Thesis Update - Abstract, Program, Site

Mobile Opportunity Center: Changing Lives through Mobile Initiatives

Thesis Abstract

How can a deployable architecture and socially conscious design create change?

Majority of developing countries are currently living in conditions that a typical American could not imagine.  Families cannot to move out of because of poverty; they live on less than two American dollars a day.  To borrow money, means to borrow money from loan sharks at impossible interest rates, so the cycle never ends.  Currently there is an opportunity of bringing financial independence to these areas through micro financing.  This allows people to get small loans to start their own business at low interest rates.  This creates the opportunity for families to start their own lives on their own terms.  In order for this to happen, a facility needs to be available.  The facility is more than a ‘bank’.  It represents an opportunity, safety, and independence.  It will act as a space for community and for financial empowerment.  How could a piece of architecture be functional in changing the financial situation and also represent hope for developing nations?  Micro financing can be implemented in any city, rural area or war torn town.  Taking that concept of being able to be put anywhere, being site-less, something deployable would be the best solution.  Deployable architecture is progressive and allows for new ideas to be implemented.  Having a prototype of a building that is acts as a symbol and also allows for its ideas and function to be used and be adopted.  After the program is adopted and stable, it is time for a separate permanent structure that represents something that the people created.  The deployable architecture would move on to another city or town and the cycle continues.  As the building moves, micro financing spreads, and little by little families develop. 

Issue – how architecture and economics work together to help poverty

History – micro financing, developing nations

Intervention Idea – deployable, movable banking social center

Effect – families starting their own business and establishing their own financial freedom

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Intervention – deployable, symbol

Program – safe, micro financing center

Location – anywhere…urban, rural, war torn

Tectonics – …Materials - …

Definitions:

socially conscious design

deployable

micro financing

Program Ideas

The issue that I am tackling with the use of architecture is poverty.  This is creating a relationship of a financial concept that is used everywhere with architecture and design.  Using a micro financing as a function, gives me a basis of my program.  There would be three parts of my intervention.  One part is a movable structure that can be transferred from city to city, implementing micro financing.  The deployable architecture needs a home base, a headquarters.  This headquarters will be located in Boston with its main function is to house the facilities to build the prototype.  The movable architecture from there is moved to its first location.  At its first location it turns into a semi-permanent structure, to be there for as long it is needed to be adapted, anywhere for 6 to 24 months.  After establishing a temporary, movable structure, a permanent building would take over to continue the process that was already started. 

The deployable architecture needs to work as two things, a microfinance center and a community space.  Looking at how micro financing works, basic programmatic pieces are a meeting hall with classroom-like characteristics, and offices.  The community space had both interior and exterior programmatic elements.  A computer/technology room would work with both the community and the center.  The meeting hall should be able to open up to the outside for specific events.  There is a need for educational hubs.  These hubs could work off the technology room and have an interior/ exterior relationship to allow for numerous types of seminars.  The creation of an opportunity like micro financing means defying the loan sharks that rule the slums and potential opportunity for someone to start over, and develop their own business.  This structure is to give opportunity to those who never had it.

Site

The Opportunity Center has two objectives when it comes to site.  The two parts of the program require a site in a major city with the ability to ship the center.  Boston being a harbor city is perfect for the headquarters.  The site I chose is in Boston is South Boston.  The site’s main attraction is the harbor/shipping aspect.  The site also offers that it borders a residential neighborhood.  This gives the freedom of giving a space to the neighborhood. The site is large enough to have shipping, offices and a public realm.

The Opportunity Center is almost site-less.  The mobility allows it to go almost anywhere.  The typologies of potential sites are an urban environment, rural town and a war torn state in developing nations.   An urban site consists of small dense residences and finding a small open area that is easy to get to.  A rural area is more difficult.  The site should be located as central as possible.  A lot of rural areas do not have a center, this could act as a potential for an area.  The war torn are works similar to an urban area because where a lot of the physical damage happened in more populated areas.  Picking a site with significance to a specific event promotes the idea of this building also as a symbol of opportunity and change.