The world is constantly changing, and yet buildings remain static. As our cultural, social, and environmental landscapes shift, the spaces that we inhabit often stay underused, forgotten, or abandoned.
Core and shell construction offers an adaptable architectural solution: By building the structural/infrastructural framework (cores) and exterior enclosure (shells) the interior is left unfinished for future tenants to customize.
This thesis reimagines core and shell development as more than just a construction method, but as a collection of shells forming a megastructure, designed with spatial and formal qualities allowing for certain infilling of program, specifically commercial, office and residential. These shells are integrated and arranged within a system of cores allowing for the creation of public spaces within the adjacencies in-between the shells. This megastructure of “Living Shells” thus becomes a self-sustaining machine which can adapt and change over time, allowing people to better shape spaces to fit their needs.