Itinerant Architecture

The world we live in today is complex, afflicted with various risks and instabilities. This is particularly true for underserved communities, whose situations require, but are often overlooked by, the reframing and repositioning role of architects. This studio explores the possibility for architecture to be itinerant, willing to travel and respond to some of the most desperate, underserved, and remote communities, by providing accessibility and bridging longer term issues of security in fragile places. These age-old predicaments of architectural reach can be put into a contemporary lens to encourage the invention and innovation of a new architectural typology. It can be a new prototype or hybrid combination of multifunctional and traditional origin, balancing the parameters of resource scarcity, labor skill, material sourcing, and function against geometry, techniques, and technology. This poses the potential for a simple yet elegant solution capable of translating sophisticated technology into accessible technique. The studio will first analyze global risks and crises, identifying six geographical locations and impending problems. In order to retain the focus on underserved communities, we will analyze the network of resilience at a local and grassroots scale. Following the current model of the Portable Concert Hall Project, we will work with world-renowned boat and sail fabricators of New England to explore the possibility of technology transfer through the itinerant nature of architecture.

Projects