Real estate
Location, location, location. The three most important conditions in real estate. Obviously proximity to oxigen plants, management of radiation and access to simulated gravity gyms will be also among things to consider.
Spacescraper and Historic Preservation
Historic preservation movement emerges when rapid development and overgrowth surpasses human limits of acceptance. Obsolete technologies that have been conceived as useless junk start quickly to gain sentimental meaning and obtain true cultural value. Constant need for comparison with past when measuring current moment supersedes concerns about cost and effort. Scrap canister-like modules from the heroic late 20-th century will be priceless and highly desirable. Destruction of Mir on March 23rd 2001 will be relegated by preservationists as extremely reckless and wasteful act. Reconstruction and replication of long lost historic modules will create the new profession of the Space artificer. In order to get exact replicas of early spacecraft not only ancient technologies will be used but also archaic societies will be recreated in controlled compounds. Teams of “communists” and “capitalists” will replay the Cold War and its ultimate showcase - the Space Race - in order to reproduce true Sputnik, Apollo or Mir.
Energy sources
Energy production will be critical for the Spacescraper’s existence. Initially it will rely on discreet photovoltaic solar arrays for meeting local consumption needs. With technological evolution larger solar farms will merge to form a continuous energy harvesting strips. They will both satisfy the increased power demand and serve as a radiation blocking shield for the Spacescraper.
Another promising energy source will be the nuclear fusion. Weightlessness and lack of space limitations on the Spacescraper will allow for building particle accelerators of new scale solving scientific problems encountered on Earth. If this development takes place the Spacescraper will become the major energy supplier for the entire Earth. Space cables sharing the same geostationary concept as the Space elevator will transmit the energy back to the planet’s surface.
Another promising energy source will be the nuclear fusion. Weightlessness and lack of space limitations on the Spacescraper will allow for building particle accelerators of new scale solving scientific problems encountered on Earth. If this development takes place the Spacescraper will become the major energy supplier for the entire Earth. Space cables sharing the same geostationary concept as the Space elevator will transmit the energy back to the planet’s surface.
Spacescraper and astrology
From Earth’s surface the Spacescraper will be a new permanently present object in the sky. Its bright appearance on the celestial scape will spark imagination, worship and fear. Since the humble scientific progress seems to have no effect on the thriving superstitious beliefs, it is very probable that the Spacescraper’s phase and position will play a major role in predicting future, choosing lucky numbers or finding soulmates. Advanced horoscopes based on the Spacescraper will be much more accurate and definitive that older astrological approximations. Powerful computer arrays will be employed by the yellow press in order to provide adjusted daily horoscope profiles for people actually born on the Spacescraper. Since their birthplace, date and time will be floating variables, their future will be quite unclear as well.
Structure
Stucture has a new meaning in the conditions of weightlessnes and vacuum. It does not deal with gravity anymore, but with connectivity and shelter. Stucture becomes a tissue that ...
coming soon
coming soon
Stages of life
The Spacescraper evolution embodies the principles of collective growth and reinterprets the history of human civilization. It has started as a daring exploration out of the cave and continues with establishing initial outposts – the Space stations. Its current Steel age will soon develop into a new Carbon era. New economic conditions resulting from development of advanced materials, methods of production, transportation and communication will introduce the private initiative into the race for orbital utilization. Communication centers, solar energy farms, orbiting nuclear reactors will produce the first orbital villages. Their growth and regrouping with nomadic camps, space resorts, free trading zones, fictional gold mines, military bases and detention facilities will mark the emergence of a new class of diverse and randomized settlements – the orbital towns. As the Spacescraper collection sprawls it will become clear that new cheap low-tech materials will be needed to satisfy the unprecedented demand. Excess of harnessed solar and synthetic energy will allow for new energy intensive material technologies. Vitrified cellular silica produced from evaporated desert sand is expected to be the new space material of choice. At this stage the formation of large orbital cities will quickly evolve into establishing of the first space metropolises, characterized not by their size but by the quality of life. Extremely luxurious amenities like simulated gravity, running water and unlimited oxygen will become available to larger social groups.
to be continued
to be continued
Space elevator
The Space elevator is an alternative way to rocket technology for transportation to outer space. It presents an automated payload lift running on a permanent cable connection between Earth's surface and a geostationary satellite. The concept rests on perfectly sound physics and the problems to be resolved are purely technological. With the rapid development of carbon nanotube science it is estimated that the first space lift will take place within the first two decades of 21-st century.
The Space elevator will be a major catalyst for entering a new intensive stage of orbital construction. It will promote the Spacescraper, exactly as the invention of the elevator has led to the introduction of the skyscraper in the past.
The Space elevator will be a major catalyst for entering a new intensive stage of orbital construction. It will promote the Spacescraper, exactly as the invention of the elevator has led to the introduction of the skyscraper in the past.
Time
Time is a big issue for the Spacescraper community. Conventional calendar based on Earth’s revolutions is not working here. The Spacescraper makes a full revolution around the globe every 90 minutes. This means 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every “day”. And of course - 16 crossings of the date change line per 24 hours. Terms as day, week, month, noon, midnight instantly become obsolete. A new smarter way of measuring time will be needed indeed. Perhaps something like the proposed “Internet time” that uses “beats” instead of “seconds” and has no time zones will work better. Of course it will be also strongly opposed and probably rejected. Measuring life in beats sounds scary to our folks. Years sound much better. Even if they represent the same time span.
Need for Speed
The Spacescraper is a fast building. It travels at a constant speed of 27828 km/h (17291 mph), more than 20 times the speed of sound at sea level. Yet, it does not need to be streamlined or aerodynamic since it moves in vacuum and experiences no drag. Architectural reasoning and form making will have difficulties with this fact. Surprisingly the fashion of replicating steam ships, trains and airplanes will repeat itself at first occasion. The need for “dynamic” and “expressive” architecture seems to be a mysterious cultural constant.
Spacescraper physics
Spacescraper physics
The Spacescraper is simply a stream of habitable orbital components at a given altitude. It is a direct descendant of the contemporary satellites and space stations and represents a regulated saturation or “urbanization” of Earth’s orbital space. Law of gravity determines that objects on a common orbital trajectory travel at the exact same speed. This phenomenon is also known as ‘state of weightlessness’. In architectural terms it means that the connecting tissue of the Spacescraper will not act as a structure holding the components together. Its function will be communication, supply and impact absorption.
Trajectory facts:
Orbit: Circular
Altitude above sea level (ASL): 300km (186.4mi)
Satellite Orbit Velocity: 7.73 km/s (4.8 mips) / 27828 km/h (17291 mph)
Orbit Revolution Time: 90 minutes
The Spacescraper is simply a stream of habitable orbital components at a given altitude. It is a direct descendant of the contemporary satellites and space stations and represents a regulated saturation or “urbanization” of Earth’s orbital space. Law of gravity determines that objects on a common orbital trajectory travel at the exact same speed. This phenomenon is also known as ‘state of weightlessness’. In architectural terms it means that the connecting tissue of the Spacescraper will not act as a structure holding the components together. Its function will be communication, supply and impact absorption.
Trajectory facts:
Orbit: Circular
Altitude above sea level (ASL): 300km (186.4mi)
Satellite Orbit Velocity: 7.73 km/s (4.8 mips) / 27828 km/h (17291 mph)
Orbit Revolution Time: 90 minutes
Book fact sheet
Prospective publisher: Columbia University Press
Cover: Soft
Format: Landscape
Page Dimensions: 13.5”x7.5” (14"x8", 4200x2400 px)
Page spreads will open flat
Color: full
Resolution: 300dpi
Font: Isocpeur
Font size: 10pt paragraphs, 16pt titles
Paragraph spacing: single space
Each participant will have 1 or 2 spreads (28"x8") to describe his/her vision.
Cover: Soft
Format: Landscape
Page Dimensions: 13.5”x7.5” (14"x8", 4200x2400 px)
Page spreads will open flat
Color: full
Resolution: 300dpi
Font: Isocpeur
Font size: 10pt paragraphs, 16pt titles
Paragraph spacing: single space
Each participant will have 1 or 2 spreads (28"x8") to describe his/her vision.
Abstract
Spacescraper
The Spacescraper is a forecast for a global structure on the edge between Earth and Space. A structure in orbit that forms the ultimate ‘mega city - mega building’ - an assemblage of independent growth initiatives, fueled by common interest, branching off from shared infrastructure and governed by physical and virtual restraints. It is both a direct descendant of the skyscraper archetype, emerging from the same principles of densification and compaction, and it is its complete antipode, establishing a new architectural language for the conditions of constant motion and weightlessness.
The project represents a step towards broadening the architectural perception of space where the established definitions of tectonics, direction or order are not applicable. It renders the familiar architectural reasoning of climate, exposure, footprint and massing as obsolete, while elevating its social impact to a new magnitude and scale. Pivotal categories as nationality, homeland and origin, as well as personal feelings of privacy, alienation and estrangement will be redefined with the new generations born on the Spacescraper.
Addressing human history as a continuous succession of expansion and colonization, the Spacescraper becomes a new frontier for the unknown within and outside us.
Powered by utilizing the vast energy of solar radiation, the Spacescraper is a new example of ultimate self-sufficiency and sustainability. Set outside the atmosphere in an environment where recycling is not only desirable, but crucial, the Spacescraper has the potential to be the first building with more positive ecological impact than ecological demand, relieving the planet’s surface from the burden of overpopulation and related pollution.
Clearly a theoretical proposal at this moment, the Spacescraper is an absolutely possible, if not imminent solution. Its construction has virtually already started with the launch of the first artificial satellite, and it continues with the rapid utilization and commercialization of orbital space.
The Spacescraper is a forecast for a global structure on the edge between Earth and Space. A structure in orbit that forms the ultimate ‘mega city - mega building’ - an assemblage of independent growth initiatives, fueled by common interest, branching off from shared infrastructure and governed by physical and virtual restraints. It is both a direct descendant of the skyscraper archetype, emerging from the same principles of densification and compaction, and it is its complete antipode, establishing a new architectural language for the conditions of constant motion and weightlessness.
The project represents a step towards broadening the architectural perception of space where the established definitions of tectonics, direction or order are not applicable. It renders the familiar architectural reasoning of climate, exposure, footprint and massing as obsolete, while elevating its social impact to a new magnitude and scale. Pivotal categories as nationality, homeland and origin, as well as personal feelings of privacy, alienation and estrangement will be redefined with the new generations born on the Spacescraper.
Addressing human history as a continuous succession of expansion and colonization, the Spacescraper becomes a new frontier for the unknown within and outside us.
Powered by utilizing the vast energy of solar radiation, the Spacescraper is a new example of ultimate self-sufficiency and sustainability. Set outside the atmosphere in an environment where recycling is not only desirable, but crucial, the Spacescraper has the potential to be the first building with more positive ecological impact than ecological demand, relieving the planet’s surface from the burden of overpopulation and related pollution.
Clearly a theoretical proposal at this moment, the Spacescraper is an absolutely possible, if not imminent solution. Its construction has virtually already started with the launch of the first artificial satellite, and it continues with the rapid utilization and commercialization of orbital space.
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