Towards a Martian Vernacular: Closed-Worlds and Infrastructures of Social Connectivity

Humanity is at the forefront in a new age of space travel and exploration. With the recent advancements in reusable rocket technologies by private and government organizations, the prospects of sending humans to Mars has never been brighter. However, the conditions of operating within self-sustaining environments on Mars can prove to be spatially limiting. While this situation encourages functional habitats responding very precisely to their technical engineering constraints, those very constraints can be stifling for human inhabitation and detrimental to physical and mental well-being. In response, this thesis draws on contemporary closed-world settlements and speculative science fiction narratives, to explore the intersection of technology, architecture and well-being on Mars. The research uses analytical mapping, rapid prototyping, and design explorations as the primary tools of investigation. This thesis posits that the psychological tolls of human inhabitation are mission critical and proposes infrastructures where future settlers can gather.