Potential roadmap

I guess I'm still sticking to the idea of MOBILE HOUSING, but I am trying to get away from the very literal interpretation of that (that is, houses that actually move as if it's still the 70s). Below are some ways of interpreting this idea that I've come up with as starting points. There are two basic approaches in general: CONCEPTUAL and TECHNICAL. I'm not sure which should come first as the starting point, perhaps you can advise me on that, or tell me what you're interested in most. If I were to start with one of the CONCEPTUAL approaches, I could apply a TECHNICAL modular prefab system to it. Or I could start with the TECHNICAL modular prefab research, and then pick one of the CONCEPTUAL ideas as a context. I'm not sure which is the most viable approach, and which you're most interested in. Or, perhaps it's possible to do each approach concurrently. I imagine you're more interested in the technical side. As I'm very keen on having you as my advisor, I'd be willing to put this first, but I'm just a little wary since I'm not a technical expert so it's harder for me to see the issues and consider the possibilities in this respect, unless you are to advise me more actively on them.

I. -CONCEPTUAL

A. HOUSING FOR NOMADS,
-"housing services," franchised / branded housing
-new concept of "home"
-how do you architecturalize a service, how does the architecture of housing change with the transition to service industry rather than commodity?
-speculate and develop models for recent developments towards nomadism in housing, in which there is a blurring between the real estate markets and hospitality industry. as opposed to traditional models of hotels and real estate we are now seeing the emergence (perhaps resulting from a globalized workforce) of globally franchised serviced apartments and portfolios of partial-ownership properties
-architecturalize this new condition / function for housing.

B. INFRASTRUCTURE AS ARCHITECTURE, ARCHITECTURE AS INFRASTRUCTURE
-examine the links (conceptual, urbanistic-planning, architectural/physical) between infrastructure and architecture
-new possibilities for integrating infrastructure and architecture (conceptual, urbanistic, architectural/physical)
-reading the opportunities embedded in the city: task: map these spaces in a particular city.
-architecturalizing the left behind spaces
-must look at planning / history issue, but need not be primary interest
-ideas:

• -hong-kong private infrastructure that becomes defacto semi-public (philipino campsites, throughways through malls, skybridges, junkspace) (PRIVATIZED PUBLIC SPACE)
• -like the proposals for repairing Belgrade by exaggerating the condition rather than fixing it
• -naivete of hiding infrastructure
• -oriental city: infrastructure comes as leftover space (or the architecture is the infrastructure), as opposed to European city in which infrastructure defines architectural space (figure-ground reversed)
• -Context 1: MORTGAGE/ENERGY CRISIS -> INFILL / ultra-densification
  
• -INFILL / ultra-densification / infrastructure-oriented strategies (lessons from Hong Kong)
• -Context 2: constructional / modular / prefab solutions…

C. THE AMERICAN DREAM: (sub)URBAN
-examine the cultural forces behind the consumer preference for detached suburban housing.
-ultimate goal is some architectural proposal (probably housing)
-developing cost-effective housing that attempts to replicate the suburban lifestyle in more dense ways in urban contexts. = INFILL
-or giving a more urban character to suburbs = OUTFILL (in this case, proposal could be civic function, etc.)
-context: MORTGAGE / ENERGY CRISIS as a reason to either densify the cities (INFILL), or make suburbs more viable (OUTFILL)

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II: -TECHNICAL

MASS CUSTOMIZED MANUFACTURED HOUSING

-research methods, processes, legality, economics of
-speculate on new systems, or new applications of
-(use this as a starting point, then to figure out about how to apply it, whether in suburbs or urban contexts as in above ideas)

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III: -PROCESS

1. blog postings regularly (say three times a week, tuesday, thursday, saturday) I've already set this up as a way of communicating to Defne and Jaime. http://rustygsthesisblog.blogspot.com/
2. iterative design (research by multiple quick proposals, say a three-day charette once a month)
3. by the end of pre-thesis, try to have a conceptual proposal candidate established, and then by the start of the final semester have the conceptual proposal finalized...