Volume Zero announces winners of the 2018 Marsception Competition

Volume Zero has announced winners of the Marsception competition, a challenge to envision a habitat for the first colonizers of Mars. Participants were prompted to consider research conducted within the facility as well as architecture to define a future civilization on Mars. The top three winners were awarded a total prize money of $4000, while ten entries received honorable mentions. The jury for the competition consisted of designers Daniel Caud (Tetrarc), Dr. Margot Krasojevi (Margot Krasojević Architecture), Shahin Heidari (New Wave Architecture) and Britta Knobel Gupta (Studio Symbiosis). 

FIRST PLACE (pictured above)
Participants: Thomas Goessler (Austria)

The human base is proposed to be situated in the area of Arcadia Planitia and entails different survival aspects for its habitants. The vision of the design is “a self-sustaining system which not only provides humans with what is necessary to survive but also fulfils their social and psychological needs”.

SECOND PLACE
Participants: Agata Mintus, Leszek Orzechowski, Wojciech Fikus (Poland)

The design aims at protecting the future humans on Mars from low pressure, radiation, toxic regolith contamination and low temperatures. The participants believe that “Architecture must not only shield from outside environment - it must provide - it must process - it must be all what a natural habitat is”. Based on the circulation concepts from the ESA MELISSA project, the design aims at providing a habitable environment for the future civilizations on Mars.

THIRD PLACE
Participants: Renzo Lopez (USA)

The BOUNCE LAB is a futuristic research centre that is conceptualized like a living organism. “The structure is a recreational and kinesthetic exploration environment which shields humans from the dangers of living on Mars, while eliminating the claustrophobic feeling currently associated with space exploration”.