— Ch. 1 · Origins And Evolution —
Space architecture.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
Jules Verne published From the Earth to the Moon in 1865, embedding details that eerily foreshadowed the Apollo Moon landings of over a century later. His aluminum capsule featured shelves stocked with pickaxes, shovels, firearms, and even trees to plant. A curved sofa was built into the floor and walls near windows accessible by ladder. The projectile shape mimicked a bullet because it was gun-launched from the ground, though this method proved infeasible for human transport due to high acceleration forces. Wernher von Braun published his own inhabited space station concept in magazine articles in 1952. His design included three decks functioning as a navigational aid, meteorological station, and military platform. Yuri Gagarin flew on the 12th of April 1961, confined to a chair with a small viewport. Architectural involvement in space was realized in 1968 when Raymond Loewy led a group of architects and industrial designers to convince NASA to include an observation window in Skylab. This milestone introduced the human psychological dimension to spacecraft design and marked the birth of space architecture.
Theoretical Frameworks
Vitruvius stated all buildings should possess strength, utility, and beauty in De Architectura during the first century BC. Space habitat design relies largely on functional necessity with little or no applied ornament. Walter Gropius wrote that dialogue on architectural design values would open up as space architecture matures. Analog environments like submarines deep in the ocean and bunkers beneath Earth's surface serve as testbeds for developing technologies. The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station sits on Canada's remote Devon Island to simulate conditions similar to a real Mars mission. Astronauts train in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory using full-scale mockups of the Space Shuttle cargo bay. Rigorous exercise regimens alleviate muscular atrophy caused by microgravity. Confinement in limited spaces magnifies interpersonal tensions among small crews. Establishing regular contact with family and friends helps mitigate stress from isolation. Bringing familiar items such as photographs and green plants provides psychological comfort. Eugene Viollet-le-Duc advocated different forms for different materials, emphasizing truth to materials in space architecture. Carbon-fiber is incorporated into hardware due to its high strength-to-weight ratio. Rapid thermal expansion and corrosion from atomic oxygen bombardment require unique material solutions.