Adaptable Buildings

Within a durable shell, a building must be extremely adaptable if it is to last for centuries. We cannot even conceive of how many uses a building might be put to in thirty or forty generations, which is how long buildings may last if they are both lovable and durable. So the interiors must be able to be recycled again and again to adapt the building for future uses that may not even exist today.
How is it possible to prepare for things that we cannot anticipate? Here is what we know, or at least believe that we know: The durable shell of adaptable buildings should allow for attachment of interior improvements. Because our history over the past two centuries has been one of increasing the number of pipes rather than decreasing them, Adaptable buildings should have a strategy for channeling pipes through all their rooms. Because our energy outlook over the next thousand years is most uncertain, buildings designed to be naturally frugal will also be more adaptable. Buildings with low ceilings in hot climates, for example, may not be considered adaptable enough to save in the future, regardless of how frugal they are today.