I won't even say that this qualifies as a first pass. This is On the Road meets Le Moduler. Omniscient says that the definition of a thesis comes from the Greek word for position. So here it is, my position.
Born of my obsession with seashells I believe that humans should live with their homes on their backs like the Nautilus. The realistic implication of this would be that while architecture would not be actually carried on ones back, it would be fully capable of traveling with the user to any destination. I think it's so poetic that my 5th point is that architecture should be fully recycled. Seashells recycle into sand. Qatar? Pretty much just sand.
What if architecture was not bound to its earthly context but bound to the occupant?
What if in the future, all architecture was mobile?
What elements would need to be considered to make architecture mobile?
1. It should touch the earth lightly- If a building were to travel from place to place, rather than smear its foot print over every plot it touches, it should seek to touch the earth in the gentlest manner possible. Rather then a full foundation, it should have as few points of connection as possible. This allows natural systems in the area to continue patterns of life as close to their normal flow as possible while still providing a stable structure to the inhabitant.
2. It should be nearly self-supportive- If a building were to travel from place to place, it should be able to accommodate varying availability of natural resources and local infrastructure. Technology which can reduce water usage
3. It should be modular- If a building were to travel with the occupant as a shell would with a nautilus, some provisions for growth should be made. This has regards to both the individual as well as it interaction with other units. A pair? A family? A cluster? How do multiple units join? How does one unit expand?
4. It should be transportable- If a building were to travel from place to place, it would need to be easily moved by a methodology that is repeatable and easy. The building should be entirely self contained and should be, when in transport, at it's smallest/lightest state.
5. It should be recyclable- The life of the building is valuable only to the extent of the life of its occupants. The building is not to live beyond its occupant. When the building is no longer serving its primary use it should be dismantled to it's most basic elements to be reassembled for other units.
Notes on the habits of the nautilus:
internally divided into chambers
bony structure of the body is externalized as a shell
shell is composed of 2 layers
mode of camouflage known as countershading
Thoughts about need for this new direction of architecture:
Issues in Doha:
Rapidly approaching 1 billion. 928,635 (July 2008 est.) (http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/worldguide/html/998_people.html)
The population growth rate for Qatar is 2.279% (2008 est.) (world growth rate at 2006 is 1.14%). The country also saw migration of 13.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.). The median age of the country is total: 32.1 years male: 37.5 years female: 23.4 years (2008 est.)
Oil and gas account for more than 60% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have made Qatar the highest per-capita income country and one of the world’s fastest growing.
Large population of immigrant workers whose residency is only temporary. This class is mainly low income labor.
Marginalized
Periphery
Number in labour force: 638,000 (2007 est.)
Sectors: N/A
Unemployment: 0.7% (2007 est.)
Large population of expatriate visitors who residency is also only temporary. This class is mainly high income wage earners.
Over-represented
Central
Qatar is, per-capita, one of the richest nations in the world with less than 8% of the total population represented by Qatari nationals. Population is in constant flux and the high volume of traffic has put a strain on the housing market.
Qatar economy is based largely on oil wealth. The city of Doha's rapid growth which is currently soaring in direct correlation to rising gas prices, can be expected to not only taper off, but actually plateau as the demand for oil in the global economy slows within the next decade. Infrastructure built now to accommodate its rapid growth will soon become obsolete creating a city which has been severely over built.
The value of transportable dwelling in this area would be its ability to ebb and flow with direct proportion to a participating population.
Conditions of a portable unit:
Urban- Apartments, Hotels
Suburban- Lots, Clusters, Cul-de-Sac?
Exurban- Singularity
Settlement Patterns:
Qataris are largely urban dwellers; less than one-tenth of the population lives in rural areas. Doha, on the east coast, is Qatar’s largest city and commercial center and contains about half of the emirate’s population. It has a deep water port and an international airport. The main oil port and industrial center is Umm Saʿīd, to the south of Doha on the eastern coast. Al-Rayyān, just northwest of Doha, is the country’s second major urban area. These three cities and many smaller settlements are linked by roads. Of the many islands and coral reefs belonging to Qatar, Ḥālūl, in the Persian Gulf 60 miles (97 km) east of Doha, serves as a collecting and storage point for the country’s three offshore oil fields.