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Radu Tîrcă and Ștefania Hîrleață are students at University of Architecture and Urbanism 'Ion Mincu', Bucharest. At present, they lead their theoretical research on the subject of thermal towns and diploma projects in Govora Baths under the guidance of Stefan Simion, Irina Tulbure and Ilinca Paun Constantinescu. As students, they won second prize and best student project in a BeeBreeders international architecture competition - Mango Vynil Hub, third prize in a Zeppelin national competition - Prototip pentru comunitate, as well as other mentions in other competitions.
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The Final Frontier
The Space Race between USSR and the United States led to some of the most significant technological advances in recent times and culminated with the landing on the moon. Even if the flag that now stands on the surface of the moon is the star-spangled banner, the impressive feat would not have been possible without the input of some valuable German rocket engineers. At the same time, it has sparked a whole genre of science fiction surrounding space exploration. These ambitions slowly faded away, and space exploration almost came to a halt. Now governments are no longer leading the way but rather multimillionaire enthusiasts whose dreams are fueled by those science fiction stories. Ironically enough, Elon Musk can only legally employ American citizens.
Architects and designers are involved in this endeavor, imagining possible livable structures on Mars and the Moon. Yet, with a planet with draining resources, space exploration is always a subject that at times seems too exotic to be taken into consideration.
Images:
[1] J.F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson being briefed at the Cape Canaveral Launch Complex (1962)
[2] Tesla car in Space (2018)
