2. "Space Settlements"
Author: Fred Scharmen
Published by Columbia Books on Architecture and the City, 2019
Last Sunday [May 31, 2020 - editor's note], astronauts from the Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station. Its interiors are cramped tunnels, all the walls of which are laden with equipment. By their side, Han Solo's decrepit Millennium Falcon offers a luxurious, expansive space. In the book we find both the idea of space settlements, movie sets, and read about their influence on ordinary earthly construction. The iconography of space is fascinating - from Syd Mead's detailed illustrations to science-fiction book covers and NASA's graphic identity. Reflections of scientists are mixed with dreams of space colonization and warnings about the end of humanity. As if in spite of all this, the book opens with the words of Gil Scott-Heron: The guy just raised my rent because White is on the moon.
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