Education for Aerospace Architects

Abstract

The design of habitats for extreme environments such as space requires a knowledge base that is not completely covered in either architecture or aerospace engineering curricula. This paper examines how typical architectural education should be augmented for space architectural design and suggests areas wherein both terrestrial architects and aerospace engineers can educate themselves. It reviews early attempts at space architecture education, and relates the curricula to an underlying architectural skill set. Conventional architectural licensure requires the mastering of technical and administrative skills for designing safe, functional, and comfortable modifications to the ambient environmental conditions of building sites. Space architecture vastly expands the range of environmental conditions that the designer may encounter and invalidates many unstated assumptions of terrestrial architecture. We propose that a curriculum in space architecture can be derived by making those assumptions explicit in the study of environmental technology, structures, materials, construction, and history (precedent), following the framework of the common architectural curriculum. Space architecture is emerging as a specialization. As with other fields of architectural specialization (health care facilities, resorts, tall buildings), practitioners will develop most of their specialized skills through apprenticeship and practice. The goal of space architecture education is to provide the foundation for subsequent professional development.