Extra-terrestrial infrastructure design and architecture are experiencing a resurgence due to the prospect of permanent human presence on celestial bodies such as our moon and Mars. There, the conditions and constraints within which structural design and assembly should be developed are extreme – for example, scarcity of processed structural material, labour, machinery and imports from Earth. Consequently, the guiding design principles for building off-Earth should include efficient In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) and reusability. Significantly, these aspects have striking similarities to some characteristics of our vernacular construction history on Earth, such as inherent material efficiency and use of local materials. The majority of contemporary proposals for off-Earth design concern 3D-printed monolithic structures which are not reusable nor reconfigurable. As a result, there is scope for developing component-based, recyclable infrastructure which is based on efficient ISRU. In this research paper, we propose a two-fold assembly and structural design methodology which synthesises three-dimensional geometries in static equilibrium and vernacular construction techniques for deriving scaffoldless, component-based structures. This framework is underpinned by the development of a bespoke mechanically interlocking system which enables mortarless construction. This minimises the need for importing material binders and maximises the reconfigurability and reusability of off-Earth infrastructure.
MuellerRPraterTJRomanM, et al. NASA centennial challenge: three dimensional (3D) printed habitat, phase 3. In: 70th international astronautical congress (IAC), Washington, DC, 2019.
2.
DyskinAVEstrinYPasternakE, et al. The principle of topological interlocking in extraterrestrial construction. Acta Astronaut2005; 57: 10–21.
3.
ImhofBUrbinaDWeissP, et al. Advancing solar sintering for building a base on the moon. In: 69th international astronautical congress (IAC), Adelaide, Australia, 2017.
4.
ImhofBSperlMUrbinaD, et al. Using solar sintering to build infrastructure on the moon latest advancements in the Regolith project. In: 69th international astronautical congress (IAC), Bremen, Germany, 2018.
5.
KonstantatouMDall’IgnaMDierckxJ, et al. Learning lessons from Earth and space towards sustainable multi-planetary design. Spool2021; 8(2): 39–54.
6.
KalapodisNKampasGKtenidouOJ.A review towards the design of extraterrestrial structures: from regolith to human outposts. Acta Astronaut2020; 175: 540–569.
7.
ChowBJChenTZhongY, et al. Direct formation of structural components using a Martian soil simulant. Sci Rep2017; 7: 1151.
8.
MeurisseAMakayaAWillschC, et al. Solar 3D printing of lunar regolith. Acta Astronaut2018; 152: 800–810.
9.
FathyH.Architecture for the poor: an experiment in rural Egypt. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1976.
10.
WendlandD. Free-handed vault construction in the European building tradition: vaulting patterns in half-stone vaults. In: 13th international brick and block masonry conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2004.
11.
ChoisyA.L’art de bâtir chez les Byzantins. Librairie de la Société anonyme de publications périodiques. Paris, 1883.
12.
WilsonSH.Structural design of shallow masonry domes. PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2016.
13.
ParisVPizzigoniAAdriaenssensS.Statics of self-balancing masonry domes constructed with a cross-herringbone spiraling pattern. Eng Struct2020; 215: 110440.
14.
WendlandD.Traditional vault construction without formwork: masonry pattern and vault shape in the historical technical literature and in experimental studies. Int J Archit Herit2007; 1: 311–365.
15.
TodiscoLSanitateGLacorteG.Geometry and proportions of the traditional Trulli of Alberobello. Nexus Netw J2017; 19(3): 701–721.
16.
AbeilleJ. La voûte plate inventée par M. Abeille 1699. In: GallionJF (eds) Machines et inventions approuvées par l’Académie royale des sciences. Paris: chez Gabriel Martin, Jean-Baptiste Coignard, fils, Hippolyte-Louis Guerin, 1666-1701; 1: 159–161.
17.
DierichsKMengesA.Aggregate structures: material and machine computation of designed granular substances. Archit Des2012; 82(2): 74–81.
18.
Aejmelaeus-LindströmPWillmannJTibbitsS, et al. Jammed architectural structures: towards large-scale reversible construction. Granul Matter2016; 18(2): 28–12.
19.
CollinsGR.The transfer of thin masonry vaulting from Spain to America. J Soc Archit Hist1968; 27: 176–201.
20.
OchsendorfJ.Guastavino vaulting: the art of structural tile. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010.
21.
BlockPDeJongMDavisL, et al. Tile vaulted systems for low-cost construction in Africa. J Afr Technol Dev Forum2010; 7: 4–13.
OliverP.Encyclopedia of vernacular architecture of the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
28.
FitchenJ.The construction of gothic cathedrals. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1981.
29.
HeymanJ.The stone skeleton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
30.
RippmannMLachauerLBlockP.Interactive vault design. Int J Space Struct2012; 27(4): 219–230.
31.
AdriaenssensSBlockPVeenendaalD, et al. Shell structures for architecture: form finding and optimization. New York: Routledge, 2014.
32.
BillingtonDP.The tower and the bridge: the new art of structural engineering. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985.
33.
CasteleinSMAartsTFSchleppiJ, et al. Iron can be microbially extracted from lunar and Martian regolith simulants and 3D printed into tough structural materials. PLoS One2021; 16: e0249962.
34.
KurrerKE.The history of the theory of structures, from arch analysis to computational mechanics. Germany: Ernst & Sohn, 2008.
35.
CharltonTM.A history of theory of structures in the nineteenth century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
36.
BlockPOchsendorfJ.Thrust network analysis: a new methodology for three-dimensional equilibrium. J Int Assoc Shell Spatial Struct2007; 48: 167–173.
37.
BakerWFBeghiniLMazurekA, et al. Structural innovation: combining classic thoeries with new technologies. Eng J2015; 52: 203–218.
38.
AkbarzadehMVan MeleTBlockP.On the equilibrium of funicular polyhedral frames and convex polyhedral force diagrams. Comput Des2015; 63: 118–128.
39.
McRobieA.Maxwell and Rankine reciprocal diagrams via Minkowski sums for two-dimensional and three-dimensional trusses under load. Int J Space Struct2016; 31: 203–216.
40.
McRobieABakerWMitchellT, et al. Mechanisms and states of self-stress of planar trusses using graphic statics, part II: applications and extensions. Int J Space Struct2016; 31: 102–111.
41.
MitchellTBakerWMcRobieA, et al. Mechanisms and states of self-stress of planar trusses using graphic statics, part I: the fundamental theorem of linear algebra and the airy stress function. Int J Space Struct2016; 31(2–4): 85–101.
42.
KonstantatouMD’AcuntoPMcRobieA.Polarities in structural analysis and design: n-dimensional graphic statics and structural transformations. Int J Solids Struct2018; 152–153: 272–293.
43.
D’AcuntoPJasienskiJPOhlbrockPO, et al. Vector-based 3D graphic statics: a framework for the design of spatial structures based on the relation between form and forces. Int J Solids Struct2019; 167: 58–70.
44.
HeymanJ.Basic structural theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
45.
RankineWJM. A manual of applied mechanics. London: Charles Griffin, 1858.
46.
FraternaliF.A thrust network approach to the equilibrium problem of unreinforced masonry vaults via polyhedral stress functions. Mech Res Commun2010; 37: 198–204.
47.
SchekHJ.The force density method for form finding and computation of general networks. Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng1974; 3: 115–134.
48.
PikerD.Kangaroo: form finding with computational physics. Archit Des2013; 83: 136–137.
49.
DeJongM.Seismic assessment strategies for masonry structures. PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2009.
50.
FerreiraTMCostaAACostaA.Analysis of the out-of-plane seismic behavior of unreinforced masonry: a literature review. Int J Archit Herit2015; 9(8): 949–972.
51.
LourençoPBOliveiraDVRocaP, et al. Dry joint stone masonry walls subjected to in-plane combined loading. J Struct Eng2005; 131(11): 1665–1673.
52.
Restrepo VélezLFMagenesGGriffithMC.Dry stone masonry walls in bending—part I: static tests. Int J Archit Herit2014; 8(1): 1–28.
53.
BuiTTLimamASarhosisV, et al. Discrete element modelling of the in-plane and out-of-plane behaviour of dry-joint masonry wall constructions. Eng Struct2017; 136: 277–294.
