Bjarke Ingels has joined the building-on-Mars party. BIG's prototype Martian city, dubbed Mars Science City, is designed to be an environment dedicated to the knowledge, education, and exhibition of the technologies necessary to inhabit mars.
But what's even the point of this discussion? Especially in times like those which we are currently experiencing, isn't the thought of building a city on Mars a bit quixotic? Perhaps, but as Ingels points out, of the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations, eight of them deal with the built environment. And when it comes to the built environment on Mars, sustainability is key.
The purpose of designing for Mars can be summed up in one word: innovation. The solutions architects, designers, scientists, researchers and the like come up with for living on Mars can and will help right here on Earth. Space travel has already given us dozens of innovations and inventions that we now use on an everyday basis; scratch-resistant lenses, shock absorbers for buildings, solar cells, and memory foam were all originally created to help solve a very specific problem associated with space travel.
As Ingels says in his talk, "The exact same principles and the exact same systems that will allow us to live on Mars are the very same that will allow us to be great custodians on earth."
See Also: Designing for the final frontier: Space architecture
Watch the entire presentation from Bjarke Ingels below.
Related Stories
Energy Efficiency | Aug 11, 2022
Commercial Energy Efficiency: Finally “In-the-Money!”
By now, many business leaders are out in front of policymakers on prioritizing the energy transition.
| Aug 8, 2022
Mass timber and net zero design for higher education and lab buildings
When sourced from sustainably managed forests, the use of wood as a replacement for concrete and steel on larger scale construction projects has myriad economic and environmental benefits that have been thoroughly outlined in everything from academic journals to the pages of Newsweek.
Sponsored | | Aug 4, 2022
Brighter vistas: Next-gen tools drive sustainability toward net zero line
New technologies, innovations, and tools are opening doors for building teams interested in better and more socially responsible design.
| Aug 4, 2022
Newer materials for green, resilient building complicate insurance underwriting
Insurers can’t look to years of testing on emerging technology to assess risk.
| Aug 4, 2022
Newer materials for green, resilient building complicate insurance underwriting
Insurers can’t look to years of testing on emerging technology to assess risk.
Sustainability | Aug 4, 2022
To reduce disease and fight climate change, design buildings that breathe
Healthy air quality in buildings improves cognitive function and combats the spread of disease, but its implications for carbon reduction are perhaps the most important benefit.
K-12 Schools | Aug 1, 2022
Achieving a net-zero K-12 facility is a team effort
Designing a net-zero energy building is always a challenge, but renovating an existing school and applying for grants to make the project happen is another challenge entirely.
Codes and Standards | Jul 29, 2022
Few projects and properties are being built beyond code
Clients and architects disagree on how well building to code provides resilience, according to a recent report by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in partnership with Owens Corning.
Concrete | Jul 26, 2022
Consortium to set standards and create markets for low-carbon concrete
A consortium of construction firms, property developers, and building engineers have pledged to drive down the carbon emissions of concrete.
Green | Jul 26, 2022
Climate tech startup BlocPower looks to electrify, decarbonize the nation's buildings
The New York-based climate technology company electrifies and decarbonizes buildings—more than 1,200 of them so far.