Teresa Palmieri

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Department: Social Design

Settled-Nomads in Search of Temporary Stability

The settled-nomad embodies the spirit of our time, characterised by hypermobility and constant change. He can be described as a hybrid person whose life is marked equally by mobility and permanence, and for whom a sense of belonging is a process that is developed in the course of his life-journey. This thesis analyses the topic of ‘mobile lives’ and how to create a sense of belonging in a temporary habitat. How can interaction between people and places be restored in times of extreme mobility? In order not to feel uprooted and out-of-place, being an inhabitant rather than a mere user of an environment is vital. The aim of this project is to create a series of nomadic tools with which a settled-nomad can appropriate his context physically and mentally, and find temporary stability. These tools will be symbolic of his life and identity, and therefore they will be adaptable, flexible and movable.