Urchin the Australian lunar village
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@L-i-am said in Urchin the Australian lunar village:
What are prices like where you are (I assume Ireland)
We are in the middle of a housing crisis. Rents are astronomical, house prices are astronomical and govt stupidity is also at astronomical levels.
But lets not derail @majid thread. These structures remind me of Acorn Barnacles you see at the coast.
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Biomimicry is such a cool device for inspiration from nature
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Take it easy mates, here is the corner bar. So I also join the discussion...
When I was a child, my grandma, had a small 2-rooms simple house with a detached smoked cooking room... yet a beautiful, Well planted garden... I would wish be architect to make a decent house for her. Unfortunately she passed away when I was at university, let alone that housing soared drastically so that I myself live in a rented house, have no idea when may own one.
We do not have housing crisis but the prices have nothing to do with the income...$80k an average house and $400 a rather good monthly salary!
Inflation also is so crazy that it is really challenging to save enough to keep the same rented place...very hard to save!
I will reflect on mimicry later. -
I am planning to work on affordable housing for my PhD. The side reason entering such a challenge also is the same..
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@pilou Inspiring and incredible. Thanks for sharing!
@L-i-am said in Urchin the Australian lunar village:
Mi Majid, interesting what is the Australian link/
Here is the link: https://set.adelaide.edu.au/atcsr/australian-space-architecture-challenge
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@L-i-am said in Urchin the Australian lunar village:
Biomimicry is such a cool device for inspiration from nature
Agreed if understood right. In many cases, it is just playing with forms (same misery with parametric architecture), nothing more, while we might be inspired by the forces that shaped those natural innovations. By "forces", I mean all chemical, mechanical, logical... forces that shape a phenomenon.
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@majid said in Urchin the Australian lunar village:
@L-i-am said in Urchin the Australian lunar village:
Biomimicry is such a cool device for inspiration from nature
Agreed if understood right. In many cases, it is just playing with forms, nothing more, while we might be inspired by the forces that shaped those natural innovations. By "forces", I mean all chemical, mechanical, logical... forces that shape a phenomenon.
This is a subject that holds a lot of interest for me. I find sharks beautiful not by deign but by evolution (although I don't fully endorse Darwinian theory in its entirety) the form of a shark is purely efficiency of hydrodynamics etc, etc. I also draw the analogy that I also find fighter jets beautiful almost in the extreme. There were no industrial designers or sculptors involved saying "I think if that was a little broader it would look more sleek and pretty" or "if we put the cockpit back a bit it would look more balanced. So every single part of the and the resultant jet is a beautiful at lease to me yet NO part of it was an aesthetic consideration. It was all based on pure logic based upon the skills of the design engineering and testing, even the additional considering the aircrafts radar foot print has added another function in balance with aerodynamic considerations turns out such a beautiful "sculptural" form.
Imagine when AI gets its hand on aircraft design, skies the limit
Who knows what innovation will be the form of future aircraft design will take. It may also seem organic both in form/ function...............print me an aircraft
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Well well, we share similar approach. Yet about AI: if works based on logic! It now works like us, so if you ask it to design a futuristic car, it wouldn't go so far from the "norm". Let me explain: It will not design an ionic-wind-powered vehicle, nor a triangular/circular form as the base shape; the result will be a rectangle (in plan). While many "forces" that shape the cars nowadays (or in the near future) are different from what shaped the cars in the past; cars are sort of "developed "carts". a rectangular cabin for the passengers and a place for the driver + engine (instead of horses) bumpers to protect the "CAR", etc...
We do not need drivers anymore so no need to stare at the road all the way long,
we might talk together , enjoy sightseeing, etc.. so there is no "front" direction force...
We need bumpers to protect "passengers," not the car... so they might be foamy, soft plastic materials, or energy absorbers such as sandbags, etc, nothing similar to today cars.... etc etc.... So yet we might think more creative if think logically and reimagine the design question. -
Exactly Majid, have an Industrial design degree. And if I was to sum it up a lot of the course was deprogramming. In its most simple explanation would be that in day one of the course you would be asked to design a chair. In our young heads and 99.99% of us would see the a stereotypical break down of a chair and visualise a flat plane for your butt perhaps 4 legs to keep you off the ground and perhaps a vertical plane to support you back. Whereas a trained designer very deliberately undo the brief from "design a chair" and change it to "Develop a device to support the human frame in an "X" environment" then we might study the human anatomy.
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I reimagined everything, from the way they might work. collaborate, feast, and party, etc... to dishes and details. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to explain...
Here is another hand-drawn sketch refined using Krita
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Here is the breakfast scene. Plates, table, etc are designed based on the main "triangle" theme.
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This post is deleted! -
I received an email declaring that I am included in the Honorable mention group, not really bad for a solo runner facing so many challenges, It is somehow rewarding
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Nicely done, Sir.
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Well done Majid
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Thanks, mates.
Here is a more detailed description of the project I shared on my LinkedIn, I saw it as a feasible Sci-Fi movie:
Urchin Shell Lunar Village:
When I started thinking about living on the Moon, my very first question was: "how can an astronaut truly feel good there?" Not just experiencing a dry and technical mission, but a place filled with life and meaning.
Throughout my design process, I tried to balance imagination with realism, innovation with constructability — what I call “the most optimized/balanced point.”
For example:
How can we create greenery that not only provides food but also shapes the interior atmosphere? My approach was to integrate genetically engineered plants along the walls to maximize both productivity and visual comfort.
And how can we design compression structures that are truly buildable on the Moon? Human history shows us that dome-shaped forms, even in the most remote places on Earth, can be constructed with minimal resources. This logic became the structural DNA of my project.
In the masterplan, I had to strike a balance between connection (for efficient use of shared facilities) and distance (for safety and robotic maintenance). The solution was a triangular–hexagonal grid, both flexible and highly optimized.
This principle of optimization is visible in every detail of the project:
A spoon that also works as a knife,
Triangular plates and trapezoidal tables that allow multiple configurations,
Flexible work zones designed for both individual and collective activities, anticipating a future where robots and augmented reality will redefine human tasks.
Urchin Shell is not only a lunar village that demonstrates the intelligence of its creators, but also a vision of a new quality of interplanetary living — where engineering, psychology, genetics, and avant-garde bio-technologies converge.
It represents a legacy for humankind: for those who finally had the courage to step out of the cradle. And yet, no matter how far we go, Earth will always remain our unique and irreplaceable mother — with all these new experiences ultimately dedicated to her protection and flourishing.
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I have a great deal of respect for synthesis Majid
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I agree with ^, development of form follows function so when we take lessons from nature we are listening to what is essentially already developed. Most of us do not see or listen. You are doing that for us. Majid, thanks for this lecture series.
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Biomimicry is a powerful tool
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Thank you mates. As mentioned, I tried to stand at the balancing point... Somewhere, I think is the optimum of function, form, construction, psychology, etc.
Biomimicry is really powerful, agreed.
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