The latest volume in this popular series of books examining the international range of research and practical activity in the field of portable architecture and its context, in particular, the character and manifestation of the transportable environment whether a building, a landscape, or an interior space, brought into existence in a specific location for a limited or specified period of time. It consists of a series of original, illustrated, essays that explore contemporary research, design projects, buildings and cultural contexts that respond to evolving technological, social, economic and cultural conditions. Because of the way in which the world is changing flexible, transformable and transportable design is as important now as it was when, in past millennia, nomadic ways of life were dominant across the planet.
This range of original thematic papers and projects presents new research, knowledge and the experience of national and international experts with first hand information on theoretical, educational, technological and design issues in a global and cross-disciplinary context. Theoretical and historical research, the design work of cutting edge architects, and the search for new approaches in terms of structure, materiality, and production are all explored in detail. The book brings together a diverse range of viewpoints on many of the different manifestations this form of architecture takes. The study for transportable environments is a search for new interpretations of existing and innovative building technologies to fulfill requirements that cannot be met by the use of existing built forms.