My column this month takes its title from Stewart Brand, author of the seminal book, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built, who says: “Loved buildings are the ones that work well, that suit the people in them, and that show their age and history. All it takes is keeping most everything that works, most everything that is enjoyed, much of what doesn’t get in the way, and helping the rest evolve.”

In 1972, way ahead of current perceptions of climate and energy crises, RIBA president Alex Gordon delivered a seminal paper, Long Life, Loose fit, Low Energy. The essence of his argument was that generous proportions – long spans between structural elements within a highly insulated envelope of simple form – would enable easy alteration of spaces within to suit changing needs. The result, he argued, would be easy adaptation and less waste.