MW

An architectural inquiry
by Michael Wang

I’m an architect asking a simple question.

The morning after
we land on Mars.

What happens next?

≈2,000hours of self-directed work

Follow the question
02 Get there

One object. Two lives.

How does part of a spacecraft become the first architecture on Mars?

The journey does not end at landing. It changes state.

Exploded architectural study of a spacecraft separating into modular elements
Transport system / detachable module study
  1. 01SpacecraftTransport
  2. 02DetachSeparate
  3. 03DeployReconfigure
  4. 04HabitatInhabit
Michael Wang's spacecraft approaching Mars
Approaching Mars A spacecraft conceived with its second life in mind. Original spacecraft visualization

Selected technical studies

When the question moved outside architecture, I followed it.

I studied aerospace and NASA research on spacecraft systems, payload constraints, environmental conditions and assembly—not to imitate engineering, but to make the architectural question more real.

01
Survive transit

Protect the detachable habitat.

A protective layer and high-strength net respond to orbital exposure and Martian dust before the module becomes architecture.

Orbital protection, net structure, dust resistance and material studies Open full image ↗
02
Change state

Dock, detach and deploy.

Active, hard and soft capture systems manage transfer. Foldable legs allow the released module to meet the surface.

Docking, capture, foldable leg and surface deployment studies Open full image ↗
03
Become habitat

Adapt, connect and inhabit.

Soil, anchoring, stability, assembly, ventilation and resource distribution turn a landed object into a settlement system.

Martian soil, habitat assembly, stability and resource distribution studies Open full image ↗
03 Build there

Not a masterplan. A growth system.

How does one habitat become a city?

Initial Mars base plan
01Initial base
Mid-sized Mars base plan
02Mid-sized base
Small Mars colony plan
03Small colony
Developed Mars city plan
04Mars city

6parametric iterations

4discarded schemes

14modular unit types

3growth transitions

The final city is only the version that survived.

Complete bird's-eye view of Michael Wang's Mars City proposal Open full image ↗
Mars City / complete aerialOne system. Many ways to live.
04 Live there

A habitat can keep you alive. What makes you want to stay?

Pathway between Mars habitat modules at sunrise
Between modules / a shared horizon
Bright communal interior looking onto the Martian landscape
Daily work / visual connection
Private lounge overlooking a Mars settlement
Privacy / observation

Survival is an engineering threshold.
Belonging is an architectural one.

05 What comes next

Get there → Build there → Live there

≈2,000 hours later,
I’m still asking what comes next.

I do not believe I have solved human habitation on Mars. The work is evidence of how I think: imagination, technical curiosity and relentless execution—always brought back to human experience.