Simpatico Homes

When you hammer your thumb in space, no one can hear you scream.

February 1st, 2010

Harsh conditions. Scarcity of materials. “Astronomical” costs of building. The lessons learned from NASA building the International Space Station are actually quite relevant down here on Earth. (well, except for that astronaut urine idea. you could get arrested for that.)

except and illustration from the article Building Tomorrow in Dwell Magazine February 2010

“We can learn a lot about how to build in the future by looking at how we are building now at the International Space Station. All the issues we deal with down here exist in an amplified state in space. We’ve figured out ways to be truly sustainable. We generate our own power. We recycle everything—–absolutely everything—–even the astronaut’s own urine and perspiration are processed into potable water. The conditions we design for are beyond harsh, and the site where we build is very hard to get to. We prefabricate our components and ship them up, and we build them with such precise tolerances that they lock perfectly together into place. We have to exceed efficiency up there, and so much of what we do end up being applicable down here.”

Filed under: Articles, Green Building/Products