Michael Walch GSAPP Studio Work 4 - Low-Earth Orbit Hotel

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Advanced Studio IV - Spring 2009 Critic: Yoshiko Sato Archived Project

Program: Low-Earth Orbit Space Hotel

s.09

Sp

We are venturing into space, traveling further and longer. My project offers a one-year stay in low-earth orbit, 200 miles above the surface of the Earth. This long-term stay will test our capacity and desire to simulate Earth and adapt to a weightless and controlled environment. I sought to understand how we would adapt biologically to life in space: our circadian rhythms, sense of balance, diet, exercise, and sleep. As schedules adjust to the ninety-minute orbit, new social groupings would evolve based on sleep-wake and other cycles within the fifty space explorers. The hotel guests would be monitored frequently, trailblazing for future space tourists and researchers. By offering artificial gravity, audio-visual, and somatic experiences, inhabitants can choose their level of immersion in the space environment. The thing we will learn about most in space is ourselves.

Space Hotel Yoshiko Sato

Partial model of sleep-spinners and outer circulation and modules. White laser-cut acrylic and acetate, 1/8” = 1’-0”.


90 - 110 MINUTES

Earth Rotation LEO Orbit Sleep Cycle

SPACE WALK ZONE

AWAKE

15-50 Hz, < 50 µV

STAGE 1

4-8 Hz, 50-100 µV

STAGE 2

4-15 Hz, 50-150 µV

STAGE 3

2-4 Hz, 100-150 µV

STAGE 4

0.5-2 Hz, 100-200 µV

REM

15-30 Hz, < 50 µV

Human sleep and circadian rhythms, just one of the fundamental adaptations that will be required for long-term space travel.

SPORTS SPHERE

TRACK & POOL

SPACE-GYM

LEO SPACE HOTEL ONE-YEAR MISSION RESTAURANT/LOUNGE MODULAR HOTEL/LAB

Top: Rapid-prototype model, 1/32” = 1’-0” Above: Laser-cut acrylic model, 1/16” = 1’-0”

ARRIVAL

SPACEPORT

Overall exploded isometric

Continuous circulation paths reduce the sense of containment in the limited pressurized space of the hotel.


TOP

Champagne Cinnamon Beige Salmon Peach Straw Ivory Cream Maize Pale Yellow Pale Green Pale Blue Lavender White Oil White Light Gray

AFT

RIGHT

Living Areas

Rest area/crew quarters Recreation Lounge Personal hygiene, shower Passageways

Work Areas

General workstations Data processing Communications Maintenance Mechanical equipment Security Logistics Administration

LEFT

Food Prep and Serving Kitchen Dining

Service Areas AFT

Launrdy Health maintenance

Assembly Areas

RIGHT

Conference/briefing Training

Storage Areas

Food storage General storage/supplies

A visual ecology counters the monotony of confinement. LEFT

BOTTOM

FOREWARD

Each cell has 8 neighbors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Each ‘tick’ generation it lives or dies based on simple rules if(

& <2 ) then

if(

& >3 ) then

if(

& 2-3 ) then

if(

& 3 ) then

COMMON PATTERNS

Sectional organization. At the center, spinning modules allow for variable-gravity experiments and sleep environments. The section varies along the length of each of three hotel/lab wings.

Interchangeable modules: work space (top) and living space (bottom)

STILL LIVES BLOCK

HIVE

LOAF

TUB

BOAT

OSCILLATORS TOAD

BLINKER

SPACE SHIPS GILDER

Spinning experiment racks

Spinning sleep pods LIGHT WEIGHT SPACE SHIP

METHUSELAH

At the center of the hotel wings is a gathering space and a place to eat together. Each table allows a person to anchor themselves and their food without a strap-like restraint.

R-PENTOMINO 1103 TICKS

ACORN 5206 TICKS

BUNNIES 17332 TICKS

This logic, applied to architectural surfaces, creates a virtual ecology.


80 Active Noise Cancellation

Passive Noise Cancellation Normal Voice

70

Maximum

NC

The space walk zone is a continuous net around the exterior, to provide a tether-free space walk.

Level (dB)

NC

60 NC

50

50 -

40 -

25 -

Wo rk Ma xS lee p

Total

Mi nS lee p

IMU Fan Cabin Fan Water Separation

40

Sleep-Fan

Volume: 7500 ft3 Per 2-pod spinner 17.3

RPM:

Smoke Detectors Avionics Fans Water Pump Avionics

30 63

125

250

500

1000

2000

4000

8000

Frequency (Hz)

The sports sphere, a ball court that can be rotated in any direction during play.

Life support systems generate high noise levels on the Space Shuttle (graph above) and International Space Station, interfering with productivity and sleep.

Entry

The water wheel, a lap pool that contains the water through centripetal force.

MEdia display soft Contouring intErior rigid shEll

The rigid shell of the sleep pod provides an isolated environment. The media display and contouring interior surfaces allow for a customized experience. SHORT REM

LONGER REM

SLEEP CYCLE

LIGHT

GRAVITY

Spinning while sleeping provides eight hours per day of artificial gravity, helping maintain the muscular and skeletal systems of the body, while allowing for a customized sleep-wake cycle.


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