Relocation, Re- Location: Locating a Separate Architecture

Abstract

New Zealand’s prevalence of house moving prompted the enquiry into architecture separated from site. This phenomenon challenges the stability of architecture, typically associated with notions of permanence. It is suggested that Architecture’s fixation on fixation, through dense boundaries and settlements, has contributed to an ecological disconnect between people and place. The deterioration of this relationship, and subsequent changes to our environment, now threaten the persistence of architecture itself. This calls for a more adaptable approach. Preconceptions about off-site architecture, for its inability to relate to place, are challenged. The inherent resilience of an evolutionary vernacular form the basis of a separate architecture. The off-site nature of relocatable housing is pursued for persistence through adaptability and permeability to re-mediate ecological disconnect. The counterintuitive idea of persistence through change aligns with an adaptive resilience framework, grounded in a non-equilibrium understanding of ecology. This supports a paradigm shift from permanence to resilience, which is tested in a reverse design process. The design of an adaptable assembly of layers occurs separately from site. Simultaneously, the horizon captures an extended setting, to describe place through layers of topography and change. Phenomenological metaphors connect these separate enquiries, informing the assembly of architecture. Adaptability is tested across several locations in rural Hawke’s Bay, to simulate change. The outcome is seen in a separate dwelling; conceived as a piece of adaptable equipment which reveals and responds to changes of place. Adjustment is possible through the separation of building spaces and layers. These are defined by and aligned with layers of the horizon. This supports the dwelling’s persistence over time and strengthens the inhabitant’s relationship to place.