ORBITAL – Life, Space, and Everyday Living in Orbit

Point of Departure and Theme

Based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey, this design studio revolves around the design of a space station. The focus is particularly on a module with a diameter of approximately 8 meters and a length of approximately 12 meters, which serves as the central architectural and spatial object of investigation.

The novel describes a space station that completes 16 orbits around Earth within 24 hours. Each orbit is characterized by the continuous alternation of day and night. These extreme conditions—weightlessness, permanent technical maintenance of life-support systems, and cohabitation of up to eight people in extremely confined spaces—form the basic scenario of the design studio.

Orbital does not tell a conventional story. Instead, the thoughts, conversations, and emotions of the astronauts are at the center: reflections on the beauty and fragility of Earth, on loss, longing, fear, and insight—embedded within a highly functionalized, technological living environment.

Precisely this connection between

• spatial confinement,
• technical dependency,
• weightlessness, and
• emotional and social experience

serves as the starting point for the design studio. The goal is to examine architecture as a medium of everyday life, perception, and the relationship between humans, technology, and the biosphere.

Methodology

The studio works in a research-based and experimental manner. Through exercises in

• model making,
• film and video (self-produced and edited), and
• classical design work,

life in a completely different world—without gravity, in an artificial biosphere—is spatially explored. Students develop scenarios, atmospheres, and concepts that go beyond purely functional solutions.

Introduction

The introductory lecture will be given by René Waclavicek, Managing Director of LIQUIFER (Vienna/Bremen). He is currently working on several space station projects for ESA and NASA and provides insights into real design and research processes in the context of space architecture.