# Mars Architecture - Studio Valentina Sumini > Why Mars? Is Mars the new frontier of humanity has been the question accompanied by debates. The insatiable quest for life is the main motivation of human beings to explore a promising future on this identical twin of the Earth. Currently, we are able to become inter-planetary c… ## At a glance - Format: On-demand course - Price: €1000.00 (list €1250.00) - Difficulty: Beginner - Duration: 6 + 1 Sessions (28 Hours) - Schedule: Mar 26 & Jun 11, 2022 - Instructors: Valentina Sumini, Marta Rossi - Categories: Architectural Design, 3D Modeling, Sustainability, Structural Analysis - Software: Grasshopper 3D, Rhinoceros 3D, Karamba3D, Ameba, Pufferfish, Kangaroo, Weaverbird, OpenNest - Students: 28 - Rating: 5.0 / 5 - Canonical: https://paacademy.com/course/mars-architecture-studio-valentina-sumini - Enroll: https://paacademy.com/course/mars-architecture-studio-valentina-sumini --- ## About this course Mars Architecture is a computational design studio workshop on PAACADEMY led by Valentina Sumini, Space Architect and Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab. Using Grasshopper 3D, Rhinoceros 3D, Karamba3D, Ameba, Kangaroo, and Weaverbird, participants work in cross-disciplinary teams to design resilient and sustainable infrastructure for human habitation on Mars, operating across urban, architectural, and interior design scales. The workshop integrates space sciences, engineering, ergonomics, psychology, and computational design as interconnected pillars. ## What you'll learn - 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. - Application of Space Sciences: Understand the interplay between space sciences and architectural design to support human activities on Mars. ## Methodology The Mars Architecture studio workshop by PAACADEMY is devoted to exploring computational design capabilities applied to space architecture. The workshop aims to design a resilient and sustainable infrastructure for human missions on Mars. This new design challenge requires a new holistic design approach in which computational design plays a key role. Indeed, Space Architecture relies on some fundamental pillars that are intrinsically interconnected: space sciences, engineering, industrial design, ergonomics, medicine, psychology, and art. Students will be challenged to work in teams within a cross-disciplinary environment at different scales, from urban to architecture and interior design, relying on the knowledge and technologies developed for space applications. A challenge for both space and terrestrial architectures is to consider the relationships between human activities and the resources which support them. The Mars Architecture Workshop will bring a new computational design approach to this design challenge in order to sustain human space exploration on Mars. ## Requirements - Rhinoceros 7.0. The 90-day trial version you can download from the website. - Grasshopper 3D: For Rhino 6 and 7 is embeded, for Rhino 5 and below you need to download separately. ## Curriculum ### Session 1 - Intro (06:15) - Part 1 - Valentina Sumini (01:33:27) - Part 2 - Students (39:22) - Part 3 - Marta Rossi (01:16:50) - Part 4 - Hamid Hassanzadeh (30:35) ### Session 2 - Intro (06:03) - Part 1 (02:33:59) - Part 2 - Students (51:11) ### Session 3 - Intro (03:10) - Part 1 (02:31:00) - Part 2 - Presentations (59:26) ### Session 4 - Intro (02:59) - Part 1 - Marta Rossi (49:59) - Part 2 - Marta Rossi Grasshopper3D workflow (01:35:56) - Part 3 - Students (01:00:24) ### Session 5 - Students Project Discussion (02:05:22) - Valentina Sumini (01:15:11) ### Session 6 - Part 1 (39:58) - Part 2 (45:59) - Part 3 (24:35) - Part 4 (01:01:15) ## FAQ ### What is Ameba and how is it used for topology optimization in Grasshopper? Ameba is a Grasshopper plugin for topology optimization, a computational method that determines the most efficient distribution of material within a given design space by removing underutilized material while maintaining structural performance. In architectural and engineering applications, it is used to generate organically optimized structural forms that are both load-efficient and materially economical. In this studio, Ameba is used specifically to optimize radiation shielding configurations for Mars habitation structures using in-situ resources, designing protective envelopes that balance mass, coverage, and structural logic. ### What does the Mars Architecture studio workshop at PAACADEMY cover across 7 weeks? Week 1 introduces space architecture and holistic design thinking, with a Grasshopper tutorial on mission planning and architectural layout using Kangaroo, Weaverbird, and OpenNest. Week 2 covers inflatable structures in aerospace and form-finding with Kangaroo and Karamba3D. Week 3 focuses on radiation shielding strategies and form-finding with Ameba. Week 4 addresses adaptive interior configurations. Week 5 covers advanced topology optimization of radiation shielding using Martian in-situ resources. Week 6 features invited lectures by Dr. Ariel Ekblaw (MIT), Arch. Vittorio Netti (University of Houston), and Prof. Giuseppe Fallacara (Politecnico di Bari), with project reviews. Week 7 is the final presentation. ### What prior experience do I need for the Mars Architecture studio? Participants should have Rhinoceros 7 installed and working knowledge of Grasshopper before the studio begins. A 90-day trial version of Rhino is available from the Rhinoceros website, and Grasshopper is embedded in Rhino 6 and 7. The studio introduces specific plugins including Kangaroo, Karamba3D, Ameba, Weaverbird, OpenNest, and Pufferfish across the seven weeks, but prior familiarity with parametric workflows in Grasshopper is expected given the computational depth of the design challenges. ### What will I produce through the Mars Architecture studio? Working in cross-disciplinary teams, participants will develop a complete design proposal for resilient human habitation infrastructure on Mars, developed from urban layout and mission planning through architectural form-finding and interior configuration to optimized radiation shielding. The final outcome is a studio project presented in Week 7, covering computational design across scales using Grasshopper, Kangaroo, Karamba3D, and Ameba, grounded in space science and engineering principles taught and reviewed throughout the studio.