Automated Builder November 2009 : Page 6

The basic Lifepod concept calls for an off-grid habitat which can be relocated easily and adapted to a wide variety of uses. Feet instead of founda- tion eliminate many building code issues. Power and communications systems can be self-contained. It is the equivalent of a compact, one bedroom, one bath unit.The Lifepod is based on the lightweight, nomadic attributes of the Mongolian ger, or yurt. An Artistic Vision Shapes the Lifepod Habitat SAN FRANCISCO, CA—As we move into the 21st century we find our global priorities changing in the face of environmental and economic pressures. One of those changes is an exploration of alternative dwellings that are smaller, environmentally sensitive, technologically sophis- ticated and often manufactured, not built. No surprise then that architectural innovations which capture our imagina- tion may come from ... artists! Kyu Che is an architect and artist based in San Francisco whose work, ranging from high-end interiors to experimental projects, has received international recognition. An on-going project is the Lifepod series, a compact, transportable living/ working habitat based on the lightweight nomadic aspects of the Mongolian ger, or yurt. It began with profound dissatisfaction with a successful career. Ten years ago Che was involved with a variety of high-end residential projects while working with one of the best firms in San Francisco. Working on gargantuan steel- framed French chateaus and Tuscan villas was making him feel disillusioned. “It drove me crazy,” he says. Thus began a series of sketches for a high-tech, mini- mal capsule habitat which became the Lifepod. In various 6 manifestations it has been exhibited at the Yale School of Architecture Gallery in an exhibit entitled Some Assembly Required, at New Langton Arts and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. One variation on the Lifepod, the Tumble, was designed as a video viewing pod commissioned by the Yerba Buena Center in 2006. It provided Che with a team to prototype a timber construction method using CNC cutting and plywood. The pod is designed to be ‘tumbled’ into different positions and one Tumble model is being considered to be commis- sioned in Reykjavik, Iceland for exhibition there. Another project involved the design of five habitats at Langton Arts in the summer of 2006. Che's work launched the project through an innovative design of five spaces within the gallery integrating tubular shapes, a mobile pod, sloping walls, a ‘drive-in’ and a subterranean cave. The mobile pod took form as a ‘tea house’ capsule on casters that proved popular with audiences and was eventually sold. While these art exhibit venues may seem somewhat removed from practical considerations each project brought Che closer to a finished concept. “It was as though it had a life of its own,” he says. “These architectural environments with a scaled pod NOVEMBER 2009

An Artistic Vision Shapes The Lifepod Habitat

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—As we move into the 21st century we find our global priorities changing in the face of environmental and economic pressures. One of those changes is an exploration of alternative dwellings that are smaller, environmentally sensitive, technologically sophisticated and often manufactured, not built. No surprise then that architectural innovations which capture our imagination may come from ... artists! Kyu Che is an architect and artist based in San Francisco whose work, ranging from high-end interiors to experimental projects, has received international recognition. An on-going project is the Lifepod series, a compact, transportable living/ working habitat based on the lightweight nomadic aspects of the Mongolian ger, or yurt. It began with profound dissatisfaction with a successful career. Ten years ago Che was involved with a variety of high-end residential projects while working with one of the best firms in San Francisco. Working on gargantuan steelframed French chateaus and Tuscan villas was making him feel disillusioned. “It drove me crazy,” he says. Thus began a series of sketches for a high-tech, minimal capsule habitat which became the Lifepod. In various manifestations it has been exhibited at the Yale School of Architecture Gallery in an exhibit entitled Some Assembly Required, at New Langton Arts and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. One variation on the Lifepod, the Tumble, was designed as a video viewing pod commissioned by the Yerba Buena Center in 2006. It provided Che with a team to prototype a timber construction method using CNC cutting and plywood. The pod is designed to be ‘tumbled’ into different positions and one Tumble model is being considered to be commissioned in Reykjavik, Iceland for exhibition there. Another project involved the design of five habitats at Langton Arts in the summer of 2006. Che's work launched the project through an innovative design of five spaces within the gallery integrating tubular shapes, a mobile pod, sloping walls, a ‘drive-in’ and a subterranean cave. The mobile pod took form as a ‘tea house’ capsule on casters that proved popular with audiences and was eventually sold. While these art exhibit venues may seem somewhat removed from practical considerations each project brought Che closer to a finished concept. “It was as though it had a life of its own,” he says. “These architectural environments with a scaled pod The Lifepod might be furnished. The main Lifepod habitat is the equivalent of a one bedroom, one bath space. It can be used in the yard as a guest house, a studio, a teenager’s pad or off the grid. Possible materials for fabricating it could be plywood and 2X6s, steel, aluminum or carbon fi ber,” Che added. He is also doing a variation on the pod built from a shipping container. “I plan to ship it across the Pacifi c,” he says. “I already have a company interested. I’d like to live in it during the voyage and then park it on ancestral land in my native Korea. As a child I came here in an aluminum tube and I’d like to journey back in a steel box,” he says. International exposure for the Lifepod came fi rst in Milan, where the fresh, futuristic design caught the attention of the press. Since then it has attracted considerable interest and favorable response from all kinds of people. “Many of them want it just as it is,” he says, “futuristic shape and all. And they want to be able to order it and have it Fed-Ex’ed to them.” For his part, Che would like to see that happen. He is aiming at a practical and effi cient manufacturing scenario. “The form comes from the ger concept by way of an airplane fuselage with an RV trailer carriage,” he explains. “I’m looking for a manufacturer who is willing to prototype one. It would be a ready-made, perhaps with integrated solar panels and a computer that controls it. It could be a study, guest house or even a temporary structure with options as to power supply. “The advantages include not requiring a foundation, which can eliminate some building code requirements, along with quick assembly,” he adds.

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