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
Green | Jul 18, 2017
Garden of the Four Seasons lets you experience all four seasons at once
Carlo Ratti Associati designed the garden with an innovative net-zero energy climate control system.
Sustainability | Jul 10, 2017
British Columbia receives its first WELL certified workplace courtesy of Perkins + Will
Over 100 wellness features are incorporated into CBRE’s Vancouver office.
Sustainability | Jun 29, 2017
The Dutch ‘Windwheel’ wants to create a new sustainable landmark for Rotterdam
The sustainable structure will be a mixed-use development with a hotel, apartments, and office space.
Hotel Facilities | Jun 29, 2017
Luxury, plant-covered hotel unveiled for site near the River Seine
Kengo Kuma is designing the hotel, which will feature a large garden and a plant-covered façade.
Sustainability | Jun 28, 2017
Mohawk College will have one of the region’s first net-zero energy institutional buildings
The project’s net-zero goals led to the development of a new curtain wall system.
Hotel Facilities | Jun 28, 2017
This floating hotel in Sweden freezes in place during the winter
The hotel will feature a cold bath and be in a good location for viewing the northern lights.
Building Team | Jun 27, 2017
Bruner Foundation announces 2017 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence gold and silver medalists
The SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus in Bethlehem, Pa., receives the gold medal and $50,000.
Green | Jun 23, 2017
Want a healthy building? Follow this primer on two new wellness standards
Since its development in the 1990s, the LEED rating system has been applied to over 19.1 billion total commercial square feet.
Codes and Standards | Jun 21, 2017
World Green Building Council: All buildings must be net zero by 2050 to avert 2°C rise
Building efficiency essential to tempering global climate change.
Green | Jun 16, 2017
Could this become London’s greenest building?
Curl la Tourelle Head Architecture wants to create a school powered by the River Thames.
