Product Description

Features extensive illustrations.
∗ Commercially available products are compared with the work of leading designers.
∗ Publication of the Second Edition is to coincide with a major exhibition, "Living in Motion," co–currated by the author.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #483337 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

From the Back Cover
House in Motion, Second Edition explores the genre of portable, transportable, demountable and temporary architecture. Moving buildings are among the earliest artifacts created by man, and yet they have a persisting relevance that enables a Bedouin tent to exist in the same world as a 90,000–ton aircraft carrier.

In this revised edition of his definitive study, Robert Kronenbourg examines the development of the moveable building from prehistory to the present day, including a entirely new chapter on the influence that new technologies have on the subject. From familiar vernacular models such as the tent, mobile home and houseboat, to developments in military and construction engineering, all aspects of portable architecture are considered.

Kronenbourg makes comparisons between current, commercially available products and the work of innovative designers. He explores the philosophical and technological issues raised by contemporary, experimental and futuristic prototypes, and examines the suitability to purpose of portable building solutions in shelter after disaster situations.

A greater undestanding of the nature of transitory architecture could result in a new, ecologically aware design strategy which prioritises buildings that ′tread lightly on the earth′ and still convey the sense of identity and community necessary for an established responsible society. This book offers readers a unique insight into this increasingly important field of design.

About the Author
ROBERT KRONENBURG PhD RIBA is an architect and senior lecturer at the School of Architecture and Building Engineering at the University of Liverpool. His books include Portable Architecture (Architectural Press, 2000), FTL:Softness, Movement and Light (Wiley–Academy, 1997), and Spirit of the Machine (Wiley–Academy, 2001). His research has been supported by the Building Centre Trust, London, the Graham Foundation, Chicago, the US Fulbright Commission, St. John′s College, Oxford University, and the Leverhulme Trust. He curated Portable Architecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects, London and the touring event Spontaneous Construction, and is a curatorial advisor on the Vitra Museum′s international exhibition Living in Motion

Excerpted from Houses in Motion by R.H. Kronenburg. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION

The Cultural Importance of Portable Architecture

The kinetic object has an innate potency that has persisted throughout human design history. Power, speed, intelligence, beauty, can all be conveyed in the vehicles which have always expressed significant technological advances in the most visible way. When these moving objects possess other functions associated with the rituals and circumstances of dwelling, commerce and industry, this significance is reinforced and in some cases reinvested. Yet moving buildings are amongst the earliest artifacts created by man, predating vehicles, and have a persisting relevance that enables a Bedouin tent to exist in the same world as a 90,000 ton aircraft carrier which is a moving home to 5,500 people.

The usual perception of temporary architecture is, however, of impermanent, transient, low-quality building, neither tuned to its purpose nor appropriate to its site. Yet there is no more profound indication of the need for study of the current state of design and manufacture of portable and demountable buildings than the images displayed in the media each time a major disaster occurs and the resultant homeless are seen sheltered in inadequate, makeshift accommodation.

In the developed world, commercially manufactured demountable buildings are already used in many diverse locations - in commerce, industry, education, health care, housing, and the military. Yet the varied products used in these roles, though considerably more sophisticated in materials and construction, seem to have evolved through an ad hoc design process. They appear to be made with little more care than that used by the refugee, who has to rapidly erect the best shelter he can manage in the shortest time with the minimum of materials. Very few demountable buildings have been designed for a dedicated user with that user's specific requirements in mind. Indeed, very few make much use of knowledge from designs that have gone before and the sometimes more advanced technology available in other unrelated applications.

This book examines the genesis, history and development of portable, demountable and relocatable architecture; makes an assessment of contemporary examples by designers, builders, and manufacturers; and explores the products of unrelated industries where the possibility of technology transferred to this area of design has yet to be assessed. Inherent in this study is the necessity not only to explore the physical manifestations of the type but to also examine the underlying philosophical, cultural and social issues that have shaped their creation. It is in this area that the relationship between architectural form and suitability to purpose can be effectively gauged, and the lessons drawn applied to future design work.

A Definition of the Movable Building

The architectural forms studied here are those that have a strictly ephemeral nature - that are movable in some form, and are designed specifically for deployment in different situations and/or locations. Though some possess characteristics from more than one category, temporary building systems can be simply divided into three specific types, listed below:

Portable buildings are those that are transported whole and intact. Sometimes they include the method for transport within their own structure (wheels, hull) and can be towed or carried - a few can be described as self-powered. However, the dividing line between building and vehicle then becomes blurred.

Relocatable buildings are those that are transported in parts but are assembled at the site almost instantly into usable built form. These are almost always carried but in a few limited cases may have part of their transportation system incorporated into their structure. The main advantage of this type is that it can provide space almost as quickly as the portable building without restriction in size imposed by transportation.

Demountable buildings are those that are transported in a number of parts for assembly on site. They are much more flexible in size and layout and can usually be transported in a relatively compact space. They have some of the limitations that site operations bring to a conventional building and, depending on the size, complexity, and ingenuity of the system, are not as instantly available.

These building types can be further divided into deployment categories: module, flat pack, tensile, pneumatic and combined system. The study has examined buildings of this nature from all sources: vernacular and traditional architecture, the building industry, architectural design, product design, transportation and vehicle production. Prefabricated and pre-manufactured building systems have also been examined but only in reference to how their production techniques might impact on the field of transportable buildings. These definitions can effectively be applied to all movable buildings from the first prehistoric shelter to the International Space Station, and from the simplest portable temporary grass thatched dwelling to a large, technologically ambitious demountable exhibition building.

Within these general classifications there is, however, a wide range of variations in size, form and function. Relatively small portable and demountable buildings are commonplace objects that form part of the background of our urban and rural environments. Sometimes sympathetic, they are more usually an unwelcome intrusion that exemplifies the unconsidered approach habitually taken in their design and siting. On occasion a temporary building is called upon to fulfil a function that relates to an individual's organisational or social image, purpose or ambition. In this case, if an enlightened approach is taken to the design, a reusable building can result rather than one which is wastefully abandoned. The Crystal Palace (the 1851 Great Exhibition building by Sir Joseph Paxton) and more recently the British Pavilion at Expo 1992, a building by Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners and influenced by Paxton, are both buildings of an ephemeral and reusable nature that also express a strong cultural and technological statement. These two happen to be exhibition buildings and yet there is hardly any field of human activity which requires enclosed structures that does not utilise movable buildings in some form - the portable building can be found in all spheres of human activity.