Wednesday, December 16, 2015 10:00 am
-
10:00 am
EST (GMT -05:00)
Of
the
thesis
entitled:House(Craft):
Mobile
Housingfor
a
New
Generation
Abstract:
We
have
been
called
the“entitled”
generation.
We
want
to
be
your
boss
before
we’ve
stepped
through
thedoor.We
grew
up
in
the
Internet
Age;being
told
we
were
special,
unique,
and
capable
of
anything
we
wanted.We
arebetween
20
and
30
years
old,
highlyeducated
and
under-employed.We
want
tobuy
houses
but
we
can’t
afford
them.
We
are
the
millennials.
The current housing marketis out of reach for first time home buyers. Beyond the price tag, it is notwell suited to the mobility of a millennial lifestyle. The design, aggregation,and mobility of dwellings is a reflection of thecultural circumstances inwhich they are built. The suburbs were built for a different generation.The last generation was financially able tocommute, and was willing to sacrifice time in order to afford a large suburbanhome.Themillennials face a differentcultural context.Millennials wouldrather live smaller and more economically in order to live closer to where theywork, study, and play.Also, the desireto remain in a viable job market, or to advance theireducation, requiresmillennials to relocate frequently. Therefore, the investment in a static houseis further delayed due to the requirement to “settle down”. According to asurvey by Fanny-Mae 90% of millennials still do aspire to owna house.[1]However a housesuited to millennials will differ from its suburban predecessors.
Millennials would ratherrelocate than commute and herein lies an opportunity. Due to the shifting needsof millennials – primarily economy, mobility and proximity to an urban center,a small, urban, mobile dwelling couldbetter provide access to home ownership.Micro houses could slowly take over unoccupied territories such as those whichwere previously occupied by the cars of the commuter generation. Surfaceparking lots could be transformed tocreate house-parking lots resulting in adenser and more vibrant urban fabric.
Municipal laws aroundmobile, micro dwellings are complex and highly regional. From theirintroduction, prefabricated mobile dwellings have been considered a blight dueto their relationship to poverty.Cityzoning officialshave relegated them to the edge of the city throughexclusionary zoning laws. An increasing number of urban squatters in mobile“tiny houses” are putting pressure on these laws. These early adaptersrepresent a growing desire for anew housing typology and relationship to thecity.
My thesis explores theopportunities provided by this concept of ownership and mobility.Individual units could become highly tuned tothe person(s) occupying them – morphing each unit into an indispensableplatform fromwhich users occupy a city. This new concept of home would allowan increasingly mobile population to resituate with ease – finallyreconstituting home with our wandering lifestyle.
The current housing marketis out of reach for first time home buyers. Beyond the price tag, it is notwell suited to the mobility of a millennial lifestyle. The design, aggregation,and mobility of dwellings is a reflection of thecultural circumstances inwhich they are built. The suburbs were built for a different generation.The last generation was financially able tocommute, and was willing to sacrifice time in order to afford a large suburbanhome.Themillennials face a differentcultural context.Millennials wouldrather live smaller and more economically in order to live closer to where theywork, study, and play.Also, the desireto remain in a viable job market, or to advance theireducation, requiresmillennials to relocate frequently. Therefore, the investment in a static houseis further delayed due to the requirement to “settle down”. According to asurvey by Fanny-Mae 90% of millennials still do aspire to owna house.[1]However a housesuited to millennials will differ from its suburban predecessors.
Millennials would ratherrelocate than commute and herein lies an opportunity. Due to the shifting needsof millennials – primarily economy, mobility and proximity to an urban center,a small, urban, mobile dwelling couldbetter provide access to home ownership.Micro houses could slowly take over unoccupied territories such as those whichwere previously occupied by the cars of the commuter generation. Surfaceparking lots could be transformed tocreate house-parking lots resulting in adenser and more vibrant urban fabric.
Municipal laws aroundmobile, micro dwellings are complex and highly regional. From theirintroduction, prefabricated mobile dwellings have been considered a blight dueto their relationship to poverty.Cityzoning officialshave relegated them to the edge of the city throughexclusionary zoning laws. An increasing number of urban squatters in mobile“tiny houses” are putting pressure on these laws. These early adaptersrepresent a growing desire for anew housing typology and relationship to thecity.
My thesis explores theopportunities provided by this concept of ownership and mobility.Individual units could become highly tuned tothe person(s) occupying them – morphing each unit into an indispensableplatform fromwhich users occupy a city. This new concept of home would allowan increasingly mobile population to resituate with ease – finallyreconstituting home with our wandering lifestyle.
[1].
Fannie
Mae,
,
report,
August2015,
accessed
November
18,
2015.
The
examining
committee
is
as
follows:
Supervisor:
MayaPrzybylski,University of ݮƵ
CommitteeMembers:
Ali
Fard,
University
ofݮƵ
Matthew Spremulli
External Reader:
Jason Halter, Wonder Inc.
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Wednesday
December
16,
2015
10:00AM
ARC
1001
-Cummings
Lecture
Theatre
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.