HYBRIDisation – a resilient strategy in times of change and transformation

Our built environment consists of spaces, buildings, and cities that are subject to ever-changing social, economic, ecological and cultural demands. The demand for high quality living space is becoming ever more significant for densifying urban areas. When lifestyles, modes of working and recreational activities intertwine, new concepts on all scales must follow. Consideration of resilience of all kinds is becoming an important part of planning. It requires typologies with resilient characteristics, which can also take on new tasks perhaps not yet known of today. We recognise such a typology in the hybrid. Hybrids possess a variety of characteristics and benchmark parameters. A code inherent in them renders them capable of reacting to various situations and differing requirements. Depending on its constitution and purpose, the hybrid code affects a variety of architecturally relevant, environmental levels, namely district, neighbourhood, building, unit, components, infrastructure and processes. "Hybridisation" describes the process of the deliberate application of this code on all levels ("design and injection"), albeit also its decoding, i.e. activation of processes of change. In this way "new genetic alliances" are created, in which differing hybrids interact. By offering advanced adaptability through HYBRIDisation, buildings become resilient to change and allow for diverse modification and development throughout their lifespan, resulting in improved learning ability. This presentation explores strategies of HYBRIDisation and the consequences for the interlinked levels to enable hybrid and resilient levels of environment.