Xavier de Kestlier is one of the architects that compose the UK architectural firm Foster + Partners. Now he’s experimenting a possible future designing a 3D Moon Base. This could be considered the top of architectural innovation probably.
He has led many interesting projects before this work, to cite one of them we can say the new amazing Apple base in Cupertino.
In a recent post on Wired.co.uk, he discuss the project and shows its characteristics. Talking about the process of construction, he explained first of all that they designed small machines that can work together to build something bigger than the single machine – in this way there’s no more need of a huge printer. This is a step forward in the 3D Printing for Architecture.
This kind of projects requires a lot of specializations. His team is composed not only by architects, but also engineers, computer scientists, acousticians, aerospace engineers, mathematicians, material scientists, artists and roboticists!
The most relevant topic of this project is the one connected to the technological aspect of the 3D Moon Base. How does it works in space? To answer, we use the words of Xavier “It was interested in exploring the potential of regolith, or Moon dust, as a material with which to build habitation and shielding on the Moon. The idea was that we would flatpack an inflatable core and then use 3D printing to build a dome or shell around it, so we could shield the astronauts from gamma radiation from the Sun, micro-meteorites that hit at 18kps and protect against temperature fluctuations on the Moon” Xavier de Kestler on Wired.co.uk
Image copyright: Foster+Partners (cover) and Jay Brooks
Via Wired.co.uk
