Monday, February 22, 2010

Friday, February 12, 2010

interior space planning

referring back to the images of the durian with the seeds inside


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010

midterm review slides




























The biomimetic strategy employed for the Mars space base is the durian. The durian's thorny exterior protects interior flesh and seeds from predators. In the space base, an inflatable and pressurized superstructure is employed to house and protect it's interior spaces from large amounts of radiation, while serving to reduce atmospheric pressure as well as provide insulation. In the durian, seeds serve on the inside as individual units, yet function as a whole to hold adjacent seeds in place. Likewise, the interior of the inflatable superstructure houses a series of individual and pressurized volumes that provide space at an individual level, yet work as a unit to provide shelter in a highly prescribed environment like that on Mars.

biomimetics







As I have been working through this, I noticed that I have been moving away from the pomegranate and mimicking the durian more.

- Biomimetic strategy: Durian
Thorny durian exterior protects interior flesh and seeds from predators.
Inflatable and pressurized superstructure can houses and protect.

Seeds, safe on the inside as individual units, yet function as a whole to hold in adjacent seeds in place.
Interior of the inflatable superstructure can houses a series of individual
and pressurized volumes.

Like durian skin, a superstructure will serve to protect interior spaces from radiation, the lack of insulation, and provide sound protection through the double skin system.

floorplan update



adjacencies reconsidered

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

inflatable structure



Construction process
1. Robots shape ground for construction while compacting soil to provide stability and flatten interior walking paths

2. Robots create substructure and edge support by positioning themselves on along edges of site plan

3. Un-inflated tensile structure printed on ground in dome shape. Material: inflatable, pressurized, tensile structure using fiber composites

4. Airmuscles printed around periphery of fabric, and constrain fabric to acheive various forms

5. Substructure is pressurized via robots, lifting inflatable and constrained structure

6. Interior double-skin is internally filled with structural foam capsule that breaks with pressurization

7. 3d printers print and build internal volumes repeating steps 3-5


Pro: large volumes can be enclosed, easy to transport, cheap

Inflatables material shields radiation and creates a pressurized environment.

design strategy and floor plans

Floor Plan

The design comes from the spatial organization of a pomegranate to organize the program. The subdivisions of the seeds, like biological cells within a tissue, are independent in creating shelter, yet act togehter in a larger system.


Site Plan