Abigail Wiinamaki’s Blog

Nov 14

Design Trend: Space Race 2.0

In recent years the space industry has undergone a renaissance.
Tech giants have been developing their own spacecrafts for commercial space travel and tourism.
The average trip to space on a private spacecraft costs between $200,000 to $500,000 per person.
According to Citigroup, the space industry is projected to reach $1tn in annual revenue by 2040.

As of 2021, at least 70 nations have some sort of space agency, representing all of the regions in the world.

Case Studies:

US based brand Jupe designed a futuristic, space inspired travel shelter. It is designed for off-grid living and is heavily influenced by spacecrafts and sci-fi aesthetics. The structure can be reassembled anywhere, allowing users of all socioeconomic status to experience their journey in a space-like environment.

Engineers at the German Aerospace Center built a high-tech indoor farm that allows farming in Antarctica with the potential for use on other planets. The larger goal of the project is to be able to perfect farming and food production on mars in the future. The container-sized greenhouse of the EDEN ISS project provides year-round fresh food supplementation for the Neumayer Station III crew.

My Takeaway:

In the near future, I believe we will see a resurgence in atomic and googie style design and architecture but modernized. In the 60s when the first space race occurred, it effected the whole culture. We saw atomic design arise as a direct result of that. I think that people will start to adopt more exaggerated forms and take a lot of inspiration from the technology in space travel and exploration. Like in the 60s design movement, I believe we will see more use of the starburst motif, curved steel beams, upswept ceilings and roofs, geometric patterns and shapes. I also feel like we will start to see shapes and concepts reminiscent of space crafts and UFOs again.

Sources: WGSN, Institute of Space Systems, LS:N Global, Flickr, Design