Thesis v18

“Home, rather than being a specific geographic location, is more and more about a set of personal activities, habits, and relationships than an established continuum of habitation in the same location.” (Swartz-Claus, 23)

Thesis

The automobile culture of the past century has allowed Americans to be more mobile and more expansive — and yet, a stigma has developed against early mainstays of American nomadism, especially the mobile home and the trailer park. But with the developments in mobile technology and communications, the ability to work and play remotely has made the nomadic lifestyle appealing to a new demographic. These neo-nomads are more highly educated, more worldly, more chic, and more technologically savvy. And their growing populations have put pressure on existing modes of nomadicity to evolve to accommodate the needs and desires of this growing group.

American’s neo-nomadic movement will have to address the individual elements of a nomadic lifestyle, but more importantly, tackle the social and community implications associated with the move away from a distinctly urban society. I propose the development of a framework within which the nomadic lifestyle can occur. The development of a system of hubs in various cites will provide a necessary infrastructure that will facilitate a more mobile society.

Theme

Stephan Rammler asserts in “’A Mighty Fortress…’?! On the Sociology of Flexible Dwelling” that mobility is one of the most important considerations in social dynamics. Mobility effects a broad range of human social structures: employment, education, class distinction, social association, economic status, etc. Many demand difference levels of personal and social mobility.

The history of humanity has been characterized by a general need for mobility. The majority our history was nomadic as the hunter/gather lifestyle demands. Even with the development of crop and stock farming, occasional movement was necessary due to the needs of finding fertile land for planting for feeding cattle. The development of the first urban civilizations lead to a bifurcation of society of the landed gentry and the feudal workers who were tied to the land forcibly.

Modern society became more complex. The industrial and capitalistic system was based on the consumption of fossil fuels and spawned the creation of political nation-states. The age of exploration that followed made a societies success measurable in terms of the ability to control vast and non-contiguous areas of land. The development of trade created a wealthy class who were constantly on the move, going from port to port transporting goods.

The pre-war American social structure was characterized by the two generation family, the division of home and work, and the polarity of public/private life. The shift that occurred in post-1960s America has had long-lasting effects on the importance of mobility in the U.S.

The influx of immigrants, the phenomena of urban flight, and the tourism movement have all highlighted the importance of mobility in American life. American mobility has been characterized by a fascination with the concepts of heading west, upward mobility and tourism or the Second Discovery of America. These have helped solidify the place of mobility in the definition of the American Dream. Most American’s understand mobility as a birthright and its importance underscores the political, social, economic, and cultural spheres of American life.

In contemporary society the average American moves every six years, spends seven weeks of every year in a car and upwards of $6,000 annually on their car. Americans are members of a growing throwaway consumer culture, where every commodity has a limited lifespan, even the house one lives in.

The automobile is an omnipresent element in American society, culture, and economics — so pervasive that its impact is often overlooked not only by the average American, but often by civic leaders and city planners. It has encouraged the development of a transient population and put a strain on traditional forms of city development. The American city is expected to provide ample housing to accommodate rapidly growing and frequently moving populations while at the same time providing a vast network of infrastructure to facilitate the commuter, the traveler and the upwardly mobile.

In order to adapt to these increasing pressures, choices will have to be made between the dream of being “landed gentry” and the desire for personal mobility. I contend that, despite the best intentions of architects and urban planners, Americans, as a whole, will continue to consider mobility a birthright. This freedom needs to be matched by a physical infrastructure that will facilitate the desire to move.

There are three primary issues to explore before development of architectural prototypes can be developed: sociology, sustainability, and economy. The principles of the American nomad movement can be defined by delving into the existing implications and research in these three areas, projecting the impact a nomadic lifestyle will have, and testing the effectiveness of these developments by applying them to a particular location.

Vehicle

These issues will be explored at three scales:

Urban— as Americans have become more mobile, socially and physically, the result has been uncontrolled growth and sprawl. The infrastructural and cultural needs of a more mobile society will need to be reconsidered, with special care given to the importance of community groups, anticipation of use patterns, and the consequences of the transport and aculturalization of individuals. A balance between the suburban nature of the nomadic lifestyle movement and settlement patterns and the more sustainable urban model will be achieved through programming, siting and massing.

Organizational— a focused development of architecture as furniture. Developing means and methods for distribution, assembly, upgrading, replacement, and transportation of the elements of a house will be the primary concerns. This includes an investigation into the size, use and makeup of spaces that make up a building as interchangeable modules.

Architectural — based on developments in materials and methods that allow architecture to make a minimal impact on the environment while at the same time making it less materially transient and more mobile. This will include a strong emphasis on prefabrication and sustainability. This also includes development of devices for expansion and contraction of the systems to accommodate future needs.

The primary project will be the development of the nomadic hub. The hub will be developed with social and infrastructural cohesion of the units as the primary goal. The hub will be tested in sites in Austin TX to observe effects on existing communities.

In addition to this will be a series of charettes that will focus on the development of units and unit types. As there is a broad range of units that have been designed at the scale of the RV and the trailer home, the focus for these investigations will be on small, efficient and economic elements that can be plugged into the hub infrastructure. These will be largely conceptual developments meant to act as tests of elements and limitations of the nomadic lifestyle for the individual. These tests will include attempts to account for family development, different demographic groups, and personalization.

“nomadicity”[1].

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[1]"Nomadicity is the tendency of a person, or group of people, to move with relative frequency.” From “Definition of nomadicity,” Definitions, Dictionary for Internet and Computing Technologies (24 March 2006), http://www.whatis.com (accessed 19 August 2006).