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Habitat: The Underground: The Future?

Posted 35 months ago|2 comments|1,043 views
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A reseacher in Vancouver, WA, who also lived in Norway ( and Sweden and Alaska), is doing interesting stuff on underground habitats for future generations. See her blog here, and comment. Her name is Annika Lundqvist.

http://habitatunderground.blogspot.com


She writes:

"I am fascinated by your Polar City concept -- http://pcillu101.blogspot.com -- I just saw it last week online through one of the blogs featuring it. I am possibly even more fascinated that it is being slated to happen in Longyearbyen, Norway but the prospect of the concept happening in Alaska, Canada, Russia and elsewhere is exciting.

I heard about this through a blog and I joined the blog-osphere recently myself. I was quite inspired that some people (you and several others) are projecting such concepts to occur within the next decade. I've been a fan of "experimental" living concepts for awhile, but it is by far underground spatial concepts that dominate my interest.


http://habitatunderground.blogspot.com

More to come there, I just started the blog.


The beginnings of what I write there pretty much outline my interest. As a graduate student about 7 years ago I did research on Underground Space and human use of it ( history of using it, psychological and design factors and more). I maintain serious interest in the issue, particularly projects that call for occupancy beyond what we typically see with most underground installations.


.....I also agree that the time to start discussing these models is now. Part of my own personal work is just uncovering the studies, architectural concepts and dialogue that has been going on with this in the past century, as well as connecting with individuals who work with these issues.
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35 months ago: Subterranean Psychology

FROM HER BLOG:




“Many of the problems associated with living in subterranean habitats are not technological ones, but rather are related to the degree of social acceptance of the concept and to the individual’s perception of the space.”

-Golany, 1996




(Image from Geo-Space Urban Design, Gideon S. Golany & Toshijo Ojima)





Psychological and physiological issues are not uncommonly cited as one of the “problems” associated with human use of underground space. It is indisputable that technological factors are paramount in the creation of subterranean habitats. As indisputable is the reality that public perception of human's limited role in relation to underground space will persist in the idea of such developments being seen as 'futurist' and visionary or impossible.




Perhaps alongside funding, it is general conceptions of underground space, and notions of where humans are “supposed” to live, that prove to be one of the most constraining factors for acceptance of subterranean models. Fortunately, it seems there is substantial niche interest in subterranean buildings and related projects that would demand a high rate of human occupancy. Marketing these ideas to the masses has never really been a goal anyway.




Moving beyond the psychology of public opinion, however, is the much more relevant range of issues relating to the psychology of actually inhabiting underground space.


35 months ago: http://northwardho.blogspot.com/2009/06/polar-cities-and-preliminary-sketch-of.html

see news here too

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