Voyager Station: Would You Stay in a Hotel in Space?
In 1903, Orville Wright made the first controlled flight in human history. Just sixty-six years later, Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. It’s unquestionable how humanity constantly expands the realm of possibilities, and Above:Space Development aims to do the same through a project that brings architecture to space. The Voyager Station is an extremely ambitious project that merges design, engineering, and hospitality to make space habitation possible for everyone.
Designing for Living in Outer Space
Going to space is literally an alien experience for most people. Just like a submarine in the deep sea, traveling through an inhospitable environment and new conditions such as zero gravity are disorienting to say the least. Unlike our usual 12-hour daily cycle, astronauts orbiting the Earth experience a 45-minute interval of day and night.
As such, the Voyager Station aims to replicate conditions that would be more familiar to its patrons. Its rotating wheel structure simulates gravity by generating centrifugal force. Visually, there is an emphasis to ground the design towards earth, literally and figuratively. Large windows are assigned to give a view of our shared home while also making it possible to gander at the rest of the solar system. Maintaining a constant orientation towards earth helps reassure passengers that they’re not too far away while also makes logistics much easier. Lastly, plants and greenery bring life to the interiors that further enhances this connection.
The risk of being in outer space is great as a person can only survive mere seconds if exposed to its vacuum. It should be noted that intended stay for guests is around 2 weeks at most, in consideration to how well one could acclimate to being outside of earth. Here’s a briefing from NASA that goes into further detail on what living in space is like.
Bringing Architecture to Space
The practice of architectural design for a structure just floating across the universe would be unlike any site on Earth. Architectural concepts have to be pushed to their absolute limit if any structure hopes to stand against the cosmos’ hostile environment. As such, adaptive reuse and modularity are key components that shape the Voyager Station’s design and form.
Individual pods line the outer ring to make construction more efficient and allow for future expansion. Having removable components, and making it possible to add new ones, is tantamount to retaining a state-of-the-art structure. It’s quite interesting to think that designing for space will require “buildings” to be constantly updated to maximize performance. Technology will undoubtedly be intertwined in every component to generate oxygen, sense any damages, and provide utilities.
The station is also primed to serve as a hub for research, manufacturing, and commercial ventures. Its modular design enables a variety of interior spaces to cater to these respective activities. The station has to maximize every bit of space available. For example, movable partitions and malleable furniture create an additional component of versatility. Multi-level interior spaces can accommodate various seating arrangements, workstations, and zones for leisure and recreation.
Building in the Final Frontier
Although we may not be there yet, it’s apparent that space architecture and habitation will eventually be an essential industry. These types of developments will require a deep collaboration between numerous fields, whether it be architecture, engineering, hospitality, and commerce to make it feasible to live and work amongst the stars.
Read more: Astronomy Museum in Shanghai is the Largest in the World
Renderings sourced from Gateway Foundation
“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.”
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Rocket Scientist
