Habitation Ribbon for the ISS To Accommodate Habitation Requirements Without Building the Hab.

Paper number

IAC-08.E5.I.5

Author

Mr. Cian Curran, France

Year

2008

Abstract

We should study the work practices and the interaction between habitat and occupant on space station to gain further insight into the demands that are being placed on the entire discipline of architecture today. As work practices are changing so too are the methods and scales on which architecture is being called to respond.  The goals of the Habitation Ribbon would be to take today’s working environment and analyze the behavioral patterns and tasks carried out. 
The notion is that it may be possible to provide the second tier functions associated with an extended stay on orbit (privacy, comfort) of habitation to the space station environment by introducing a stream of provisions and interactions throughout the stations existing ‘classical’ architecture. 
Secondly, the Habitation Ribbon would be an architectural experiment based on the primary notion that habitats need to be more adaptable to the needs of their occupants. 
Given the unique environment in which this building is placed, it provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about the fundamentals of the movement practices of people within, their engagement with and their absolute reliance upon their built environment. The principle of interaction between habitat and occupant would extend beyond such traditional and well understood dialogues as the capacity of the facility to regulate temperature or the provision for opening and closing doors. 
The new interaction would be in areas such as providing a tangible link between the orbital facility and the Earth, it would give architectural teams direct access to primary data sets related to movement patterns, positive and negative responses to various aspects of habitat morphology etc.
The idea here is that the associated mass and cost of this system would provide enough of the functions and be sufficiently less costly than the cancelled ‘Hab’ module.

Abstract document

IAC-08.E5.I.5.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.E5.I.5.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.