Cliff Colony
What are the minimum requirements for sustainable living on Mars? Starting from pre-established knowledge on the physical and engineering requirements of space habitation, this project further explores the design of stimulating environments for physical and mental well-being, to ensure that the human inhabitants of our architecture need not just survive. They must thrive.
![An astronaut walking towards the Cliff Colony on mars.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-colony.jpg)
SITE
By mapping the surface of Mars, we identified Apollinaris Sulci as the site of the settlement, based on five essential criteria:
- Water availability
- Below Datum
- Equatorial
- In situ resources
- Landscape/Geological feature
- Aesthetic quality
![Map of Mars showing areas of interest.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-colony-map.jpg)
Map of Mars showing areas of interest.
![Map of Apollinaris Sulci with the choosen Yardang cliff.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-colony-sitemap.jpg)
Map of Apollinaris Sulci with the choosen Yardang cliff.
CARVE THEN PRINT
The construction principle behind the cliff colony is three phased:
- Autonomous robots carve out the void.
- 3D Printing rovers print structures using the carved regolith.
- Humans inhabit the space and construct a bamboo farm.
![3D Printed forms. Robotic swarm printers print rounded corners and ramps to access upper layers.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/3d-printed-forms.jpg)
![Carve then print. Soft cliff tuff is carved and used as 3D printed material.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/carve-then-print.jpg)
![Sulfur Concrete. High sulfur contents + decreased gravity makes concrete six times as strong as on concrete on earth.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/sulfur-concrete.jpg)
![Elevation of the cliff.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-elevation.jpg)
Elevation of the cliff.
![Section of first void.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-void-1.jpg)
![Section of second void.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-void-2.jpg)
EXCAVATION MODEL
A model of the site in 1:00 was cast in plaster using a mold made of 40 3D printed segments.
![A picture of the cliff model. It's surface looks red like the soil of mars.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-model.jpg)
![A different angle of the model.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-model-cast.jpg)
![3 people assembling the printed segments of the model.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-model-assembly.jpg)
![A close up of the model cave entrance.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-model-close.jpg)
![A plan drawing of the cliff colony.](/next_assets/cliff-colony/cliff-colony-plan.jpg)