Constance Adams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Constance Adams is an architect who now works in the space program.
Adams studied sociology at Harvard University, then went on to Yale University, where she completed a master's degree in architecture. After a two-year apprenticeship with Kenzo Tange Associates in Tokyo, followed by four years working in Berlin on commercial and master planning projects, she was employed by the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where she now lives with her daughter.
Among other projexts, Adams was involved in developing the Lockheed-Martin design of an inflatable module for the International Space Station. The module, known as TransHab ("transit habitat"), was designed to provide living quarters for astronauts aboard the space station, including a common room, gymnasium, shower, etc. Budget considerations and delays, as well as politics, meant that the modeule failed to develop beyond the design stage.
The development of the TransHab technology has since been taken up by the private firm Bigelow Aerospace, which has advanced the technology for its expandable space modules and is launching prototype versions in 2006.
[edit] Quotations
- "A spaceship is a delicately balanced environment. Every element that doesn't contribute to the overall functioning of the system is by definition working against it. The same is true of our planet – our mothership – though sadly, most architecture today is slowly fatal to nature's systems." (Constance Adams)
