The use of materials specially developed for space exploitation allows architects to design breathtaking shapes and new dimensions in new buildings. Architects, designers and builders are starting to develop houses that reduce energy consumption and incorporate new technologies. ESA’s SpaceHouse presents a concept design for a new habitation on Earth based on a series of innovative space technologies.

The SpaceHouse has a spherical shape with the basic dimension of from 12 to 40 metres in diameter allowing for 80 to 2000 m2 on up to five floors. It is designed to cope with:

• wind speeds of up to 220 km/h (10 second gusts)
• flooding to depths of up to 3 metres
• earthquakes of up to 7.5 on the Richter scale
• subsidence of up to 1.5 metres during the lifetime of the building
• severe hail and exceptionally heavy rain
• bush-fire resistance (to a certain extent)

It uses highly efficient solar panels from spacecraft to generate electricity, which is then stored in lithium-ion batteries, further optimized by the use of a special energy-management system power-point tracker developed for satellites. The house is super-insulated and uses advanced heating, cooling and ventilation concepts.