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The Architecture of Artificial Gravity: Theory, Form, and Function in the High Frontier

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The Architecture of Artificial Gravity: Theory, Form, and Function in the High Frontier THE ARCHITECTURE OF ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY: THEORY, FORM, AND FUNCTION IN THE HIGH FRONTIER Theodore W. Hall Chinese University of Hong Kong in SPACE MANUFACTURING 10 PATHWAYS TO THE HIGH FRONTIER Proceedings of the Twelfth SSI-Princeton Conference May 4-7, 1995 p. 182-192 Edited by Barbara Faughnan August 1995 Space Studies Institute (SSI) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) THE ARCHITECTURE OF ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY: THEORY, FORM, AND FUNCTION IN THE HIGH FRONTIER Theodore W. Hall* Centre for Planning, Architecture, and Development Chinese University of Hong Kong Sha Tin, New Territories Hong Kong [email protected] Abstract Introduction Previous papers have examined the physical dif- Much of architecture, from the posts and beams ferences between natural and artificial gravity, of the Parthenon to the Pontiac Silverdome, can be through mathematical derivation and computer seen as a struggle against gravity. Without gravity, simulation. Taking those differences as given, this such basic concepts as “floor”, “wall”, and “ceiling” paper examines: the role of gravity in architectural lose much of their meaning. It seems reasonable to design; the extensions of architectural theory neces- expect that the state of gravity in an environment sary to accommodate the peculiarities of artificial should have a significant influence on its architec- gravity; and the appropriateness of space colony ar- ture. chitecture as illustrated in the “Stanford Torus”, “Bernal Sphere”, and similar proposals. In terres- The visionary work on artificial-gravity space trial gravity, there are three principal directions – station and space colony design has made al- up, down, and horizontal – and three basic architec- lowances for such things as high population density, tural elements – ceiling, floor, and wall. In artificial lightweight modular construction from non-organic gravity, due to inertial effects of relative motion in a materials, artificial weather and climate control, rotating environment, east and west (prograde and and even (minimally) the novelty of a concave retrograde) emerge as gravitationally distinct. toroidal landscape. But the unusual nature of the Thus, there are not only three, but at least five gravity itself does not seem to have had much influ- principal directions: up, down, east, west, and axial. ence. The assumption seems to have been that the The grammar of architecture for artificial gravity differences between natural and artificial gravity should accommodate this fact. To be meaningful, could be ignored. The differences do become in- architecture should have formal properties that are significant as the radius of rotation approaches in- similar to other aspects of the environment. The finity, but the first artificial-gravity habitats are goal is not to fool people into thinking they’re still likely to be significantly smaller than that. Fur- on Earth, but rather, to help them orient themselves thermore, there is a philosophical issue: whether the to the realities of their rotating environment. architecture should deny the environmental oddi- ties, or whether it should respond to them – perhaps even accentuate them. Previous papers have examined the physical dif- ferences between natural and artificial gravity, with Copyright © 1995 by Theodore W. Hall. Pub- a heavy reliance on mathematical derivation, com- lished by the American Institute of Aeronautics and puter simulation, and reference to utilitarian engi- Astronautics, Inc., and the Space Studies Institute, neering concerns.1–2 Taking those differences as with permission. given, this paper examines: * Postdoctoral research fellow, Department of • the role of gravity in architectural design, par- Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong. ticularly with regard to “principal directions”; Research completed while doctoral candidate in ar- chitecture, College of Architecture and Urban Plan- • the extensions of architectural theory necessary ning, University of Michigan. to create meaningful environments in artificial 182 gravity; • association – experience and learning. Low, • the appropriateness of space colony architecture dark clouds mean that rain is likely. as depicted in proposals such as the “Stanford Torus” and “Bernal Sphere”. • spontaneity – natural reaction. A smile means happiness. The next two sections introduce relevant aspects of architectural design theory. Potential applica- The distinction between associative and sponta- tions to artificial gravity are discussed in the final neous meanings is open to discussion. In Hessel- section. This paper is extracted from the final chap- gren’s scheme, associative meanings must be ter of my doctoral dissertation (Arch.D., University learned and may be local to a group or culture, while of Michigan, May 1994).3 spontaneous meanings are “natural” and universal. But while certain expressions – smiles, frowns, Meaning laughter, weeping – may be universal and biologi- cally “wired”, it may be that infants must neverthe- The role of meaning is central to architectural less learn their meaning. More to our purposes, theory. An important function of the built environ- gravity-related cues to meaning that seem natural ment – beyond quantitative utilitarian concerns – is and universal on Earth may turn out to be cultural to make habitable space comprehensible. As Scully and not applicable to micro-gravity or artificial- writes:4 gravity environments. Human beings fashion an environment Hesselgren devotes much attention to percep- for themselves, a space to live in, suggested tion psychology, including tactile, haptic, kines- by their patterns of life and constructed thetic, auditive, and olfactory perceptions, as well as around whatever symbols of reality seem visual. He describes “transformation tendencies” important to them. Most of all, that envi- between these sense modalities. For example, a ronment and those structures invest the perception of visual texture gives rise to a mental vast indifference of nature with meanings image or expectation of tactile grain. Unmet expec- intelligible to, indeed imagined by, mankind. tations may lead to disappointment and negative aesthetic evaluations. The ubiquitous fake wood Before we can design meaningful environments, grain may be regarded as aesthetically inferior to we must understand how meanings operate. Hes- real wood, because it fails to live up to its visual selgren5 describes three types of meaning, and “promise” to feel and sound like wood (especially three ways in which a meaning may arise from a when applied to plastic or metal). perception. The types of meaning are: For a perception to carry a meaning, it must be • signal: that which triggers an action on the part recognizable. Hesselgren5–6 and Prak7 stress the of the perceiver, such as an alarm or a traffic importance of gestalts, both in composing the envi- sign. A signal tells us to do something. ronment and in reading it. A gestalt is a structure, configuration, or pattern of phenomena that consti- • symbol: that which stands in place of something tutes a semantic unit with a meaning that is not else, such as the graphic tokens used in derivable from its parts. For example, a square is schematic engineering drawings. A symbol rep- immediately recognizable as such; its perceived resents something. “squareness” does not depend on a rational analysis of discreet edges and angles. In fact, such an analy- • expression – that which arises from the innate sis often serves to contradict an initial perception: state or nature of something, such as a facial what was thought to be a square may upon closer aspect. An expression reveals something about examination turn out to be a rectangle or rhombus; the expresser. its corners may be rounded, crossed, or unclosed. Within some small tolerance, a non-square stimulus To use a linguistic metaphor, these meanings might may give rise to the perception of a “square” gestalt. be categorized as verbs, nouns, and modifiers. The Forms that are perceived to deviate just slightly links from perception to meaning are: from a suggested gestalt – for example, just slightly off-square – are often regarded as imperfect, erro- • convention – agreement. A red octagonal traffic neous, or ugly. sign means “stop”. 183 tationally, there are three principal directions – up, The gestalts are the “words” of the vocabulary of down, and horizontal – and three basic architectural perceptions, from which higher-level meanings – elements – ceiling (or roof), floor, and wall. The sentences, paragraphs, and stories – are composed. walls, which bound the horizontal dimensions, are The flood of perceptions that we receive from the lo- not inherently distinct. North, south, east, and west cal environment create what Norberg-Schulz calls walls are all “walls”; none of them is a “floor” or the genius loci – the spirit of place:8 “ceiling”, nor are “floor” and “ceiling” interchange- able. Man dwells when he can orient himself within and identify himself with an envi- Distinctions between walls arise from higher- ronment, or, in short, when he experiences level analytical considerations that are not opera- the environment as meaningful. Dwelling tive at the deepest levels of meaning. This is re- therefore implies something more than flected in language: there is no simple linguistic “shelter”. It implies that the spaces where term for the concept of “east wall” or “west wall”. life occurs are places, in the true sense of the The cardinal directions acquired their distinct char- word
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