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THE EXPERIENCE NOMADS
Final Year Thesis
Thesis Advisor: ASSOC. PROF. Fung John Chye (Ar.)
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Site: Payar Lebar Air Base, Singapore
Future Urban Living and Community Regeneration
Research Abstract
Today’s technology preys on our attention and the human desire for connection and validation. It offers us the opportunity to disconnect from the physical world and substitute it with an online proxy instead; one in which information is readily accessible, manipulatable, and increasingly curated to our preferences as a form of entrapment. However, it is this very disconnection from the physical that has deteriorated our very ability to socialise and self-actualise (Anderson et al., 2018).
Therefore, as our society becomes more egocentric and acquainted with a high influx of information to navigate our social interactions, this thesis proposes an alternative architecture for living. Perhaps a return to a comparatively more nomadic lifestyle would be beneficial for our mental well-being and the state of our local communities, one that prioritises and exhibits high individualism and high community. The proposed masterplan and architecture will hence serve as a landmark for future urban nomads, with the new experience economy and related activities as an anchor and attractor to the redesigned city centre in 2050.
Keywords: Speculative, Experiential Architecture, Technology
Future Urban Living and Community Regeneration
The thesis project expands on the concept of a mobile ‘home’- of which is journey focused and founded in somewhat intangible communities and shared experiences, instead of the conventional permanence and destination-oriented homes that we know.
Townplan: Featuring different building typologies and varied shopping street characters
Located at the heart of the former Payar Lebar Airbase, the new proposed town centre features multiple districts of different characters, as well as facilities supporting a spectrum of nomadic lifestyles. From spacious shopping complexes to the narrow shopping alleyways and back to the walkable main street, the series of entirely walkable decks that span the town centre offer a variety of opportunities and experiences along the new innovation spine fit for the experience nomad.
The re-imagination of the public sphere
The Experiential Garden and Marketplace: A place for diverse popup stalls and markets intensified by the coming and going of nomads.
In response to today’s deteriorating public sphere, in Urban Studies Vol. 37 Public Space, Urban Space and Electronic Space, Crang propounds the idea of a fractured public sphere that serves as the conjuncture of virtual, physical, and social spaces.
He suggests that the public sphere is not an exterior space separate from people’s private lives; instead, it is the assemblage and convergence of such private realms and interactions that form the public space. Therefore, public space should be something experienced in fragments and is not something to be deemed as an alternative to that of the virtual city.
The new public space encompasses a collection of distinct, discrete spaces that provide opportunities for myriad experiences in terms of scale, programme, varying degrees of information interfaces and sensorial experiences.
Instead of the high transparency and visibility exhibited by current public spaces, the overlap of multifunctional and obscure spaces aid in creating new experiences and encouraging unplanned interactions.
By treating public spaces as the intersection of virtual, physical, and social spaces, it additionally addresses the lack of context in online spaces.
The Nomadic Spectrum
Traditional nomads vary in the degree of nomadism and have a different basis for migration. Nomadic hunter-gatherers move through territories where they are familiar with resources and game for hunting, while pastoral nomads’ migration patterns depend on the availability of pasturage for their domesticated livestock, and peripatetic nomads travel to offer a trade or service. The last category of nomads is those that travel on individual religious pilgrimages with a strong sense of comradery and fellowship.
From earlier studies of traditional nomads, a nomadic spectrum was quickly identified based on the degree and frequency of movement. Therefore in the future, there will likewise be a variety of people on this spectrum, and user profiles will indicate the type of amenities needed to support their lifestyles accordingly.
Second Storey Plan
Fifth Storey Plan
Twelfth Storey Plan
In the modern world, although the meaning of a nomadic lifestyle has evolved, the concept of home and community has largely remained unchanged.
American film Nomadland demonstrates how a community that celebrates a strong sense of individualism means there is less societal pressure to conform or socialise. And yet, it amplifies the need for people to rely on one another for emotional support and to identify with a larger community.
The values of a nomadic lifestyle are contrary to the trends apparent in today’s societies. Although the current culture of being driven by material wants and the accumulation of wealth too stems from a strong sense of individualism, it is deeply influenced by the need to gain the approval of others and to outperform them. Instead, true individualism for the nomad is the ability to have complete control of their lives and their environment.
This manifests through their way of life; the light-asset and flexible approach to living, and the constant search for new experiences and opportunities.Therefore, in light of the threats to our deteriorating local communities and social skills, an individualistic-oriented lifestyle would provide people with the agency to rebuild their sense of self and their communities.
An aerial perspective of the central Nomadic Facility, adjacent to the Experiential Market
