By Cassandra Pizzey / 21-09-2011

Proposing the idea that the human race will one day very likely live on the moon, the Moon Life project is a stimulus for artists, architects and designers to create futuristic, radical, political but humane concepts for an extreme lunar environment. 

Design.nl previously brought you EDHV's take on tableware for the moon, the ground floor which usually houses SPRMRKT Specials now features designs from some twenty different creatives.

"We have created a sort of hybrid form in this space between a gallery and a shop, as most of the designs are also for sale," says Hilde de Bruijn, coordinator of Moonlife Amsterdam. "It also attracts a very broad audience; people who specifically come for the exhibition, people who know SPRMRKT and passers-by who would normally never visit an exhibition."

Among the designs aiming to improve our quality of life on the moon is Amsterdam-based Tao G Vrhovec Sambolec's Teethphones™. Visitors put on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and place a small disk in their mouth which is connected to a wire, when lightly biting down on the disk they can hear the everyday sounds of earth. "Because of the vacuum on the moon, we wouldn't be able to hear any sound. This devise plays on our feelings of nostalgia," De Bruijn explains.

Another design which cancels out background noise is Sarah van Sonsbeek's Faraday bag. Working on the principle that certain fabrics can suppress data traffic - from devises such as mobile phones, tablets or laptops - a number of these so-called Faraday bags were commissioned as democratic instruments for data silence in space. A useful tool for those wanting to be left alone in space, the bags - which actually work - seem like a handy tool for some on earth too.

But it's not only tangible objects which are on show, "artists, architects and designers all participated in the project. One of them was John Lonsdale who made an inspiring film about the future of the Moon." The film shows how 3-D printing techniques and motion capturing can be combined to create architecture. Moon dust will one day be used to build a full scale 3-D printed space station which is designed by astronauts wearing sensors to map out the best possible architecture.
Lonsdale also designed a set of bangles, which when combined form a model of such a moon dust building.

"There are so many inspiring and surprising designs on show. Because designers worked interdisciplinarily, unexpected products were created by unexpected people. It's also pretty amazing to see how each creative has a completely different take on the project!"
 
Other designs on show include United Nude's flatpack shoe, a carbon-fibre heeled shoe for indoor use in space which can be assembled and customized by the wearer; DUS architects Worldmoon, an idea to use the moon as a global cemetery, caught in a beautiful piece of jewelery; and fashion designer Marina Toeters' Human & Child, an exploration of fashion which incorporates high-tech materials which can protect you against the elements or make your home feel closer in outer space.

The designs all originate from the Moon Life Foundation, an interdisciplinary platform organization for research and innovation. Workshops are frequently held encouraging creatives to share knowledge and discover new technologies and materials.

The Moon Life project is an initiative of Alicia Framis in association with Archis, ArtHubAsia, ESA, NAi and SMART project Space.

Main image: United Nude Flatpack Shoe
Other images: 1. Liquifer Systems Group space suit 2. EDHV Tableware 3. Sarah van Sonsbeek, Faraday bag 4. Worldmoon 5. Human & Child 6. Moon Passports 7. The store

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