Mobitecture- Design for living on wheels
Results for moving habitat announced
Overview
Humans are nomadic by instinct.
In the broader evolution of humankind through time, the notion of settling down to make home and hearth is relatively a recent phenomenon that has created more problems than solved for the species.
Humans have survived in spite of many forms of climatic events, natural disasters, disease, and epidemics visiting us, making life and living fragile and impermanent.
This may often be resulting in the total extinction of settlements, forced migrations, and the need to make fresh beginnings.
‘We have not inherited the earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children.’
To live in harmony with other forms of life on earth and with nature as a whole should have come naturally to us, but that has not been the case. In particular, the damage that was done by the unprecedented pace of change over the last century or so has brought us face to face with the precipice that we find ourselves in the midst of.
The world’s urban population already at more than 50% of the total world population is projected to multiply many folds in the very near future. As a species, a nervous one at present, are we ready or equipped to face the challenge of this magnitude or is our response going to be like always; finding yet another solution to a problem created by a previous solution?
‘…. Progress is the realization of utopias.’
We have the freedom to revisit the evolutionary choices made by our forefathers, we have the freedom to question the wisdom of our stationery, sedentary and synthetic lifestyle that we are caught up in. We have the option to fall in line with other forms of life that inhabit the planet earth and restart living in harmony with the immediate and distant natural forces. Reality or Utopia?
The ongoing Corona Pandemic has brought into sharp focus the fragility of the human condition. In particular, it has reminded us of the need to be prepared for adjusting the way we live and organize our habitat, to be ever ready to adapt to myriad challenges brought about by the unpredictable forces of nature or by the self-destructive actions of humans.
Brief of the competition
‘Creativity is intelligence having fun.’
Here, the challenge for designers of all age groups, nationalities, etc. was to unleash their unlimited imagination and creative abilities and marry them with cutting-edge evolving scientific/technological advances.
Challenge was to design a concept of Mobitecture - ‘Habitat on the move.’ It could be a device for living with no wheels, one or two wheels, three wheels, four wheels or more, could be water, ice, or airborne. It could be none of these, a combination of any or all of these.
Powered by hands, feet, propellers, sun, wind in conjunction with means and mediums mechanical, digital, robotic, or AI-driven.
‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’
User group: To create the magic of a peripatetic lifestyle for an imaginary family of four while catering to their basic needs within a maximum area of 10 sq. meters.
The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals, and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows:
Janet Salem, Programme Officer, Innovation for Circular Economy at United Nations
Alireza Taghaboni, Architect, Founder Next Office, Tehran, Iran
Iftikhar Chishti, Founder, StudioiF, New Delhi, India
Monish Siripurapu, Founding Partner/Principal Architect, ANT Studio
James Law, Founder, Chairman & CEO, James Law Cybertecture, HK
Some of the Best of competition projects are:
Winning Project: 2121: A SKY NOMADS
By: Wai Hin Wong, Chen Huang & Sam Iwas
Fig: 1 Cover image
Description: An advanced aircraft, WC-260 Hercules, and a group of engineers rebuild atmospheric oxygen levels by spreading genetically modified seeds to the air. After the time of Earth's geomagnetic reversal, they are the only hope to rescue human civilization.
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Runner Up: Mobitecture
Fig: 2 Axonometric view
Description: MOBITECTURE- *Habitat on the move* This mobile MODULE has as its main design approach the aspiration to be sustainable and mobile. It operates on the roof solar panels and therefore there will always be an ample amount of power from its ecological generated systems. This mobile module can be transferred anyway in Iceland.
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Runner Up: Anemone
By: Kira Van Zyl
Fig : 3 Cover image
Description: The anemone is a means of finding a home in nature without harming it, but instead nurture it. It draws inspiration from the symbiotic relationship between sea anemones and clownfish, a system in which both species benefit from co-existing. This concept is applied to the environment and humans in order to foster a generative cycle of inhabitation.
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Honorable Mention: Post-Scarce Carriage
By: John Dimopoulos & Ektoras Boltsis
Fig: 4 Cover image
Description: Post-scarce carriage is a nomadic modular habitat based on principles of communal living that transcend the urban-rural distinction. It is conceived in a hope-punk frame of reference and proposes an alternative to the typical sci-fi dystopian imagery on technology and its implications.
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Honorable Mention: Amphibia
By: Clara de Souza Gomes & Kevyn Igor Lopes Bortolotti
Fig: 5 Cover image
Description: A mobile home for four.
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Honorable Mention: CATERPIE HAUS
By: Euna Song
Fig: 6 Cover image
Description: This project begins with observation of these biological movements. Movement is thought to be the biggest characteristic of living things. The caterpillar has a special movement. It gains momentum through special physical movements of the whole body, not simply through the rotational motion of partial joints.
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Honorable Mention: Minima
By: Akansha Pandey
Fig: 6 Site view and section plan
Description: Minima is a cleverly compact and crafted small footprint home catering to all the basic needs of a family of four. It is characterized by an easy assemble and disassemble process, a compact and flexible structure catering to the basic needs of all the members.
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Honorable Mention: AMPHI-BAYS
By: Meera Jayakumar
Fig: 7 Cover image
Description: Inspired by mother nature and human inventions, Amphi-Bays is a project with an eye on the future, to help our community prepare proactively from any setbacks that may be thrown upon us. Rather than reinventing the wheel, we adopted existing solutions in the manmade world and combined them with amphibian characteristics seen in our natural ecosystem.
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Honorable Mention: HELIOS
By: Rohan Rahinwal & Swarnim Chandra
Fig: 8 Cover image
Description: HELIOS enables the occupants to step out of our bubble of existence, explore new landscapes and cultures without stepping outside the safety of their homes. Be it over land, water, or ice - being a hovercraft floating on a cushion of air - HELIOS allows the family of four to travel where their heart takes them, giving them access to unexplored regions.
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Honorable Mention: O.N.I.S.-M.- The movable habitat
By: Ankit Jain & Prityaanshi Agarwal
Fig: 9 Cover image
Description: Off the grid. Nurturing. Inhabitant. Structure.- Mobile O.N.I.S.-M. Is designed to incorporate technological advancements in a habitable environment creating a structure housing flexible and transforming spaces that mold the functions according to different needs of the user resulting in a highly functional habitat that promotes off-the-grid living.
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People’s Choice: Armadicar
By: Haqi Abdullah
Fig: 10 Cover image
Description: To overcome the unpredictable disasters occurring on this planet, Armadicar – a mobile habitat inspired by Armadillo – provides an adaptive dwelling in a minimum space. With customizable interior elements, openings and boundaries, Armadicar accommodates four-member family activities during days and nights, on land and water surface in a sustainable way.
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