BIG has partnered with ICON, a developer of advanced construction technologies, and with SEArch+, to begin designing Project Olympus, a sustainable lunar habitat that will be the first human foray into extra-terrestrial construction. Project Olympus includes robust structures that provide better thermal, radiation, and micrometeorite protection than metal or inflatable habitats can offer.
In partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, ICON will test lunar soil simulant with various processing and printing technologies. The tests will help design, develop, and demonstrate prototype elements for a possible future full-scale additive construction system that could print infrastructure on the moon.
“Building humanity’s first home on another world will be the most ambitious construction project in human history and will push science, engineering, technology, and architecture to literal new heights,” said Jason Ballard, Co-founder and CEO of ICON, in a release. “NASA’s investment in space-age technologies like this can not only help to advance humanity’s future in space, but also to solve very real, vexing problems we face on Earth. We are honored to begin our research and development on ICON’s ‘Project Olympus’ and the ‘Olympus Construction System.’”
Project Olympus is BIG’s second “space architecture” project following Mars Science City, currently being developed in Dubai as a prototype for exploring the building technologies that humanity would need to live and thrive on Mars.
Related Stories
| Apr 25, 2012
Missner Group names McCrory VP of property management
McCrory will be responsible for overseeing the financial and operational needs of the firm’s commercial real estate portfolio which includes more than two million square feet of property.
| Apr 25, 2012
Rogers joins Morgan/Harbour as senior project manager
Rogers will also manage the construction process and daily activities as well as act as the interface between the subcontractors, owners, municipalities and regulatory agencies
| Apr 25, 2012
J.C. Anderson selected for 50,000-sf build out at Chicago’s DePaul University
The build-out will consist of the construction of new offices, meeting rooms, video rooms and a state-of-the-art multi-tiered Trading Room.
| Apr 24, 2012
ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast, projects improvements for the real estate industry through 2014
Survey is based on opinions from 38 of the nation’s leading real estate economists and analysts and suggests a marked increase in commercial real estate activity, with total transaction volume expected to rise from $250 billion in 2012 to $312 billion in 2014.
| Apr 24, 2012
Roofing Supply Group acquired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
RSG provides a complete offering of residential and commercial roofing materials and related supplies.
| Apr 24, 2012
McLennan named Ashoka Fellow
McLennan was recognized for his work on the Living Building Challenge.
| Apr 24, 2012
AECOM design and engineering team realizes NASA vision for Sustainability Base
LEED Platinum facility opens at NASA Ames Research Center at California’s Moffett Field.
| Apr 23, 2012
Vegas’ CityCenter called financial ‘black hole’
Two and a half years ago, stockholders filed six lawsuits after the stock price fell from $99.75 on Oct. 9, 2007, to $1.89 on March 5, 2009. Bondholders sued over similar steep losses.
| Apr 23, 2012
Innovative engineering behind BIG’s Vancouver Tower
Buro Happold’s structural design supports the top-heavy, complex building in a high seismic zone; engineers are using BIM technology to design a concrete structure with post-tensioned walls.