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Posts Tagged ‘Nomadic’

Inhabitable Nomadic Shelters: Designs Address LA’s Homelessness Crisis

23 Feb

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Screen Shot 2017-02-22 at 3.15.52 PM

The problem of homelessness is a complex one rooted in gross stratification of wealth, and while addressing it in full means addressing poverty itself, temporary portable housing can save lives in the meantime. Many cities are implementing transitional housing programs that make use of inexpensive, easy to move structures in interstitial urban spaces. The Martin Architecture and Design Workshop (MADWORKSHOP) teamed up with students from the University of Southern California School of Architecture (USC) to come up with some creative examples of these structures.

LA homeless shelter designs 13

LA homeless shelter designs 14

homeless transitional structure

‘The Homeless Studio’ is an organization aiming to address LA’s homelessness crisis through design. Students built a series of full-scale, inhabitable nomadic shelters ranging from contraptions that fit onto shopping carts to more comfortable structures that wouldn’t be out of place in a tiny house village. Most of the materials were scavenged from around Los Angeles, and the designs had to be collapsible and suitable for a variety of locations.

LA homeless shelter designs 2

LA homeless shelter designs 3

LA homeless shelter designs 1

The results are sometimes more artistic than they are practical – like a hut clad in retail mannequin displays – but in many cases, the interiors are cozy and well-lit by windows and skylights, and one design even has a roof deck.

LA homeless shelter designs 4

LA homeless shelter designs 6

LA homeless shelter designs 7

The aim of actually addressing homelessness didn’t just consist of building a few weird-looking structures and calling it a day. The students worked with city officials, local agencies, artist and activists to come up with a holistic solution in a city where nearly 47,000 people live on the streets. They’re making repeated visits to local agencies like the Skid Row Housing Trust and the Downtown Women’s Center, speaking to people experiencing homelessness to get firsthand information about their needs.

LA homeless shelter designs 5

LA homeless shelter designs 12

They’ll also be taking the hands-on skills and knowledge they gained through this project and applying it to a larger solution, designing a 30-bed modular shelter for women for Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission in San Fernando Valley. Their efforts over the course will be documented and compiled into a publication set for publishing by the USC School of Architecture in 2017.

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[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Meet two nomadic photographers who travel full-time

10 Jan

Plenty of photographers have the words ‘travel more’ at the top of their list of New Year’s resolutions. In fact, when we asked our readers what their photo-related resolutions were, more than a quarter responded that travel was a priority. 

So Elia and Naomi Locardi’s desire to travel as much as possible is a familiar one for a lot of photographers, but they’ve taken an unusual approach: they sold most of their possessions and live on the road as full-time travelers. You can learn more about their ‘location independent’ lifestyle in the SmugMug Films feature above. See a sample of the Locardis’ photography below.

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What do you think – would you be able to embrace a permanent-address-free lifestyle? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Truck-A-Tecture: 2 Convertible Nomadic Dwellings on Wheels

14 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

truckatecture scissor lifted shelter

With participating design studios from around America, this exhibition features a series of amazing mobile spaces that use technology and ingenuity to explore new possibilities for the modern nomad. Two of the four projects in particular are worth a closer look, whether or not you are able to visit and see them on display in Omaha, Nebraska this month (images by Tom Kessler via Kaneko).

truckatecture truck based architecture

The Office of Mobile Design contributed the Aero-Mobile to the Truck-A-Tecture collection, using a scissor lift system to raise up and deploy a pod that then extends over the cab of the vehicle.

trucktecture

truckatecture top fabric steel

Fold-down walls expand usable space while the elevated platform allows for a smaller footprint and thus more versatile parking options (not to mention some safety in areas with aggressive or curious wildlife).

truckatecture modular furniture shelter

truckatecture interior structure view

The Pneumad by Min|Day is an inflatable structure that takes up relatively little space but spreads out to create a geodesic shelter with modular furniture.

trucktectwo

truckatecture inflatable dome home

The idea is, in part, to reduce the spatial and energy requirements of a portable shelter, making it possible for smaller vehicles to tow a part-time dwelling.

truckatecture other mobile shelters

truck a tecture gallery

On display through for two more weeks, the exhibition was organized “to explore the potentials of mobile living and adaptable architecture [and] generate conversation on current-day trends toward nomadic lifestyles. [It] offers new perspectives on transformable spaces. the projects utilize various mechanical techniques to provide the itinerant individual, traveling by vehicle, the ability to spread out when temporarily stopped.”

“A mash-up of popular and elite cultures, Truck-A-Tecture will transcend the current definitions of ‘pre-fab’ and ‘mobile architecture.’ Topics of nomadism, transportation, trucking culture and the nature of ‘home’ are among the topics to be explored in this exhibition. Other issues to be considered in this dialogue are sustainability and technological advances that have led many to a leaner, more efficient lifestyle.”

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Nomadic Urbanism: Futuristic Walking City Draws on History

08 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

walking city rendering

The notion of a mobile city is not new, but in this case, the architect has gone to great lengths to construct a vision that could conceivably be built. So while it may look like fantasy at first glance, it is rigorously researched and has deep roots in built environments that have really been made to move.

walking city closeup angle

walking city route speculation

The design of this Very Large Structure by Manuel Dominguez proposes a plug-and-play platform set atop a series of treads that would house everything from housing and restaurants to hospitals, libraries, sports facilities and even universities. Their mobility would provide dynamic equilibrium of urban and rural populations, facilitated in part by energy self-sufficiency generated on board via renewable sources.

walking city axon diagram

walking city assembly inspiration

“Even though I am very attracted to science fiction and utopical and distopical architecture, I was more interested in investigating real life technology” its designer explains. “These included open-air mining machinery, shipyard installations, logistic and management in super-ports and super vessels, space technology and eco-villages.”

walking city mist

walking city comic strip

The idea of the Walking City has a rich history. In a 1960s Archigram article, Ron Herron proposed massive robotic mega-structures that would dynamically follow available natural resources and work, providing human resources and manufacturing capabilities on demand. Like some meta-robot out of a 1980s cartoon, these mobile platforms could join to form temporary metropolises as well.

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Nomadic Urbanism Futuristic Walking City Draws On History

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Nomadic Furniture: Backpack of Parts Creates Portable Seat

20 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

nomadic chair design

A wooden seat that needs to wood, glue or screws, but focusing on traditional construction techniques, this design is about the craft-oriented journeyman and not a comfort-driven destination.

nomadic backpack seat

nomadic kit of parts

nomadic furniture backpack

Jorge Penadés of Spain emphasizes the act of construction and deconstruction with his Nomadic Chair, which slots together and back apart in two minutes. It utilizes bright metal connectors and tucks away into a simple leather sling for travel.

nomadic chair joinery closeup

nomadic slotted furniture detail

nomadic metal joinery system

nomadic chair series

In both seating and backpack form it is built to stand out from the crowd. Critics will no doubt point out that it is not the most comfortable item to carry or even to sit in, but its assembly involves joinery methods that stress the process over the product. Someone looking for a camping chair is probably still best off buying one made of lightweight aluminum and seat-friendly fabric.

nomadic studio thesis project

nomadic home diagram prototypoes

nomadic housing system idea

nomadic home design system

The work is an extension of his Nomadic Studio, a student thesis project proposing larger-scale dwellings employing similar techniques to enable portable and modular home construction.

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Bike Campers: 12 Mini Mobile Homes for Nomadic Cyclists

16 Oct

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

Choosing to ride a bike instead of driving a car doesn’t mean you have to forego the convenience of a camper trailer – if you’ve got the leg muscles to pull it off. From prototypes by a major German RV manufacturer to impressively innovative DIY creations, these 12 miniature mobile homes for bicycles pack lots of function into small (and not-so-small) trailers that don’t require gas or electricity to transport.

Mini Mobile Home for Bikes by Kevin Cyr

(images via: kevin cyr)

This amazing bike camper by Kevin Cyr looks exactly like a standard car camper, down to the smallest details like faux wood siding, reflectors and power inlets. For Cyr the camper is more sculptural art piece than functional recreational item, but he has definitely proven its viability by cruising it all over various cities.

Midget BushTrekka by Kamp-Rite

(images via: kamprite)

Available at Kamp-Rite, the Midget BUSHTREKKA is a lightweight bike trailer built for uneven terrain. It features three main storage compartments with over 41 gallons of storage space and fully adjustable leveling jacks. The trailer pairs with the ‘TentCot‘ to create the camper setup pictured.

Room Room Camper for Bikes & Burros</>

(images via: design boom)

The adaptable ‘Room Room’ by Encore Heureux + G Studio for ‘Crossing: Dialogues for Emergency Architecture’ Exhibition in China can be pulled by bicycle, motorcycle, donkey or on foot. Conceived as a mobile shelter for post-disaster recovery, the shelter can be picked up and hauled on its wheels, set back for sleeping or turned on its head and extended with a tent for longer-term use.

Burning Man Bike Camper

(images via: dvice)

Built for Burning Man, this camper weighs 100 pounds and is packed with a solar oven and a solar water heating system, and has a wind turbine and solar lights on the exterior.

DIY Bike Camper Inspired by Moon Rovers

(images via: bikeportland)

Spotted in Portland, this DIY bike camper was inspired by moon rovers and the moon landing vehicle.

Minimalist Wood Camper by Sakari Holma

(images via: saholm)

Finish designer Sakari Holma built this minimalist wood bike camper trailer, which is just wide enough to lay down in to ensure that the design is streamlined enough to pull without too much effort.

Little Tag Along by Kevin Cyr

(images via: kevin cyr)

The ‘Little Tag Along’ camper is another design by Kevin Cyr, with the look of a conventional camper shrunk down to bike-size. Pulled by a vintage 3-speed bicycle, Little Tag Along contains the minimum that you’d need to hunker down for the night on a regular basis – just a bed and a little bit of storage space.

Ultralight DIY Teardrop Bike Camper

(images via: tiny house design)

Michael Janzen of Tiny House Design envisions a lightweight teardrop trailer for bikes in this concept illustration, pointing out that a company called Human Powered Machines makes bike trailers that can carry up to 500 pounds. Of course, whether the person riding the bicycle can tow that much is another question.

The Caravan

(image via: eta.co.uk)

This tiny lightweight bike caravan is fancier inside than you’d expect: it fits a twin bed, a 19″ flat-screen television, an electric kettle for tea and a ‘drinks cabinet’. Optional extras include solar roof panels, a satellite dish, a gaming console, central heating and an external luggage rack.

Dethleffs Bike Camper Prototype

(image via: xhyperactive)

German RV maker Dethleffs experimented with a concept bike camper, producing a prototype that included a bed and a small kitchen.

Supertramp Fabric Bike Caravan

(image via: lehmanb)

Made largely of fabric, Lehman B’s ‘Supertramp’ is relatively roomy and even contains a wood stove. The designer took the bike around London in summer 2010, setting up near bars, restaurants, companies and galleries to inspire curiosity about living in tiny mobile spaces.

Custom Electric Bike Camper

(image via: jay nelson)

Of course, the addition of an electric motor to pull a bike camper makes this particular creation a whole different beast, but it’s still impressive. The Golden Gate by Jay Nelson has an unusual geometric exterior made of fiberglass, plywood, glass and epoxy and incorporates bicycle wheels and other bike parts. It’s got a bed,a miniature kitchen with sink, stove and cooler, a toilet and storage space, but it won’t go more than 20 miles per hour, and only gets about 10 miles per charge. Nelson uses it for trips to the beach.


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