revelations

one of my teachers was joking about being late to the development of technology in that it makes him an evangelist...he was really proud of his laptop. and its funny b/c being the not so great student (in the traditional sense anyway) that have always been...i kind of feel the same way. every time i read a great book, it's like i just learned to read or something and feel a need to share with any and everybody...its as if i think just b/c i discovered something new to me, its new to everybody???

but anyway i am reading like 4 books concurrently. something in the preface of this one, the art of portable architecture kind of gave me a little revelation. as i gear up to thinking about a thesis and also just more rigorously and seriously approaching my creative work in general...charting my path...figuring out the purpose etc. i am trying to really investigate where the significance of my interests really lies. for instance i have long believed in the power of nomadic design, portable and temporary structures etc. not b/c they are "cool" (remember, mr. mau??? "Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort"). but b/c they meant something to me...i just couldn't figure out how to articulate why i feel its so important.

one thing in the preface by robert kronenburg

"...mobile architecture is a prototypical genre of building that has always been there, the prototypical human shelter...it is linked to our character as mobile beings, providing our need for stability, continuity, and a sense of place-even though that place may not be tied to a specific geographic location...it is updating the imagery of architecture from something built for a static autocratic society, to something flexible, democratic and free."

i think this helps cristallize for me why it is that i definitely want to pursue ideas of flexible, adaptable, portable...even perhaps temporary architecture in the thesis process. i think it is the perfect medium for addressing my social interests. for one, it addresses this whole notion of sustainability and living in a way that impacts the earth in a less violent way. not merely in a materials sense but in a formal sense and a 'lifestyle' sense. It also deals with adaptability…our lives have become so mobile. We don’t live in one house for generations. All of our technology allows for constant movement and still being able to perform all of our functions from any locations. there are some great examples in this book and many others about how architecture has responded to this. anyway beyond those of us who have technology, this acessibility and adaptability has powerful implications for addressing the affordable housing crisis in a very practical sense and in a more esoteric and theoretical sense it has powerful implications for the meaning and character of life in the city...i guess that's the would be urban designer in me talking. but i think it too, addresses and breaks down some of the power and elitism issues associated with the "architect/client" idea....this idea of DIY and empowerment kind of comes together in this very practical yet creative way.