The ABIBOO studio led the architectural design of a self-sufficient and sustainable city on Mars that can accommodate one million people. ‘nüwa’ is part of a comprehensive scientific work for a competition organized by the marching society, and fully developed by the SONet network, an international team of scientists and academics led by astrophysicist guillem anglada, who led the discovery of exoplanets proxima-b. taking into account the atmospheric conditions, ABIBOO chose the side of a cliff on Mars to build a vertical city, with the design and construction systems due to the harsh conditions of the planet. “if we were to build the buildings like on earth, the buildings would tend to explode from the pressure,” says Alfredo Muñoz, founder of ABIBOO. “The solar and gamma rays on Mars have forced us to build spaces that are not directly exposed to the sky.”
all photos ABIBOO studio / SOnet (reproduced by Gonzalo Rojas, Sebastian Rodriguez and Verónica Florido)
images and video © ABIBOO studio / SOnet
the design by ABIBOO contains five cities, with ‘nüwa’ as its capital. each city houses between 200,000 and 250,000 people and follows the same urban strategy. ‘abalos city’, for example, is located in the north pole to access the ice, while ‘marineris city’ is located in the most extensive gorge of the solar system. The ABIBOO solution is a flexible and scalable model that can be easily applied to many other areas of Mars.
together with academics and other members of SONet, the architects have developed solutions for structures that protect residents from radiation on Mars, ensure indirect access to sunlight, protect against potential impact of meteorites and the atmospheric pressure difference between the inside and outside of buildings . furthermore, the urban setup had to take into account the life support systems, such as food, air and water production.
‘nüwa’ sits on the slope of one of the cliffs of Mars with abundant access to water, with a steep terrain that offers the opportunity to create a vertical city in the rock, protected from radiation and exposed to indirect sunlight. ‘Macro-buildings’ are excavations within the rock of the cliff – implemented after tunneling, they are modular and include residential and work activities, connected by a three-dimensional network of tunnels. The modules consist of two floors and have a tubular shape of 10 meters and 60 meters long. three residential and three work modules provide a very flexible and scalable opportunity to recombine the programs as needed. all modules contain green areas and urban gardens with animals and water bodies designed to provide physical well-being, and spaces for art. to create an emotional connection with the earth, the design team included large, artificially created two natural spaces called ‘green domes’ – one that allows human presence and acts as parks, and another that includes experimental vegetation in an environment with a pure Mars atmosphere.
meanwhile, the ‘macro-buildings’ on the cliff are connected to high-speed hoisting systems, similar to skyscrapers on earth. this infrastructure also connects the bottom of the cliff with the top and has intermediate stops at the ‘sky lobby’, which connects the ‘macro buildings’ with a separate elevation system. the highest point of the cliff is the mesa – a vast plain containing the infrastructure dedicated to manufacturing, food production and energy generation.
at the foot of the cliff, large pavilions with translucent skin offer a view of the landscapes of Mars and a space for social interaction in the valley. the domes are protected by external radiating canopies against external radiation. the material of the stone’s excavation is poured on top of the roofs and protected from radiation. at the same time, this strategy ensures recyclability even on a large scale.
in the valley, specific structures house hospitals, schools and universities, sports and cultural activities, shopping malls and train stations that communicate with the spacecraft. an artificial mountain created with additional materials extracted from the excavations serves as a visual framework for the city and contains auxiliary energy systems, storage and parking for robbers and trucks inside the city.
a human settlement on Mars also needs structures to fulfill the essential functions of air, water and food production. in ‘nüwa’ and its adjoining cities, all the architectural constructions contain additional safety aspects to regulate the internal atmospheric pressure and provide refuge zones for emergencies. air showers were placed at each ‘macro-building’ entrance to clean and sterilize as health protection measures.