For Nature/With Nature: New Sustainable Design Scenarios

Table of Contents

1. Nature and “Fourth Environment”

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Design & Nature on the Moon

      Annalisa Dominoni

      Abstract

      In this chapter are described the research and project activities dedicated to exploring an innovative theme concerning the production, processing, consumption, and storage of microalgae, considered the food of the future, to allow life on other planets in our solar system, starting with the Moon. Design today plays a key strategic role in space to increase the well-being of extra-terrestrial habitats and propose new virtuous sustainable Space Design scenarios to strengthen the relationship between humans and nature in confined environments, and therefore devoid of natural sensory stimuli, and especially with reduced gravity. At this time, all the efforts of the space agencies are focused on the development of lunar base projects that will be the first outpost on our satellite. The most recent proposals are oriented to the use of resources in situ, such as regolith, adapting to new environmental characteristics. A fundamental topic will be the complete self-sufficiency of the base that will have to function as a “living organism” in a position to generate and completely recycle the resources. On the lunar surface the use of microalgae becomes very interesting, especially if declined in new applications that go beyond the functional aspects, and that instead extend to the psycho-physiological and emotional ones to create a true symbiotic relationship between human beings and nature. The structure of the chapter is divided into a first part explaining what it means and implies to design for space.The central part is dedicated to analyzing the environmental conditions of the Moon that most influence the design of habitable structures. The third and final part describes several case studies that concern the theme of microalgae and that have been developed by Space4InspirAction at the Politecnico di Milano, the first and unique laboratory of Space Architecture and Design in the world supported by the European Space Agency (ESA).

   3. Democracy in Outer Space: Speculative Design for Future Citizenship

      Barbara Pasa, Gianni Sinni

      Abstract

      Year 2050, the Moon. Year 2100, planet Mars. Human settlements have been established off Earth, where daily life is possible thanks to a system of pressurized bubbles and the local, self-sufficient production of resources. But what system of institutions and policies will govern those settlements? Will it still be a democratic system? This perspective on the future interests us, not because it is more or less plausible, but because it provides an opportunity to reflect on the societal implications of design and technology choices. It is a convenient approach for cross-disciplinary collaboration between the fields of design and legal- and policy-making. In this context, speculative design can pursue “sustainable scenarios” following the “environmental, social, and governance” guidelines of the U.N. Bruntland Commission, questioning current economic, social, and political structures and rethinking our relationship with nature. Designing the social, as well as the institutional and legal implications of living in outer space is also an educational opportunity, one that we have explored in a series of design labs at our university, where the goal is to instill awareness of the deep interdependence that binds all the components of our technological, political, and institutional ecosystem.

   4. Anthroporobotocene: Non-human Players for Non-terrestrial Habitats

      Francesco Burlando

      Abstract

      The paper explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in designing facilities for human habitation in non-terrestrial habitats, particularly on the Moon and Mars. The author propose the concept of “Anthroporobotocene” to highlight the significant role of robots in shaping these environments to make them suitable for human life. The paper analyzes the state-of-the-art in the production of designs for future living scenarios on these planets, highlighting the potential of innovative tools that are increasingly making their appearance in the design world. The author presents a speculative view of the outputs created by AI systems, including text-to-text and text-to-image models. The text-to-text model was used to obtain an accurate description of what a building designed for Mars might look like, and the text-to-image model was used to convert the textual output into various graphic illustrations. The paper concludes that while AI is not yet mature enough to fully curate architectural or product designs, platforms with inherent graphical capabilities can provide interesting visual suggestions. Overall, the paper contributes to ongoing discussions about the challenges of space exploration and the role of technology in designing, building and developing living environments that promote the mental and physical well-being of the settlers of non-terrestrial habitats.

   5. Cislunar City: The Outpost of Humankind Expansion into Space

      Gennaro Russo, Massimo Pica Ciamarra, Piero Messidoro, Claudio Voto, Veronica Moronese, Fabio Paudice, Davide Pederbelli, Raffaele Minichini, Matteo D’Iorio, Maria Salvato

      Abstract

      Humanity’s expansion into space has already begun. According to the approach of the futures studies, it is possible and probable that in the last quarter of this century the presence of Humankind in space is characterized by a permanent settlement dedicated to typically industrial activities, associated with those of research and tourism as well as the necessary management (operation and maintenance) of infrastructures. All based no longer under a strictly hierarchical and highly structured organization like that of current space missions and stations, but based on a social and democratic organization very similar to many examples we have on Earth: the Cislunar City, which includes 12 “districts” in close correlation with the Earth and distributed among the low Earth orbit (at various altitudes), the lunar orbit and the Moon surface, and the Lagrangian points as well. It will be inhabited by one thousand people (a third of whom for tourism reasons), with primary activity oriented to the extraction/collection of resources and their transformation, useful for life in the cislunar city but also for “export” towards the Earth. Habitats, logical relationship among the districts, services are here elaborated, as well as necessary basic legal framework and impact on natural environmental.

   6. Resilience Envelopes: The “Fourth Environment” as a Source of Inspiration, a Place for Speculation and a Territory for Experimenting with New Models of Life

      Giovanni Inglese, Sabrina Lucibello, Carmen Rotondi

      Abstract

      The paper aims to investigate the relationship between Design and Space, understood as a territory of innovation that has always influenced design culture’s expressive and imaginative potential. In particular, it is highlighted how this relationship still conditions the way we relate, as humans and as designers, to the concepts of nature and technological innovation. Beginning with a critical reasoning on the millennial human-technology-nature relationship, the paper will investigate how spatial research, has inspired both theoretical-philosophical models, expressive languages and technological transfers that have influenced design at multiple levels, from morphological to material and conceptual. Subsequently, the paper will focus on design research applied to Space, understood as a place of speculation where design finds opportunities to develop critical and future-oriented projects in a context of experimentation at high rates of innovation. Finally, the paper will demonstrate, how the evolution of the relationship between design and spatial research, which has now become biunivocal, contributes to the maturity of the human-nature-technology debate. Indeed, Space becomes a territory for experimentation of new models, aimed at recreating eco-symbiotic design visions for the nurturing and development of life, applicable to such contexts as well as to the future of our Planet.

   7. Space Fashion in Microgravity and on Earth

      Annalisa Dominoni

      Abstract

      Fashion in space is not to be understood in the same way as on Earth. It’s not about designing glamorous collections inspired by space style, as happened during the Space Age, in which the massive use of synthetic materials with colors that preferred the shades of white and silver gave rise to plastic shapes inspired by science fiction films. Designing clothes that will be used by astronauts in space, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), means knowing very well an environment unknown to us, governed by different laws such as confinement and microgravity, that are not part of our daily experience and cannot be reproduced on our planet. And vice-versa, designing clothes that will be used on Earth, that integrate space technologies, means having the ability to identify the most promising innovations used in space and transform them into new applications. In this chapter are described two case studies conducted by the author, who for more than twenty years has been dealing with Space Design, which highlight in the first case, how design can take a priority role to improve life in space, and in the second, how design can act as a “bridge” between science and beauty generating spin-offs from space to Earth. The first case study concerns the VEST and GOAL experiments, a clothing system for the Intra-Vehicular Activities (IVA) of astronauts on board the ISS, based on new parameters designed specifically for Space, with the aim of increasing the comfort and performance of astronauts during daily activities. The second case study, the capsule collection COUTURE IN ORBIT, points out that Space can be a great inspiration for Design that is able to speak different languages and convey to the public how space research is important to produce well-being and innovation thanks to technology transfers, good practices, and behaviors, from Space to Earth.

2. Backmatter