Award for habitat design on Mars

Architects from Izmir University of Economics (IUE) returned with an award from the "Mars 2050 Habitat Idea Competition" organized in cooperation with Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Bursa Technical University. IUE Design Studies Integrated Doctorate Program student İrem Ercan and Architecture graduate student Talha Üge received honorable mentions in the professional category.

Üge and Ercan, working under the guidance of Lecturers from IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Assoc. Prof. Güzden Varinlioğlu, Department of Architecture, and Assoc. Prof. Özgen Osman Demirbaş, Department of  Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, created a habitat named "Tar-Celium Settlement" on Mars.

Young architects Üge and Ercan designed the first contact and survival units for 2030 and the long-term sustainable settlement area for 2050 in the two-stage competition held under the title of "Planetary Urbanization and Space Architecture". In their designs, Üge and Ercan were inspired by the tardigrade, the world's most durable microscopic animal; which can endure radiation, freezing cold and boiling, and the underground mycelium mushroom that looks like a root.

DESIGNED 3D ROBOTS

Giving information about their studies, Design Studies Integrated Doctorate Program student İrem Ercan stated that in the alternative life proposal they created on another planet, they were inspired by the creatures’ knowledge of building structures in nature. Ercan said, “During the design process, we focused on forms of life that can survive the harsh environmental conditions of the Martian environment. We also designed 3D robots with artificial intelligence technology to build the materials. We have created spaces within the sheltered units, aiming to meet the physical and psychological needs of at least 20 Martian astronauts that will make the first contact with the surface of Mars in 2030. We aimed to complete the settlement until 2050. It was a different experience for us.”

Assoc. Prof. Güzden Varinlioğlu stated that the students prepared for the competition in the ‘Imaginary and Futuristic Design Studies” course. Assoc. Prof. Varinlioğlu said, “We direct our students on alternative space productions. Their imagination is combined with design. They create designs for very different conditions. We are proud of our students' success.”