Amaurotum
Space Colony
for 100,000
University Thesis Project, 1976
Though initially focused on the idea that the special conditions of space would create new forms and lead to more profound architecture: on the contrary, the technical constraints continually suggested only the sterility of nuclear subs or some space age plastic (think modern Italian furniture). The real problems were of orientation, potential growth, and provisions for choice in an alien environment. The solution appeared to be to build in a system of references, metaphors and polarities. The architectural elements became: the opposition of the sun and dark poles (with birth/entry and death/exit implications); a range of gravities from zero to plus g; ceremonial milelong stairways; the 'natural' soft conditions besides hard titanium landscapes; and the options of totally cerebrally simulated environments versus the recreation of Greek temples, Italian grottoes, or English gardens. It was the dragging of these last into space that seemed to most disturb some critics.
