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One day, architects may walk in space. Until then, it is more likely that they will be designing habitats for astronauts already there, like Garrett Finney, senior architect at NASA's Habitability Design Center, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Three years ago, Finney was designing interiors and furniture prototypes in New York City, when a former classmate of his from the Yale University School of Architecture called to see if he would be interested in joining a new program at NASA. Thinking it would be a good way for him to combine a number of his interests, he applied. "I thought it might be fun to design furniture for Mars." Now, Finney is one of three architects working on a team of mostly engineers designing the International Space Station's Habitation Module.
His job is essentially to ensure "habitability" for the seven astronauts who will live in the Module while in space. At NASA, "habitability" typically refers to a user's comfort or livability. According to Finney it is not a word often used among architects; most would instead simply call it "design". Yet, in space, the term seems to take on different level of importance. "We are sending astronauts into this hostile environment for several months at a time, and we still have to allow them to be people," says Finney, "Comfort becomes an important issue. While engineers are primarily concerned with the function of critical systems and safety, our job is make their lives up there as pleasant as possible."
A standard module is about 14 feet in diameter and sectioned into 9 parts. A little more than a third of that is dedicated to hardware and wiring, so there is certainly not a lot of room to maneuver in the module. Accessibility and usage become obvious design concerns, but so are other considerations such as what materials to use, inflammability issues, off-gassing, stability, packaging, life-cycle costs, radiation, etc. It is almost dizzying. Even the absence of gravity has its implications. As Finney explains, in a weightless environment, an astronaut can often become extremely disoriented turning here and there to reach buttons and switches. The placement of such devices becomes of the crucial importance in the overall design scheme. "In designing for the module, you become very sensitive to even the smallest detail, because its position or placement can make a great difference in the lives of the astronauts," he said. "Often we take such things for granted but working at NASA makes you aware of how much we assume when designing for Earth, from simple acts of breathing to the selection of products, they all become important factors, here."
Similarly, aesthetics play a role too, although Finney admits that there is very little room for them in the overall scheme. Finney describes a tray he designed in the shape of an animal, noting that the even small contributions can help make astronauts feel connected to earth. "It's a way of making them feel grounded," he says. "Even within the constraints, it is possible to develop new forms that are functional and have some aesthetic value."
Yet, it is difficult to assess all the possible successes and failures of a design because comfort and usability can only truly be evaluated over extended intervals of time. To compensate, Finney and his team often look at previous spaceflight experiences, particularly Russia's MIR, as precedents as well as research analogous situations, such as the environments in arctic research stations and submarines, for additional information. There is also the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory which somewhat mimic the feeling of weightlessness, and a number of other programs that help give astronauts a fairly accurate idea of space travel. Although they are not perfect simulations, Finney says that the team certainly learns a lot from this type of training. "Designing for NASA," he says, "is like getting into architecture 4,000 years ago. It is like starting from the beginning again and re-learning how people really interact with space. In that way, its kind of incredible."
When asked whether or not he would return to designing architecture on earth, he said eventually he would. "I feel that there is a lot I could contribute in the way of sustainable architecture. In my work here, I quickly learned that nothing is taken for granted. There is always a way to make a space more efficient. Often we are taught to accept the design solutions that are offer to us and sometimes forget that what may seem obvious is not always the most practical. One should always look around the built environment and ask, 'I wonder how this can be better.'"
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