(un)Finished: Pattern Language for Human-Centric Architectural Evolutio

All design projects- infrastructure, architecture, furniture- are, by nature, unfinished. Buildings and built spaces are initially designed and constructed to meet a specific set of needs, typically as laid out by a client, but may eventually be adapted to accommodate new programs, occupants, urban environments, or technologies. Unless these things (program, occupancy, cultural requirements) remain static, eventually the building will need to evolve. While the process of construction is linear, the continued use and perceived 'success' of a built project relies on its ability to adapt to the changing needs of its occupants, whether that adaptation happens as a part of the original design or an applied change post construction. Despite the prevailing attitude that once a building is constructed it is 'finished', this thesis argues that post-occupancy adaptations, detailing, and design provisions for future flexible needs are what make a building complete.;A well finished space both acknowledges the human scaled needs of its occupants as well as adapting to the programmatic shifts that may take place in the future. While this may not be an argument that pertains to the whole of the built environments, certain spaces, particularly public institutions and educational facilities frequently demonstrate this occurrence. Architecture is not simply a box filled with things, but rather, a structure that is both inhabitable and engaging, flexible and growing, adaptive and responsive to its occupants and environment, growing with generations.;Using methods of observation and survey, this thesis examines structures that have undergone post-construction changes in the Seattle area and assess their perceived level of 'completion' as well as the perceived 'success' of the building. By the central argument that all design projects are unfinished, these are simply current iterations and will evolve again in the future, yet they offer lessons on built relationships and adaptive design that can be studied and applied to other, less complete projects.;Drawing on the work of Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language, this thesis has developed a set of fifty areas of opportunity for design evolution that focuses on the human occupant. These patterns are not meant as a 'cookbook' of design but rather observations in how buildings speak to their designers and occupants about what they were, what they are, and what they want to be. In understanding that architecture is never truly finished, and that all buildings are simply in line for their next iteration, it suggests a method of crafting a more sustainable future for the way we design.