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Space architecture is already a bona fide specialty within THE PROFESSION. its lessons will infiltrate the mainstream, changing the way we DESIGN, build, AND … THINK

By Sara Hart

Joint-based emphasizes design of connections in order to speed erection time. High-end panel-based systems are one-piece wall or floor assemblies that have specially designed fasteners along the edges to make connections fast and easy. Since the panels act as both structure and cladding, gaskets and weatherproofing devices are built-in. Whereas weatherproofing is a priority in Earth-based design and construction, in space, its performance is critical to survival. Howe singles out Norman Foster’s 1983 Renault Distribution Center as a brilliant example of a joint-based/panel-based hybrid. Designed for future expansion, the warehouse is made of linear members designed to optimize tension and compression forces. Panel-based cladding is set away from the structure with simple, single-point mounting hardware.

The Munich Model Students at the University of Munich designed a Mars Mission Habitation Module using computer simulations, scale models, and full-scale mock-ups of sections. Light studies of crew quarters show an array of configurations. The bed and tables are foldable for spatial flexibility. An aluminum model (below) shows connected FLOW tables inside the module. Renderings: courtesy TU Munich students—Christian Brandstetter, Rocco Cerilli, Annegret Michler, Eva Rothmaier, Katrin Schumacher, Wolfgang Sirtl, David Wong

Perhaps the category familiar to most is the deployable system. This system consists of folding trusses, swing-open modules, and inflatable structures. Their advantage lies in the fact that they are compact, lightweight, and can be collapsed or expanded as program needs change. The Transit Habitat Module (TransHab), designed by NASA for the International Space Station (ISS), is an exellent example of a deployable structure.

Whereas research will eventually deliver the total construction automation that Howe and his colleagues are developing, current construction methods rely on incremental improvements in which new automation tools and techniques are applied to traditional construction methods. According to Howe, there are three main areas in which automated construction systems have been fully implemented, although they do not yet represent a major change in the construction industry.

The first group consists of function-specific robots that are used on manned construction sites where repetition, labor, or safety concerns justify their use. The second group includes a stationary on-site factory that delivers prefabricated building components to a robotic system, which assembles one floor at a time. The floors are jacked up into place, beginning with the top floor and moving down. In the third category, a building’s structural core is built conventionally to the height of a few stories. A platform the size of the designed floor plate is constructed on top of the core. Here, a factory is established that first assembles the entire ground floor and then jacks itself up from the core to complete the next level, and so on. Automated lifts within the core deliver prefabricated components to the platform factory. When the building is topped out, the factory is disassembled and removed.