Course Content
The Mars Architecture studio workshop by PAACADEMY is devoted to exploring the computational design capabilities applied to space architecture.

Instructors
Team behind this course
2 courses5.0
1 course5.0
Computational Design Techniques: Utilize tools like Grasshopper 3D and Rhinoceros 3D for innovative architectural solutions.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Work in teams across diverse fields such as engineering, psychology, and art to tackle space architecture challenges.
Sustainable Infrastructure Development: Design resilient systems for human habitation on Mars, considering resource management.
Human-Centric Design Principles: Explore ergonomics and psychological aspects of living in extraterrestrial environments.
What you should already know or have ready before you start, experience, tools, and any baseline skills the instructors expect. Scan the list below so nothing catches you off guard.
Course Content
Week 1: Introduction to Space Architecture: a holistic design approach | Design Thinking Activity on Miro | Mission planning and Architectural layout tutorial in Grasshopper 3D (plugins Kangaroo, Weaverbird, OpenNest)
Week 2: Introduction to Inflatable Structure in Aerospace | Tutorial for Inflatable Structures and form-finding (plugins Kangaroo and Karamba 3D, Weaverbird)| Project reviews
Week 3: Introduction to Radiation Shielding strategies in Space Architecture | Form-finding of the Inflatable Structure and Radiation Shielding (plugins Kangaroo, Karamba 3D, Weaverbird, Ameba) | Project reviews
Week 4: Adaptive interiors configurations | Grasshopper 3D Tutorial | Project reviews
Week 5: Advanced topology optimization of Radiation Shielding using In Situ Resources on Mars| Form-finding and topology optimization (plugins Weaverbird, Ameba) | Project reviews
Week 6: Invited Talks by Dr. Ariel Ekblaw (MIT Media Lab – Space Exploration Initiative, USA), Arch. Vittorio Netti (University of Houston, USA) and Prof. Giuseppe Fallacara (Politecnico di Bari, Italy) | Project reviews
Week 7: Final Presentation
Valentina Sumini is a Space Architect and Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab in Responsive Environments and Space Exploration Initiative and a Visiting Professor at Politecnico di Milano, where she teaches the course “Architecture for Human Space Exploration” at the School of Architecture, Urban Planning, and Construction Engineering. She develops design solutions and architectures to sustain human life in extreme Earth environments and enable space exploration in Low Earth Orbit, on the Moon, and Mars. Her passion for advancing human performance during deep space exploration missions dates back to 2009 when she designed a hotel on the lunar surface to democratize access to space to tourists. Over the years, she developed at MIT and MIT Media Lab more in-depth studies that she applied to different scenarios and award-winning competitions projects, mainly organized by international space agencies: a Space Hotel orbiting in Low Earth Orbit around Earth (NASA RASC-AL Competition 2017), a city on Mars and its generative design model (Mars City Design Competition 2017 ), a greenhouse on Mars (NASA Big Idea Challenge 2019), an ice extraction system for Mars (NASA RASC-AL Competition 2018), a Moon Village (European Space Agency), a soft robotic exoskeleton for enhancing astronaut movements and performance in microgravity and a pavilion, the Tidmarsh Living Observatory Portal (NASA TRISH), to reconnect astronauts with nature during long-duration missions. Valentina’s work has been featured, among others, in MIT News, Harvard Design Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, WIRED, Structure Magazine, IAC, IASS, CHI and AIAA proceedings, and TEDx Talks. She is Vice Chair of the ASCE Earth and Space Technical Committee (American Society of Civil Engineers), a Space Generation Advisory Council member, and a reviewer for the American Society of Civil Engineers of Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction. Tune into Computational Design: NEXT 3.0 to learn about the reach of computational design even in Space!
No reviews yet. Be the first!