GALAXY ON THE QUEENSWAY
GALAXY ON THE QUEENSWAY
GALAXY ON THE QUEENSWAY
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
M.ARCH, BAS
LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
M.ARCH, BAS
LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE
INTERN ARCHITECT
M.ARCH, B.A.S, LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE
SELECTED WORKS - 2024
SACH GREWAL
TOWARDS A MARTIAN VERNACULAR
CLOSED-WORLDS AND INFRASTRUCTURES OF SOCIAL CONNECTIVITY
ABSTRACT:
HUMANITY IS AT THE FOREFRONT IN A NEW AGE OF SPACE TRAVEL AND EXPLORATION. WITH THE RECENT ADVANCEMENTS IN REUSABLE ROCKET TECHNOLOGIES BY PRIVATE AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS, THE PROSPECTS OF SENDING HUMANS TO MARS HAS NEVER BEEN BRIGHTER. HOWEVER, THE CONDITIONS OF OPERATING WITHIN SELF-SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS CAN PROVE TO BE SPATIALLY LIMITING. WHILE THIS SITUATION ENCOURAGES FUNCTIONAL HABITATS RESPONDING VERY PRECISELY TO THEIR TECHNICAL ENGINEERING CONSTRAINTS, THOSE VERY CONSTRAINTS CAN BE STIFLING FOR HUMAN INHABITATION AND DETRIMENTAL TO PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. IN RESPONSE, THIS THESIS DRAWS ON CONTEMPORARY CLOSED-WORLD SETTLEMENTS AND SPECULATIVE SCIENCE FICTION NARRATIVES, TO EXPLORE THE INTERSECTION OF TECHNOLOGY, ARCHITECTURE AND WELL-BEING ON MARS. THE RESEARCH USES ANALYTICAL MAPPING, RAPID PROTOTYPING, AND DESIGN EXPLORATIONS AS THE PRIMARY TOOLS OF INVESTIGATION. THIS THESIS POSITS THAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLLS OF HUMAN INHABITATION ARE MISSION CRITICAL AND PROPOSES INFRASTRUCTURES WHERE FUTURE SETTLERS CAN GATHER.
IN ORDER TO CONFRONT THE LIMITATIONS OF CLOSED-WORLDS AND THEIR IMPACT ON HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY AND WELL BEING, ARCHITECTURE NEEDS TO THINK BEYOND THE HARD BOUNDARIES OF TRADITIONAL DWELLINGS AND ENVIRONMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPERIMENTED WITH IN THE PAST. TO THIS END, THREE SPECULATIVE INFRASTRUCTURES HAVE BEEN PROPOSED WITH A FOCUS ON HOW THEY CAN UNITE TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF HARD INFRASTRUCTURES WITH LESS TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF SOFT INFRASTRUCTURES. THE WATER TOWER, CANALI AND SAFE-HAVEN THAT FOLLOW ARE HARD INFRASTRUCTURES THAT PROVIDE CRITICAL RESOURCES OF WATER AND FOOD WHILE ALSO PROVIDING PROTECTION. HOWEVER, THEY ARE ALSO ARCHITECTURAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT THE GATHERING OF PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE HABITAT. ON EARTH, INFRASTRUCTURES ARE RARELY SEEN AS SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES - WE DO NOT TYPICALLY GATHER AROUND WATER TOWERS OR SOLAR FARMS. BUT ON MARS, THESE ARE THE ONLY DESTINATIONS THAT HAVE TRUE POTENTIAL AWAY FROM THE HABITAT. THE INFRASTRUCTURES OF CONNECTIVITY ARE ARRANGED AS A SEQUENCE OF WAY-FINDING POINTS OR BEACONS IN THE LANDSCAPE, ALLOWING THE RESIDENTS OF MARS TO EXPAND THE NOTION OF THEIR CLOSED-WORLD ENVIRONMENT, BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY. BY BEGINNING TO DISSOLVE THE TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF A CLOSED-WORLD, EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES TO NEW LIMITS, AND ALLOWING ALTERNATE FORMS OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, EACH OF THE INFRASTRUCTURES STRIVE TO MAKE SOCIAL INTERACTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING A MORE INGRAINED PART OF WHAT IS MISSION CRITICAL ON MARS. CONNECTIVITY IN THIS THESIS THEN IMPLIES THE LINKING OF CRITICAL GOODS TO THE HABITAT, AND HOW IN TURN THESE INFRASTRUCTURES CAN SUPPORT SOCIAL GATHERING SPACES FOR ASTRONAUTS.
