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SPACE ARCHITECTURE: WHAT WE CAN EXPECT

Over the past six months, and indeed years, there have been a lot of newsworthy events that have opened our appetites for space exploration. There’s been the release of Martian, featuring Matt Damon, Virgin Galactic is edging closer to launching the first civilian rocket into space, and there have been countless other snippets of media coverage that have made us think that the impossible may be possible.

We’re always looking to the future at Axess 2, crafting innovative ways that will help us to better our services and access lifts. We’ve recently looked at solar-powered elevators here on earth, and have predicted that there could be an elevator into space by the year 2070!

So if a trip to Mars does become a part of our daily commute by the latter half of this century, how is the landscape going to look? Will we have offices? Here are some architecture forecasts that we like the look of!

Business man on the moon iStock_000057326888_Small

3D Printed Lunar Houses

Alongside the European Space Agency, Foster + Partners are exploring the possibilities of constructing lunar colonies. Each structure is designed to house four people, as well as protect those inside from meteorites, gamma radiation, and high temperature fluctuations.

Using a material that is similar to foam, the structure can be easily be transported by space rocket before a robot-operated 3D printer creates a protective shell and puts the whole thing together.

A Mars Igloo

In September last year, NASA crowned ‘Ice House’ the winner of their competition to design a 3D-printed structure for the red planet. Their design stood out from the other entrants by harnessing the water that has recently been found on Mars, instead of the loose red rocky surface.

Their series of nested domes are created from ice, housing four people above ground and allowing them to see their surroundings because of the transparent nature of the material.

The Grand Space Hotel

With an array of the rich and famous queuing up for a spot on board Richard Branson’s commercial spacecraft, it seems only right that a number of companies are designing hotels for outer space. Bigelow Aerospace is currently considered to be the frontrunner for creating a commercial space station as they are expected to launch their expandable habitat technology at some point this year!

If reading about innovative space architecture has got your head in the clouds, why not have a look at the range of possibilities when it comes to creating a bespoke lift here?

For more information, you can speak to one of our experts by calling 01200 405 005. Don’t forget to follow us on FacebookTwitter and Google+ for all of our latest news!