Introduction Abstract Introduction Isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments exist as the inhabited areas of the Isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments are the most universally challenging Earth or the space above it that pose the greatest challenges to human health. Individuals places in which anyone could attempt to survive, but can provide enormous scientific and can survive in these places, but the environments present inherently challenging conditions economic benefits for those who do live and work within them. The harsh environmental that make survival difficult or even dangerous. The most familiar extreme environments are conditions and psychological difficulties experienced within ICE environments currently limits considered the open desert, the ocean, and the poles. These are areas with harsh weather the amount of time individuals can spend at Earth’s poles, at sea, or in space to roughly and almost no potable water, and they offer very little in terms of shelter. a year. Enabling humans to survive for a longer duration while remaining physically and The most immediate threats are physical in the form of environmental conditions psychologically healthy is the central goal of architecture for ICE environments. or the vacuum of space, which could prove lethal. Drilling platforms must deal with high These environments offer access to resources such as oil and gas and enable seas and polar research stations must allow for survival through long winters without unique scientific exploration and discovery. Addressing the difficulties those living in outside assistance. The necessity of dealing with one’s physical environment is paramount; ICE environments face will increase overall productivity and health. The lessons learned however, as humans look to spend longer duration’s in ICE environments, social and throughout the process can be applied to more common and less extreme environments as psychological issues become additional obstacles created by the fact that inhabitants are well. Designs created to make a polar base pleasant to live in are appropriate for high-rise often far removed from the original home environment. As time passes, the stress of living in apartments or other space-restricted communities. Learning to live in extreme environments these ICE environments and not having the social supports or routine of normal life creates has the potential to provide an increased quality of life for those inhabitants and provides a variety of issues that are able to end a mission as easily as a sudden storm or some other benefits to society as a whole. physical calamity. The major considerations within ICE design are architectural interventions aimed at Social issues involve the negative ways in which people respond to the absence addressing the social, psychological, and physical needs of inhabitants. These categories of their traditional social network. Those living in extreme environments do not have their define the stressors of ICE environments, from social issues that arise from isolation or networks of friends and family, or the support that comes with them.1 A major part of psychological reactions from confinement, to the purely physical requirements of those what makes these environments extreme is that the many facets of our lives present before in extreme environments like space. Once these elements are understood they can be entering these environments are left behind. Humans can survive almost anywhere; but addressed through design using newly developed experiential, programmatic, and being able to live inside an ICE environment long term and in good health is an incredible technological approaches. The culmination of these efforts will enable the increasingly challenge. productive and healthy inhabitation of ICE environments. Psychological issues stem directly from the stress of living in an ICE environment, and Learning to dwell within ICE environments will provide healthy, long-duration habitation the stress can lead to mental health problems such as depression, catatonia, or aberrant where humans are driven by the necessity of industry and curiosity towards the natural behavior. These dangers can often be exacerbated by accompanying social issues such as world. These same lessons can be applied to the confined spaces of cities and enable safer the micro-society, making the psychological and social aspects of life in ICE environments exploration of other worlds. The final goal of this branch of architecture is the independent, closely related. The psychological needs that enable us to feel safe, social needs which link permanent settlement of places other than Earth and the most adversarial places on Earth us to our society and culture, and our purely physical need for shelter must all inform our itself. This dissertation will analyze the social and psychological requirements of those habitat design. However, these conditions are difficult to replicate in ICE environments.2 This living within ICE environments, and how these needs may be responded to architecturally. absence of traditional comforts, common life experiences, and mandatory daily routine will The final product of this dissertation will be a conceptual design expanding the HI-SEAS create stresses in addition to those created by the ICE environment itself. Mars simulation experiment into a multiple phase construction project aimed at discovering Understanding the human factors issues involved in designing for ICE environments the real-world requirements of design and infrastructure for the construction of a permanent 1. Suedfeld, Peter. Steel, Daniel G. “The Environmental Psychology of Capsule Habitats”. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2000, pp 236 Mars habitat. 2. Ibid, pp 228-29 i ii Introduction Introduction will be fundamental to many applications of ICE architectural design, such as with space habitat is rapidly changing. The culmination of this research will exist as the cutting edge of stations or future base designs for the Moon or Mars. In addition, there is a substantial what is possible in the field of ICE habitat design, with a close look at addressing the social human presence in the Arctic and Antarctic for the purposes of research, and it is estimated and psychological needs of inhabitants instead of purely physical needs. that over 60,000 individuals are currently employed on drilling rigs,3 infamous for their The primary ICE environments safely presumed to be occupied within the coming isolation and dangerous working conditions.4 Those living at the poles also experience decades are the Arctic and Antarctic, open space or orbital crafts, and habitats that are incredible isolation and dangerous environmental conditions. They spend months away based on nearby worlds such as the Moon or Mars. While the basic architectural design from friends and family conducting vital scientific work. When considering habitats in orbit, approaches for each of these areas are similar in terms of how to design more sensitively one must include the presence of micro-gravity, radiation, and an exterior environment that for human beings, this dissertation will also look at specific conceptual programs that is completely incapable of supporting human life. Due to a continued societal need for are unique and appropriate to each environment. Differences in available technology, more resources such as energy or digital infrastructure, and due to curiosity pushing human scale, required environmental systems, or other site-specific constraints will ensure each beings ever farther into the space, the number of people living in extreme environments will environment receives uniquely tailored architectural interventions. Understanding these only increase, thus making unnatural human isolation with hardship or even danger a daily environments, the limitations and benefits of each, as well as the more holistic requirements part of life. for healthy human habitation will be a requisite for any successful ICE habitat design. Mitigating the detrimental effects of mental and physical pressures is paramount to This dissertation, then, stands as an in-depth study of the evolution and technical ensuring our current and future endeavors succeed in the safest manner possible. Workers aspects of ICE environmental architecture including exploration into the basic social and on rigs who have a more habitable environment that can negate the stressors of their work psychological needs required by those living in extreme environments. The final product of will suffer fewer accidents, be more productive, and have fewer lasting negative effects as this dissertation will be a conceptual redesign of the HI-SEAS Mars simulation habitat into a result of their experiences.5 Those living at the Poles during the winter will be more able to a high-fidelity construction project to explore the required infrastructure to successfully build manage long months without sun or going outside. Habitats will foster greater productivity on Mars. Included in this expansion will be the inhabitation of lava tubes and skylights, if they properly address the negative effects of physical and mental stressors, which can be furthering our understanding of how to work within the local geography. This dissertation will accomplished through the experience of the environment of a habitat and the inclusion of also examine simulated environmental systems, the expansion of the role of the greenhouse, social or psychological considerations in its design. new interior programming methods for habitats,