IKEA designers are learning about compact storage from NASA's space architect
Designers from IKEA are exploring space-saving solutions for tiny homes by living in an actual Mars research station. During the immersion workshop led by Constance Adams, NASA architect behind the habitat for the first human mission to Mars, the team examines the ways in which astronauts' insight could be translated to innovative furniture solutions for dense urban environments. 1
Confined in Utah’s Mars Desert Research habitat for three days—habitat diameter: 33 feet—the five-person team experienced the cramped living quarters and zero-waste living necessary to survive a journey to outer space. “I’ve got them on a schedule very much like a schedule a Mars crew would have,” explained NASA space architect and engineer Constance Adams, who trained the team. All six spoke to reporters via live satellite at IKEA’s June 7 open house in Älmhult, Sweden.
Adams was the architect behind the habitat for the first human mission to Mars, and notes that in addition to small living quarters, astronauts have to learn to take economical showers, familiarize themselves with resilient building materials, and prepare their own meals. (Because each kilo of mass costs $2 million to transport to Mars, no piece of packaging is wasted. Astronauts are even trained to convert the CO2-filtering plants they bring aboard into palatable meals.)
