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KYOTO SPACE LABORATORY - INTERIOR DESIGN
AND FLIGHT
TRAINING CENTER
In
a long run, cities prosper if they function as an atractor - if there is
a reason for people to bring and maintain an intellectual, financial and
production potential into them. If the individual human joy experienced
overweighs the individual suffering, their total sums attached to a particular
place forms something called "genius loci". Namely, if it is accumulated
and transferred from generation to generation. This must have been the
case of Kyoto for a long time. What might be the reason to ensure this
mechanism to continue in the future of, let us say, 50 - 100 years from
now? Non-material forms of wealth have been always valued and under conditions
of relative economic prosperity they gradually gain in importance. We know
that what we seek for are "New Frontiers" - as Americans put it. New, attractive
and challenging horizons to strive for. New goals and aims out of reach
enough to mobilize dreams and strengths, yet goals, which are still imbedded
in our value and belief systems. And, after all, which result in a material
well-being.
My
proposition is, that "Kyoto Space Lab - Interior Design and Training Center"
should serve as one of the long range frontiers. The idea is, as
the title says, two folded.
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First, a "Space interior design studio". Advanced space age industry, university
people - namely architects, psychologists, cultural antropologists,
etologists, ecologists and technicians should unite in creating visions,
projects and prototypes of environments, in which astronauts will live
for extensive periods of their lives. The task is to create convenient
and satisfying interiors for space vehicles, which not only simulate, but
become authentic and original environments which enable humans to sustain
their humanity over time.
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Second, a "Flight training center". Since creating such an architecture
is a job, which involves cross - cultural psychology, if it is to serve
to mixed crews, it is necessary to collect a knowledge of various nation’s
mentalities as they reflect environmental requirements and also to test
the long time endurance of communal life at a limited space so constructed.
These problems might not be very
new. New is the idea, that just Kyoto is the very right place to systematically
pursue their solution and to establish a distinctive, world-wide respected
"Kyoto school of space architecture". New reason to ensure prosperity and
distinctiveness of the city. Reasons are the following ones:
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Kyoto, as I expect, is one of the places with a strong "genius loci".
It has a powerful spiritual and cultural history as a former capital
of modern, dedicated and strong nation, which exhibited an ability
to learn fast as to exceed knowledge of those, they learned from
in the recent past. This nation which, at modern times, also
mastered the skill to cooperate with others on a global scale, yet
not loosing its distinctiveness.
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Japan, a member of "G7 club", is in a close contact with space industries.
It will be in a strong need to maintain leadership in most advanced
industrial endeavors. Space technology might be viewed as having
its "hardware" and "software" aspects. To create space design and
architecture might be regarded as the "soft" side of the coin: it
is knowledge-demanding, but without enormous investments to develop
and upgrade a new industry. This "soft" tasks are also ecologically
safe.
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There are numerous experiences in Japan with the use of computer
based design and simulation techniques (CAD/CAM) in the industry.
Virtual reality offers an excellent tool for much of what is being
proposed and is readily available in Japan.
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Traditional Japan architecture is also well known for its flexible
use of the same space to fulfill various functions (as contrasted
with Western tradition of architecture).
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Japan architecture had to find dramatically new ways how to react
to modern Western architecture, without loosing its traditional roots.
This skill (and experience) is also of a special advantage, not to
be found everywhere.
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Japan tradition in composing miniature gardens (symbolic samples
of the nature) with condensed the meaning of individual artifacts
is unique and world-wide known.
- Traditionally, Japanese people
have a strong spiritual tie to the nature and thus the environment
has a significant meaning to them. On the other hand, they are very
sensitive to it.
Let
me develop two above proposed functions of the Center in somewhat more
detail.
"A Space Interior Design Center".
Nowadays, technological and economic barriers reduce interiors of space
vehicles into a very tight machines, where men have an extremely limited
room for their personal well-being. Humans are understood only as a part
of man-machine system, where primarily his (her) basic physiological needs
are taken care of with marked difficulties. Psychologically, the only safeguards
to prevent breakdown are the communication links with base on Earth. For
a long-time stays in the outer space the design of an interior will play
much more vital role in sustaining mental well-being of crews - their vehicle
has to become their home, which they feel affectionate to.
To
use a metaphor, Japan culture used tiny samples of physical environment
as a mean to communicate with divine powers of the nature at large. Also
space vehicle crews will need a suitable samples of "environment" for man’s
mind to close a fictive communication feedback loop with the nature (the
chain being the mind, environment as a mirror - or the Divinity for some
- and back mind again). As I understand it, contemplation is based on such
feedback loops and this mechanism is known for ages. Since possibilities
to choose appropriate qualities of private (or even shared) environments
to serve to these purposes is severely limited, an extra care has to be
devoted to design available space - "the mind’s mirror" - of the vehicle
well. We all know the sometimes destructive role of positive feedback loops.
Crew
members of space vehicles, destined for a long time missions, not only
will have to be multi-technically trained, but also will have to "philosophers"
in a way. And their philosophy (mental state) will be grounded in their
immediate environment.
Even
some other, less philosophical questions, might become research projects
of the Laboratory. How will all the known physical qualities of interior
effect minds of crews (and their social interaction) under unknown conditions
of long-time isolation? Size and shape of space, its form and composition,
sources of light, colors, temperature, tactile qualities of materials used,
quality of air, sounds etc.? All these qualities had profound meaning in
the history of architecture of various cultures. How they will effect well-being,
mental state (and thus reliability) of crews? How will be the babies raised
there and what will be the environmental design environments in this respect?
How will their developmental needs be transformed into the flexibility
of the vehicle’s interior?
Time
and predictability of changes play also an important role in the behavior
of people. What should be the regime and the timing of various changes?
Importance of this all is underlined by a fact, that direct social interaction
on board, the only alternative to solitude, will be extremely dense and
also limited. A well known "submarine effect", often used in science-fictions,
might be unavoidable and without real solution. Under normal conditions
of flight, the only substitute solution might turn out to be the unpredictable
variation of internal environmental conditions. Certain randomness (as
to simulate weather changes) might be needed. Speaking of randomness, in
the strictly rational environment, what portion will be left for irrationality
of men?
Space
architecture might not be devoted only to shaping of the interior of vehicles.
Similarly as at the times, when cars were introduced, no one cared much
about their artistic design, it seems to us that the outer appearance of
space vehicles may be left only to engineers. It may well not be true in
the future and the school of spacecraft industrial design may become crucial
competitive advantage - if the industry will be under commercial pressures.
Then, how will the space architecture look like? What functions would it
serve to? Will there be anything like a "space ethics"? Will this esthetics
be left only to engineers or should it support the mental well being of
crews? What and by whom, under new conditions, will be considered as pretty
and what as ugly?
"A
Flight Training Center". Long time service on space vehicles is already
experimented with. Also multinational crews are being used. A great body
of literature summarizes experiences with training crews for (military)
missions worldwide. Training centers of this kind already exist, but since
to do space architecture for a long time missions well means
- to gather and project much of what
various cultures consist of into a new situation,
- to stay in a permanent contact
with technological developments,
- to incorporate the psychological
and sociological processes influencing the crew’s behavior,
it would be a pity not to use that knowledge
also for a less original purpose. Truly cross-cultural flight training
center still might be a novelty.
Surely
there are new niches in this area, which were not explored yet. Above,
I have mentioned randomness in the environment and irrationality of men.
What forms will obtain the "space individual and social pathology" and
psychopathology? Social psychologist have shown, that screening of individuals
can not prevent the origin of cruel behavior in groups. Etologists have
a lot to say about it.
If
the training of business managers includes more and more skills directed
to management of emotions and irrationality not only at the times of crises,
the more important it will be for a long time flights of isolated crews.
To
step even further from the original image of the Kyoto Space Training Center:
space medicine and space psychiatry are going to bloom within 100 years
- why Kyoto should not to be one of their founding centers? The doors to
the future, seems to me, are open in Kyoto.
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