Life on Mars: Stefano Boeri envisions space-age dwellings

Milan Design Week 2018 is working on the future of housing, on the planet of the future: Mars. Space & Interiors is presenting an exhibition curated by Stefano Boeri that devises housing solutions. Respecting the planet is the first and fundamental point of this retrospective. It is conceived as an alien showroom, set on Mars, with an articulated selection of finishes, solutions and quality materials offering a vision of tomorrow. In a world where climate change and advancing technologies are on the agenda, the concept of life on Mars is much more relevant than you might think. NASA has done a lot of research into the possibility of building settlements on Mars. 

“Imagining a city from scratch on another planet without restrictions can trigger change on earth,” explains Boeri (who has curated a provocative scheme for a new Shanghai on Mars with Tongij University Future City Lab). The interpreters of these ideas belong jointly to the worlds of architecture, space and design: Carlo Ratti and Italo Rota, well-known architects, with Luca Parmitano and Valentina Sumini, winners of NASA’s competition to design the first hotel in space. Yibo Xu, director and partner of Stefano Boeri Architetti in Shanghai, will interface with Jakob Lange, who developed a Mars simulator for the Bjarke Ingels group. The concept of life in space has also been studied by the video maker and architect Giorgio Zangrandi and Davide Rapp, who produced the science fiction scenarios. Visitors are projected into a vision of the future, innovative and realistic. Oikos displays decorations for the home, combining eco-friendly materials and toxin-free paints, while Renolit produces high-tech surfaces for hospitals and offices. Stefano Boeri wants to show it was possible to go beyond commercial trends and novelties. “It’s a platform for studying the future and researching our relationship with the planet.” The boundaries between Earth and Mars are dissolving. The future is hic et nunc: here and now (in the exhibition).