Architects Burak Celik, Zeynep Ege Odabasi, and Naz Kaplan Envision a Sustainable Martian Habitat

The Genesis v.2 prototype for a sustainable Martian habitat by architects Burak Celik, Zeynep Ege Odabasi, and Naz Kaplan en­visions a modular donut-shape design, constructed in situ, and nestled into a crater for a minimal footprint. The trio, who met while studying design at Bilkent University in Turkey, conceived its foundation as a central circulation tower surrounded by detachable rings of ice, so the colony can move to another crater and scale to accommodate population growth. The tensile bands comprise Genesis v.2’s manifold interior spaces: a library, private cabins, storage pods, mechanical systems, laboratories, and a greenhouse. And water from the exterior ice shell can be converted to rocket fuel, resulting in a truly self-sufficient habitat.

The idea of a Martian colony may seem phantasmagorical, yet its mixed-use building typology references vertical villas throughout the millennia, starting with Trajan’s Market in ancient Rome. The trio embraced this hybrid model, where astronauts and civilians will live and work in harmony. “We believe in the importance of community life,” Celik says, “even for extraterrestrial projects.”