THE COLONIZATION OF SPACE
EPHEMERAL MEGASTRUCTURES FOR NEW CITY FORMS ARCHIGRAM CASE Nicolò Chierichetti - School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design - nicolo.chierichetti@mail.polimi.it
ABSTRACT 4
#megastructures, #space, #ephemeral, #colonization, #temporary
THE COLONIZATION OF SPACE
EPHEMERAL MEGASTRUCTURES FOR NEW CITY FORMS ARCHIGRAM CASE Nicolò Chierichetti - School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design - nicolo.chierichetti@mail.polimi.it
The aim of the research is to discuss, within the framework of the Architectural Utopias of the 60s, the concept of Space colonization, declining it in the ephemeral use of megastructures. The main role given by the study to the English group Archigram wants to highlight how their experimental proposals are not so far from our reality and how their conceptual framework perfectly matches with the requirements.
of the city made of components, interchangeable and updatable where the dimension of time plays an important role given the indetermination and fluency in scientific and social evolution. The name itself is a representation of immediacy, as the group wanted an architecture that was important, urgent and rapid at the same time, like a telegram, from which the payoff “Archi(tecture... tele)gram”.
The rising of the idea of space colonization got a reserved spot in the scientific research since 1969, when the first human footprints were left on the lunar soil, and analyzing the current project proposals we can define some common points that we can highlight and confront with Archigram.
One of Archigram’s accomplishments had been to reorient architecture toward changing social and ideological patterns. The innovation of Archigram stands also in reconsidering the urban fabric and the city from the inhabitants point of view and their conditions: the surrounding environment usually characterized by buildings in their physical mass (hardware) should be imagined as something flexible and upgradable, non-static (software) according to the users’ needs. And so is the un-explored field of living on new planets.
The English group is given a role of absolute European centrality in the field of Utopian Megastructuralism, as their main concept ideas, were to break from the past in order to “invent and develop an ex-novo modern city, as huge tumultuous, agile and dynamic construction site in each of his part” and not less important, a vision
The final question should be, Can Archigram proposals be the solutions for the colonization of new planets?
Topic: 1. THE MISSION: new needs for new settlements for new planets, 2. THE VISION: Characteristics and utopias of Archigram, 3. ARCHIGRAM 2.0: over the horizon
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1. THE MISSION new
needs for new settlements for new planets. 1.1 Colonization of new planets “The Eagle has landed” was the code that on July 20th, 1969 announced to the world the first arrival of humans on the lunar soil. 50 years passed since that apotheosis of technology and scientific discoveries but the progress in space colonization seems to be, now as ever, one of the main aims of mankind. Two hours and a quarter was the time of the first walk on the moon, but the future may expect us to stay longer and maybe to even form colonies.
Worldwide space agencies in the last decades are showing a renovated interest towards the colonization of new planets, maybe as a way to escape the climatic changes that our planet is facing, or again as a solution to world overpopulation. NASA, one of the main agencies, recently announced[1] that a possible new generation of moon landings could be in 2024 and different countries are joining the project in a common interest, from India to Japan, from China to Israel, as well as private companies such as SpaceX owned by the entrepreneur Elon Mush. Since Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin firstly touched the moon our role in the solar system became more and more active, thanks to the sending of robotic probes and international space stations (ISS) gravitating around us. The first settlement could be the South-pole Aitken basin, a huge meteor crater with 2.500 kilometers of diameter and 200 kilometers-deep, or again the “Schrödinger crater” an area that seems to contain a huge amount of frozen water that could be used to produce oxygen and hydrogen.
Fig. 1 - Concept of a possible moon base – Credits: Esa
Thanks to the Space Launch System [2] (SLS), a new space transport by Nasa completely sustainable by 2028, earth-moon trips may be not so far to be achieved. If we don’t change our habits in 200 years, the human species may risk extinction for both natural and anthropological reasons (Hawking, 2010[3]), and space colonies may be the solution. The question is, is living on other planets a reality so far from us? What will be the ideal settlement to start colonizing a new world?
“Apollo 50th” in Nasa.gov, https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/back.html, Last access: January 13, 2019 The Space Launch System (SLS) is a US super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle, which has been under development since its announcement in 2011. It is the primary launch vehicle of NASA’s deep space exploration plans [3] “Stephen Hawking: mankind must move to outer space within a century” in Telegraph.co.uk, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ science/space/7935505/Stephen-Hawking-mankind-must-move-to-outer-space-within-a-century.html, Last access: January 13, 2019 [1]
[2]
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1.3 Start the revolution The revolution has already started from 50 years when the whole world stopped to watch those first footsteps on the lunar soil. Since then, it seemed that exploring and living on the Moon and other planets was not science fiction anymore, but something real. Professor Shevchenko[5] proposed three main criteria that a human outpost on the Moon should meet, even if technically a potential colony could be placed anywhere. 1. Good conditions for transportation 2. Availability of natural and on-site objects to be used 3. Presence of natural resources, such as oxygen and different minerals (i.e. iron oxide) Based on this initial assumption, different locations were proposed: A. POLAR REGIONS. North and South poles are potential locations for different reasons, but first for the presence of water in the shaded areas. Secondly because these areas are always exposed to sunlight, but during lunar eclipse, and solar energy could become our only source of energy.
Since the second half of 20th century, many concepts of structures for both Moon and Mars settlements have been proposed. As the internal pressure of the air is the controlling load on the structural system, inflatable architecture seemed to be the best solution. The first group of architects to follow this and alternative-related path was Archigram in 1966 with Living Pod, a movable prototype house inspired by the lunar modules that NASA was preparing for the moon landing. Today, other inflatable solutions for space habitats have been explored by important architects, such as Foster and partners and Andreas Vogler. The first project consisted in an internal inflatable membrane covered by a shelter made of Regolith[6] which could be built on-site, while the one proposed by Vogler was made by a composition of domes, positioned over inflatable modules to form a unique skin of a thick layer of regolith sandbags in order to provide protection from radiation and impact.
B. EQUATORIAL REGIONS. If poles are perfect for energy and living, the equatorial area is more suitable for extra-lunar traffic because of the slow rotation that allows to easily launch material. C. FAR SIDES. In this case thanks to the natural shield from earth, we may use these spots for communication and for optical telescopes too because of the lack of atmosphere. D. LUNAR LAVA TUBES. Another potential location for a lunar base in order to have a natural shield from the frequent meteorite impacts and ultra-violet radiations. Underground colonies may be another option even because of the extreme temperature on the different external risks.
Fig. 2 - Lunar Habitation Plan - Credits: Foster + partners, 2012
Vladislav Vladimirovich (1940-) is a Russian astronomer, specialized in lunar exploration. He is the Head of Department of Lunar and Planetary Research at the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University. [6] Regolith (/ˈrɛɡəlɪθ/) is a layer of loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock. It includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, Mars, some asteroids, and other terrestrial planets and moons. Definition of regolith in English by Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved January 12th, 2019. [5]
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1.2 Challenges for new spatial settlements a. RADIATION. Above Earth’s natural protection and out of our atmosphere, solar radiation intensifies and constitutes an important risk to be considered. While the space stations are still shielded by earth’s protective magnetic field, the outer space habitats will require a significant protective shielding and this is an important study field nowadays, that could be possibly achieved with the use of Regolith , a strongly present material on the lunar soil. b. DISTANCE FROM EARTH. While the International Space Station is only hours from the ground, living on another planet can reveal some problems related to necessities and resupply of medical equipment, fresh food and other resources. c. GRAVITY. The gravity on the moon is onesixth of the one of Earth, and between the Moon and Earth there is a third gravity field. This difference is something that needs to be considered in case of longer living periods, as the mission is. d. HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS. Technology comes to create a habitable home in harsh environments: everything needs to be monitored from air pressure to oxygen levels, up to microorganisms that can easily move in closed spaces.
NASA continues to work with companies to address the challenges of living in space, such as existing resources, options for disposing of trash and more. The exploration of the lunar and Mars soils is connected, and so the architectural research. The moon provides a closer opportunity to test new tools and equipment that could be used on Mars, including human habitats, life support systems and technologies and practiced building a selfsustaining outpost away from earth. A spatial space is not just a living space but also a machine, and it plays an important role in the everyday life. Important habitability factors include temperature, lightning, noise, quantity and quality of space, etc... During the testing of the first attempts conducted by private and government organizations, the occupants were also asked to provide feedback about their living environment, including physical impressions and sensations, a key-factor that the group of architect Archigram was the first to consider, in the relation between the people needs and the continuous change of habits. On the other side, the colonization must take into account both the human perception and the conditions of the environment.
e. UPDATABLE COMPONENTS. In a first colonization phase, our constructions would probably need continuous updates, improvements and they should be easily managed and removable. f. VARIABLE NEEDS. With the passing of time, the number of people on the lunar soil may increase, as well as the need of space. For this reason, the space should be easily augmented and reduced according to the on-site needs, maybe our structures will be made of modular units?
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Fig. 4 - Lunar Habitation - Credits: Foster + partners, 2012 Fig. 5 - Lunar Habitation Render - Credits: Foster + partners, 2012
Fig. 5 - MoonCapital - Credits: Andreas Vogler, 2010 Fig. 6 - MoonCapital Plan - Credits: Andreas Vogler, 2010 Fig. 7 - MoonCapital Ground floor - Credits: Andreas Vogler, 2010
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2. THE VISION
characteristics and Archigram’s utopias 2.1 Futuristic vision of utopian architects If we think about modular, interchangeable, adaptable architectures one of the names that comes to our mind is without any doubt Archigram, the pop-culture architects from the 60s based in London, that started a series of experimental projects in line with the technological evolution. The group, formed by 6 architects (Warren Chalk, Peter Cook, Dennis Crompton, David Greene, Ron Herron and Mike Webb) tried to promote an high technology, lightweight architecture focused on the modular unit within its relation with the space, in the concept of dividing the software and the hardware part of constructions.
realities, with the aim to reduce architecture to a hypothetical degree zero, trying to eliminate closures, static and “dematerializing” buildings, whose elements were to become transient, mobile and interchangeable. The future they were interested in was already at work in the late 50s, in engineering, utopian city planning but it was also to be found in the wartime projects and in the potentialities of modern living – the Boeing 707 hovercraft, the Apollo program and Sealab[6].
Considering the architecture in this way, the idea was to suggest an outset of the megastructures (where the hardware part prevails) that should be imagined as something flexible and upgradable, non-static (software) according to the users’ and environment needs. The living space becomes one of the products of modern society, something that can be changed and updated as a vehicle. It is a new ordering principle in response to the chaotic urban
“SEALAB was an experimental underwater habitat developed by the United States Navy in the 60s to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time.” – Source: ONS (Office of Naval Research, US) [6]
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2.2 Back to the future: ingredients for new settlements Archigram dialectic approach was inbetween the change and acceptance, finding the middle point between the planning axioms of conservation and the continuous redevelopment and improvement, in a vision of a constantly changing superstructure. An example of this was Mike Webb’s project for the “Plug-In University” 1965, conceived in a framework of rapid growth but given the possibility for deconstruction. An architecture as an event itself, instable and in a continuous update, in which the keyelement is the connection (plug-in) between the components is the main concept. The discussion around the #2 and #3 issue of Archigram magazine was focused on a prototype of removable elements within a megastructure, in favor of expandable units and the possibility of the surroundings to be changed and programmed. As such, it is impossible to ever say when the “megastructure” planning is over, because the needs and external factors influences are never really over. Plug-in city is based on the idea to create a networkmegastructure in large scale with the basic services and needs (services, connections, etc..) that could be adapted to every context and in which the single components can be easily replaced, adapted and expanded creating a strong connection between the larger and the smaller scale.
Fig. 8 - Plug-in City Perspective Credits: Peter Cook, 1962-64
Fig. 9 - Sketches related to adaptation and change Credits: Peter Cook, 1962-64 [in the next page] Fig. 10 - Elevation and section of Plug-in city Credits: Peter Cook, 1962-64
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On the smaller scale Archigram’s group, leaded by Peter Cook, tried to design a possible housing unit that could coexist in the Plug-In city megastructure. The final result was given by a series of experimental projects such as the Capsule Unit Tower, Gasket Homes and Hornsey Capsule (1965), but the final result was exposed in the Living Pod (D. Greene, 1966) probably influenced by the lunar module LEM designed in the same period (P. A. Cetica, 1979) and in The Capsule (W. Chalki, 1964).
The aim was to create a capsule dwelling as if it was a space capsule, with the peculiarity to be easily updated as technology moved forward. The unit was capable of a complete interchangeability for its parts, with an industrial approach.
Fig. 11 - Living Pod project, model Credits: David Greene 1966 [on the right] Fig. 12 - The Capsule, plan and elevation Credits: Archigram Group [in the next pages] Fig. 13 - The Capsule in the megastructure of Plug-In City Credits: Archigram Group
Fig. 14 - Living Pod project, model (1967) Credits: David Greene
A third related project is Crater City (P. Cook) an experimental proposal to propose an extreme architectural situation. The idea beside the project was create a hotel for 16.000 people with different levels of services that was built close to a circular crater. If the concept behind was so far from reality to be realized in the Essex country, maybe the new millennium is the place where this construction can be readapted and truly used?
Fig. 15 - Crater City - section Credits: Peter Cook, 1971 [in the next page] Fig. 13 - Crater City Credits: Peter cook 1971 [in the following pages] Fig. 14 - Crater City publication Credits: Peter cook 1971
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[7] [8]
Cook, Archigram, Princeton architectural press, New York, (ed. 2013) S. Casciani, “The plug-in citizen. Interview wth Peter Cook� from Domusweb.it, 11 December 2010, Last access: 8 January 2019
3. ARCHIGRAM 2.0 Over the horizon
“I don’t believe in science fiction. I just thought that the projects that we did were possible. You may think that’s naïve, but I always saw them as connected to the world I knew. I never thought of them as utopian, we thought of them as an extension of the known territory.” – Peter COOK [7]
Archigram through its pop-culture, magazines and comic books, was trying to spread its cuttingedge ideas on urban planning and architecture. We see projects like Plug-in City or Living City where the city is presented as an extendable megastructure that rules the sub-elements that constitute it, and all these projects were probably looking at the future or maybe at the wrong location. Is it science fiction? Maybe it was considered as such in the past, but the conquer of new technological innovations and an intrinsic change of mind of the contemporary age may have changed the plan of existence in which these ideas were placed. “Do you think that, if today’s technologies would have been available at the time when you designed your projects, things would have been different? Probably yes, we could have done amazing things. It is curious to see how our projects are now considered works of art: but if we had the tools, those works of art could have had those nuance differences that were difficult to obtain by drawing by hand. When you draw, the thing is there or it is not there: certain nuances of that time are similar to those of today, but now everything is done in a few minutes by relatively unprepared people.” [8]
The incredible approach and contribute that Archigram gave in that period was forecasting what happened. During the exhibition “Living City” at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, 1963, they proposed a walk-through experiment made of urban ephemera in a vision of a city that continuously change in culture and needs: they actually tried to decline in their projects one of the main quality of human species, a great adaptive capacity.
the whole discussion; they visited the NASA control center at Houston and the historical background was surely one of the reasons why all their utopian-projects are somehow relatable to all those events. The #4 issue of Archigram Magazine seems to me both a provocation towards the futuristic and modern architectural style, and as well a scream of liberation from the limits of the technological progress.
This peculiarity is also what stands at the base of the experimental proposals: the changeability of human necessities and the unpredictability of a newly explored field as the colonization of outer-earth spaces, requires an architecture and a settlement planning that evolves with them. This trichotomy is the base of this dissertation about a new reality, the relation with inhabitants and new needs that may show up.
“What have we lost? What are we missing?” There are the words that Peter Cook and the other members reveal in the comic of the fourth issue as well as “Can the near-reality of the rocket object and hovercraft object, […] carry the dynamic building with them into life as it is?”. One of the weaknesses of the urban reality was the inability to contain the fast-moving object.
Warren Chalk with David Greene and Spider Webb were fascinated about the space program of the 60s and of course it is the “fil-rouge” of 31
“We connect this material with serious projects for making living space, entertainment space – and the city, in the context of the near future”
And probably they were not so wrong. We see from the international competitions of the space agencies and from the different autonomous proposals, that what is actually needed to survive (and in future to live) “on� an external reality, is actually what Archigram proposed decades before. Of course the technological progress saw improvements and the original projects had some limitations, but they could be the seed for the new reality. Peter Cook’s group architecture had all the characteristics that a extra-terrestrial settlement would require because of its different condition and beside the need of a scientific contribute, the answer was already there. Indeed, all the concept behind Archigram production is a connection within a century, forty years into the past and sixty years into the future, and perhaps the answer to our new questions.
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Bibliography, the references. BIBLIOGRAPHY C. Oloriz, K. L. Arana, Amazing Archigram! Interview to Peter Cook, Mas Context n. 20, pp.48-61 D. Crompton, Concerning Archigram, Archigram archives, London, 1998 E. Lawler, Archigram Today: Towards a Ruthless Criticism of Today’s Architecture, Ball State University, 2014 H. A. Steiner, Beyond Archigram: The structure of circulation, Routledge, New Tork, 2009 L. Arana, L. Miguel, Construyendo una utopie autre [Amazing Archigram 50 – Zoom], n. 11, Universidad de Sevilla, November 2014, pp. 90-103 M. Biraghi, Storia dell’architettura contemporanea II, Einaudi, Torio, 2008, pp. 170-191 M. Jenks, N. Dempsey, Future forms and design for sustainable cities, Oxford Architectural Press, 2015, pp. 137-152 M. Tiziani, The Colonization of Space. An Anthropological Outlook, vol. 9, No 1, Antrocom, June 2013 pp. 225-236 M. W. Calvo, Archigram / Metabolism, Utopie negli anni Sessanta, Clean Edizioni, Napoli, 2007 P. Cook, Archigram, Princeton architectural press, New York, 1999 R. Pernice, “Images of the Future from the Past: The Metabolist and the Utopian Planning of the 1960s” in Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol 8 No. 6, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, June 2014, pp. 761-771 S. Deyong, Walking City: Archigram and the Pursuit of Style, John Wiley & Sons, London, 2017 S. Sadler, Archigram. Architecture without Architecture, The Mit Press Cambridge, London, 2005 S. Sadler, Archigram (act 1961), University Press, Oxford, 2004 S. Sadler, The living city Survival Kit: a portrait of the architect as a young man, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2003 V.V. Shevchenko, Possible landing sites near the north pole of the Moon, 8th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2019, At Varna, Bulgaria, May 2018
WEB PAGES A. Pace, “Come saranno le case su Marte - I progetti premiati dalla Nasa”, from Wired.com, April 3, 2020, Last access: 13/01/2020 B. Dunbar, “3D-Printed Habitat Challenge” from Nasa.gov, Last access: 13/01/2020 B. Dunbar, “Moon to Mars Overview” from Nasa.gov, Last edit: April 5, 2019, Last access: 13/01/2020 R. Moore, “The world according to Archigram” from Theguardian.com, 18 November 2018, Last access: 12/01/2020 S. Casciani, “Plug-in citizen. Interview with Peter Cook” from Domusweb.it, 11 December 2010, Last access: 8/01/2020 V. Sumini, “Structural Challenges for Space Architecture” from Structuremag.org, December 2017, Last access: 14/01/2020 Westminster University, “The Archigram archives” - archigram.westminster.ac.uk, Last access: 19 January 2020
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Contemporary Architectural Design Theory - Prof. Meriggi Maurizio - A.Y. 2019-2020 Nicolò Chierichetti - School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design - nicolo.chierichetti@mail.polimi.it