endlessly carved into; their wooden floors where stairwells and utilities can be easily adapted; their tall ceilings that let in natural light and support a wide range of uses. These buildings have been homes, factories, offices, storage spaces, museums. They are capable of learning.

Now compare that to the average contemporary house, likely to be demolished after 75 years because it can no longer serve its intended function. These buildings are designed for a single scenario, and when that scenario changes – and it always will – it’s game over. This isn’t nostalgic talking, it’s system logic. We live in a time of rapid change, of circular economies, of unpredictability. Our buildings mustn’t be rigid, but open. Not finished, but adaptable.

How Buildings Learn makes it clear that sustainable architecture is not just about materials or energy, but above all about time. About a building’s capacity to adapt to changing users, technologies, and cultures. Brand’s analysis of the ‘shearing layers’ – site, structure, skin, services, space plan, and stuff – offers a powerful tool for designing with flexibility and the future in mind.