New Frontiers

New Frontiers was produced in collaboration with Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, CO. The project was established to investigate next-generation lunar habitat architecture focused on designing for the human experience and behavioral performance for long-duration missions. The teams applied a human-centered approach with an emphasis on the influence of environmental variables in design. The design considered parameters such as anthropometry, lighting, temperature, human-machine interactions, comfort, and wellness, using design and engineering methods. The habitat was constrained by transportation limits for lunar surface missions that would be available by the late 2020s. The human-centered architecture is a key feature in our proposal and results in design strategies that enhance mission durations and human systems integration. The final concept is characterized by an innovative architectural design, crew systems, and various environmental design features that reinforce a human-centered approach to lunar habitat architecture.

Future Space Architecture

The idea for a “Moon Village” presented by the ESA Director General Johann-Dietrich Wörner, inspired this partnership to envision an open architecture based on global cooperation for the common objective of enabling long-term sustainable human exploration and development on the Moon. In 2019 the partnership unveiled the first glimpse into this multidisciplinary project revolving around principles of resiliency, self-sufficiency, and a next-generation integrated habitat architecture. In January 2020, a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) was signed at ESA’s headquarters and the cooperation was extended to advance habitat architecture with an emphasis on the concurrent design and engineering of concepts for a multi-functional integrated habitat. The evolution of this collaboration initiated a study within ESA’s Concurrent Design Facility (CDF), to conduct a cross-disciplinary study, encouraging design innovation and the application of alternative engineering methodologies. The partnership centered on the need for international cooperation to support innovative concepts and technology program capabilities that bring commercial and government closer together, fostering new ideas that align with reaching exploration goals toward the utilization of space resources and human access to planetary surfaces including the Moon and Mars.

Holistic Workflows

There is an accelerated shift in architecture taking place today which is characterized by the infusion of evolving digital technologies and interdisciplinary knowledge. Information is the foundation on which this change takes place and its transformability is what enables us to communicate with other professional fields effectively. Architecture is known for its ability to absorb subjects and techniques occurring across disciplines. This encourages the infusion of methodologies from a wide range of specialized fields and is in large part responsible for much of the transformation that is occurring within the Architectural discourse and profession. The ensuing results indicate that there is a paradigm shift occurring which is made progressively possible through the discoveries in disciplinary exchange. The transfer of knowledge produces discoveries while simultaneously making it possible for the AEC industry to exploit novel solutions. Many of the effects that computer technologies and computational techniques are responsible for have already been demonstrated in achievements of the 21st century. In highlighting how these leaps have taken place, the techniques and methods behind them can be understood, adopted, and advanced. Building on the evolutionary progress of pervasive technology and driving its potential effects on architecture and its discourse.

Master Planning and Space Architecture for a Moon Village

In partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the faculty of Aerospace and Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this paper presents space architecture and master planning strategies for the first full-time human settlement on the Moon. One aspect of ESA’s space exploration efforts in Low Earth Orbit, the Moon, and Mars is to aim at “developing new concepts for international exploration activities, encompassing novel cooperation opportunities open to all nations and industrial actors”. The partnership envisions future missions to the lunar surface that will be driven by cooperation and sustainable planning strategies. The “Moon Village” idea presented by the ESA Director General is a vision for an open architecture based on global cooperation among multiple nations and multiple partners combining their various expertise for the common objective of enabling long-term exploration of the lunar surface. Fundamental to achieving this goal will be the establishment of infrastructure on the Moon, relying on a myriad of architectures and surface system capabilities. As part of this larger effort, a strategic alignment with NASA’s 2018 Strategic Plan to “extend human presence deeper into space and to the Moon for sustainable long-term exploration and utilization” provides an essential paradigm for holistic thinking about humanity’s future in space.

Advanced Material Habitat Structures

The International Space Station has been humanity’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) laboratory and home for human space exploration for more than 20 years. A new chapter is currently being developed through commercial space efforts to design, engineer, and build space stations that can support a future LEO ecosystem. Advanced composite material structures can pave the way for a new generation of space stations that are stronger, lighter, less expensive, and offer a range of design possibilities. This study includes the development of graphene-reinforced composites, advanced manufacturing, and architectural design considerations for habitat architecture. The composite materials and methods developed can be used in station-type facilities as large pressure vessels and shielding structures for habitation. The results of the study are intended to provide considerations and a process for implementation in the future design of space architecture. The study provides recommendations for practical applications in other industries and will support the future manufacturing and testing of ongoing research.