Hey!!!
I am lucky enough to be a part of this amazing project: the “Urban Space Station” at the Reina Sofia in Madrid!
image from http://o-s-s.org/arch-space-0-es.html
I am working in Madrid as the assistant of my Royal College of Art visiting professor Natalie Jeremijenko that got me on board after and breathtaking tutorial 3 weeks ago, during which I presented my biotech research. To present the Urban Space Station you can visit the New York University page of Natalie, it is quite old (2 years ago, when the project started), but it presents quite precisely what it is the project about. To make it simple : “coupling open ecological systems with closed systems engineering; mutualistic host-parasite relationship; increasing CO2 fixation; waste air cycling; increasing density; no additional structural retrofitting…”
“The USS systems approach is designed to decouple the open ecosystems services from a closed system approach (controlling inputs and maximizing outputs) to urban agriculture. This allows the maximization of each independently, in which much of the space can be allocated to the complex open ecology, poorly controlled yet empirically monitored
SITE RELATIONSHIP
The relationship to the building.
This USS is designed to use the CO2 enriched air from output of HVAC system; produced by human and machine occupancy of the building.
grey water cycling etc, to take on the closed systems design from space stations.
This energy harvesting adapts the systems engineering involved in Space Station design to pressing urban issues. The space station is designed to generate it own energy and can provide energy to the building it rests upon. in the form of parasitic mutualism.”
Some people would instantly comment : “This is The Walking City, Ron Herron, 1964, Archigram!” … It is not, in 2 week you can visit it, it has much more attention for understanding the world as a system (as opposed to a closed moving city), and if it has inherited a lot of Archigram, I’m very happy to benefit such legacy.
So from today, I’m using this blog to document the making of the Urban Space Station and also as a way to gather my notes and ideas as contributions to the Urban Space Station. So, welcome on board of the Urban Space Station, take off imminent … 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 -1 - ignition ………….
Madrid! There are some things I just can’t leave behind : I had to take my bike … Isn’t this the perfect combination? My bike and a good backpack?
Quickly in Marid, I located hard challenges… How to make something cooler than this truck? It IS a challenge!
I am writting to you from the youth hostel, and I have some breaking news : Nowadays youth live on the internet more than anywhere else!!! My computer screen is my most comfortable home. But let’s get to the THING NOW, SERIOUS!
So quickly I got introduced to the project by the architect, the amazing Angel Borrego of the Open Source Space agency. We are at less than 15 days of the opening but a few decisions are still flexible and open to change, I supposed I came to build a finished-planned project, but to my delighted pleasure, they are still some things to figure out! So I must activate my brain and do some applied research, I am more than happy!
So, that’s how the structure will look like in a 0% fancy 3D render hehehehe! Are you still excited by the project? Hehehe!! Of course!
This is a ultra-raw drawing of how the hydroponic system would be made.
So now you have roughly al the informations I have if you have read through all the links I gave. Later in the day, I received my order of mission from Natalie in NYC : “I would love you to start working on the documentation for the space station… diagraming logistics of how to reprogram a building with the spacestation. But there are the following components to do with barn-raisings and greenhouse programming and the open-source hardware /programming aspects of the urban space station.”
End of the post, now the researches in the next post. 3AM … GO!
Post a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.