For three weeks, the ‘EARTH to SPACE: Arts Breaking the Sky’ festival will fill the Kennedy Center with musicians and astronauts, poets and researchers, visual artists and engineers, actors and environmentalists, architects and astronomers, dancers and scientists, filmmakers and space designers. Foster + Partners has designed an exhibition for the festival, ‘From Earth to Space and Back,’ which asks visitors to imagine a future where humans have left their footprints on Mars, where the thrill of exploring uncharted worlds is within reach, and where technological advancements in space revolutionize life on Earth.
Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners, said: "The science fiction fantasies and inspirations of my youth are the project realities of today. Designing for space is about pushing the boundaries of innovation. The challenges we face in creating sustainable habitats on the Moon or Mars have inspired groundbreaking solutions for zero waste and zero emissions buildings on Earth. The technologies and materials developed for space exploration can revolutionize how we build and live in harsh climates, making our planet more resilient and sustainable."
Irene Gallou, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, added: “For over a decade, we have been working with the latest technologies – and industry-leading collaborators – to design extra-terrestrial habitats and explore opportunities for life in space. The Kennedy Center festival is an incredible occasion to showcase this work, which has the potential to transform the way we live. We hope that visitors will be inspired to think creatively and consider new possibilities for an alternative future.”
With scale models, 3D-printed structures, and captivating films, the practice’s exhibition presents groundbreaking projects and asks: Why should we build a second home on Mars? The answer goes far beyond curiosity. Space exploration unlocks new horizons for scientific discovery, pushing the limits of physics, biology, and psychology. Experiments on the International Space Station, for example, have already transformed our understanding of these fields. But Space isn’t just about science - it holds immense social and economic potential. Picture autonomous robots mining rare metals on the Moon, or digital and genetic archives preserved safely on Mars. The possibilities are boundless.
Back on Earth, Foster + Partners is pioneering projects that blend the dreams of space travel with real-world impact. Spaceport America, the first of its kind in the desert of New Mexico, was designed as the launch pad for the first space tourists, capturing the awe of interplanetary travel while treading lightly on the environment. Meanwhile, research into 3D-printed habitats for the Moon and Mars has led to innovations in sustainable construction, with advanced metal and concrete printing techniques shaping the buildings of tomorrow.
Since 2012, Foster + Partners has worked hand-in-hand with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to imagine habitats for other planets. Each new concept brings fresh insights on how we can design more responsibly, build more sustainably, and live more harmoniously on our own planet.
Supported by Branch Technology, this exhibition is an invitation to see how space exploration is not just about reaching the stars, but about shaping a better future here on Earth.
