Blog

Barbara Imhof invited to speak on Industry and Science at the ‘The Future of the Moon – A habitat on the moon’ for the School of Architecture Strasbourg. 01 March 2021

Dr. Barbara Imhof, Waltruat Hoheneder and René Waclavicek discuss the parameters of designing for life in space with DNA club during their weekly Sprechstunde. 18 Feb 2021

Barbara Imhof was interviewed by Igor Zacek & Adam Gala for Vytahmag for their new series on visions of the world where space flight is common, humanity has landed on Mars, and built a permanent base on the Moon.    

A Space Architecture Gathering with AIAA LA-LV Section, Barbara Imhof gives a talk about SHEE, MOONWALK and EDEN ISS in the Session “Simulators and Simulations“ joining guests Prof. Madhu Thangavelu, Prof. Bernard Foing – Advanced Projects, European Space Agency, Dr. Pascal Lee – Mars Institute, Dr. Angelo Vermeulen – SEADS Network, Dr. Bob Zubrin – Mars […]

RADIO ORANGE BROADCAST with Irish engineer, scientist, writer and performer Niamh Shaw recently voted one of Ireland’s leading science communicators and STEAM specialists (merging science, technology, engineering, arts and maths). Niamh believes in Dreaming Big and is on a mission to get to Space. 15 DEC 2020

WIA-E Rome invited Barbara Imhof, internationally active space architect, design researcher, educator and co-founder of LIQUIFER Vienna and Bremen to give a lecture exploring the implications of space as an environment for future habitation. 15 Dec 2020

René Waclavicek invited by Society of Engineering Students to give a Lunch Lecture at the Aerospace Engineering Faculty, TU Delft, The Netherlands. 14 December 2020

Nelly-Ben Hayoun interviews Barbara Imhof as part of a non-stop multiperspective conversation for The University of the Underground Multiverse Programme. 7 Dec 2020

Barbara Imhof in conversation with Melodie Yashar, SEArch+; Madhu Thangavelu, USC; Enrico Dini, D-Shape and Valentia Sumini, MIT Media Lab as part of the Digital Futures series hosted by Tongji University, Shanghai. For the 10th Anniversary conversations will address the implications of Covid 19 for the future of architecture and urban design. Watch here. 14 […]

Barbara Imhof, Lucie Strecker, Barbis Ruder, Kerstin Bennier, Daniel Aschwanden, Thomas Jelinek amongst others developed and were actors in a collaborative habitat simulation and performance. Online & at the ODEON Spitzer, Vienna. 6 & 7 November 2020

Barbara Imhof, Austrian Space Architect, Creator of Habitats & Designer in conversation with Dr. Niamh Shaw, a writer/performer, scientist and award-winning communicator with a mad passion for sharing space with the public. Listen here. 28 October 2020

RADIO ORANGE BROADCAST with artists and designers Joseph Popper and Sitraka Rakotoniaina who probe the materialisation of futures through public co-enquires. In this conversation we discuss how they have used outer space futures as narratives for artistic construction and practices of collective imagination. 19 OCT 2020

StarDust Squad Online International Science Congress. Barbara Imhof speaks on the Outer Space Architecture panel with: Samer El-Sayary, Mars City Design Ambassador for the Middle East Olga Bannova, Director, SICSA Melodie Yashar, co-founder of Space Exploration Architecture (SEArch+) Xavier De Kastelier, Principal / Head of Design Technology and Innovation at Hassel Kriss J. Kennedy, Space […]

Co-Corporeality board member workshop to investigate the potential of narratives in architectural themes beyond the usual building project. Barbara Imhof moderates a series of presentations and a panel conversation with board members of the Co-Corporeality project. Presentations to be given by: Petra Gruber, Associate Professor, BRIC Core Faculty, Mary Schiller Myers School of Art and […]

IoT Tribe Space Endeavour Design Studios I ESA Phi-Week 11:30 – 13:30 CEST Moderated by Brendan Rowan • Clara Grigore, COO, Société Genérale • Barbara Imhof, CEO & Co-Founder, Liquifer • Ghizlaine Amrani, Co-Founder, QuantCube Technology • Skevi Perdikou, Co-Founder, Geofem 30 September 2020

“Wohnen hinterm Mond /Living behind the moon”, online article by Michaela Veit-Wailzer, July 2020, The Viennese space architects LIQUIFER take off with extraterrestrial living design. (in German)

Barbara Imhof presents the achievements of LIQUIFER in space architecture at the 2020 AIAA Los Angeles-Las Vegas Space Architecture Gathering 22 August, 2020 Download Flyer

Alongside prominent international space figures such as Jan Wörner, ESA Director General and Nick Appleyard, Head of Space Solutions at ESA, Barbara Imhof discusses how we can use space to improve life on Earth during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Replay of a discussion between European experts on how to reinvent your business model in […]

Architektur am Limit ohne Schwerkraft by Astrid Kuffner, July 2020

Growing Structures: Bioinspired Innovation Insights for Architectures and Robotics Barbara Imhof invited to speak about Space Architecture in relation to the workshop theme as part of the conference Living Machines 2020, 28 July 2020

ERES Foundation, Munich, Germany. ZERO GRAVITY: Apollo 11 and the new notion of space, 20 July 2019 – 1 February 2020. LIQUIFER exhibiting video documentary and 3D-printed model by Bollinger + Grohmann from project RegoLight

LONGING, ART AND SCIENCE Natural History Museum (NHM), Vienna, Austria. OUR MOON: LONGING, ART AND SCIENCE, 30 October 2019 – 1 June 2020. LIQUIFER exhibiting a 3D-printed model of a sustainable moon base Image credit: Bruno Stubenrauch

Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, New York, USA. RESIDENT ALIEN, 25 September 2019 – 17 February 2020. LIQUIFER exhibiting drawings, renderings and visualizations

Of An Architectural Journey Musings towards a new genre in [space] architecture Transcripts Of An Architectural Journey – Musings towards a new genre in [space] architecture Editors: Barbara Imhof and Susmita Mohanty Funded & Published by Austrian Chancellery of Art, 2005.

Volume 25: Getting There Being There  While the Earth needs our utmost attention more than ever, we cannot ignore the fact that the Moon is re-entering the popular imagination. Space travel is on the verge of becoming a tourist option, and a whole industry is working towards lunar settlement as intermediate step to probe deep […]

2015 Delhi, India The Undivided Mind, Art & Science Residency, Khoj, International Artists’ Association 16–28 February 2015 City as a Spaceship, exploration topic probed by Barbara Imhof, Sue Fairburn, and Susmita Mohanty

2016 Rio Tinto, Spain Mars Mission Simulation 16-29 April 2016 Testing key technologies for project MOONWALK Included participants: Barbara Imhof, Waltraut Hoheneder, Bob Davenport, René Waclavicek

2016 Marseilles, France Lunar gravity Simulation – off-shore Marseilles 6-10 June 2016 Testing key technologies for project MOONWALK Included participants: Barbara Imhof, Waltraut Hoheneder

2017 Antarctica Mobiles in Mobile – 1st Antarctic Biennale Expedition 17–28 March 2017Commissioned by Alexander Ponomarev, Curated by Nadim SammanIncluded participants: Barbara Imhof, Susmita Mohanty

2018 Hunga Tonga, Hunga Ha’apai, Tonga Islands, South Pacific Deep Sea Minding, Thyssen-Bornemisza Academy, The Current II Expedition #1 20 August – 4 September 2018Led by artists SUPERFLEXIncluded participants: Barbara Imhof Deep Sea Minding Podcast

WHAT IS THE ARCHITECT DOING IN THE JUNGLE? WHAT IS THE ARCHITECT DOING IN THE JUNGLE? BIORNAMETICS – Architecture defined by natural patterns Editors: Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber Publisher: Springer, Series: Edition Angewandte, January 2013.

Blending Architecture and Biology BUILT TO GROW – Blending Architecture and Biology Editors:  Barbara Imhof, Petra GruberPublisher: Birkhäuser, Series: Edition Angewandte, November 2015.ISBN 978-3-0356-0920-2

Executive Summary Self-Deployable Habitat for Extreme Environments (SHEE) – Executive Summary (2016) European Union – 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (EU-FP7), in the frame of Space

MOONWALK: the comic book (download) Editor: MOONWALK consortium, 2016 The project received funding from the Europen Union’s Seventh Framework programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 607346. Idea, story and comic design drawings: Waltraut Hoheneder, LIQUIFER Systems Group, Vienna Cover image: Barbara Imhof, Waltraut Hoheneder, LIQUIFER Systems Group, Vienna

Executive Summary MOONWALK – Executive Summary (October 2016) European Union – 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (EU-FP7), in the frame of Space

Executive Summary EDEN ISS – Executive Summary (April 2019) European Union – Horizon 2020 (EU-H2020) project, topic of Space exploration / Life support

Executive Summary Living Architecture – Executive Summary (June 2019) European Union – Horizon 2020 (EU-H2020) research project, FET-Open

July 2019 – August 2021European Space Agency (ESA) project Trailer develops a novel architecture for the robotic cooperation between two rovers working in tandem in lunar surface exploration missions. The system is comprised of one agile and power-heavy rover TRACTOR, equipped with high-performance locomotion and navigation technology, a wireless transceiver, short-term energy storage, and sample […]

Providing a path for the standardized production of flavonoids January 2019 – December 2022European Union – Horizon 2020 (EU-H2020), Industrial Leadership grant for R&D activities in the field of Biotechnology Using knowledge gained on the use of Synthetic Microbial Consortia (SMC) to perform targeted tasks in project Living Architecture(link), LIQUIFER Systems Group fabricates ceramic membranes […]

responsive spaces in the era of biomediality May 2019 – April 2022 Austrian Science Fund (FWF) as part of PEEK 2018 cocorporeality.net Co-corporeality proposes new aesthetic and technological approaches for establishing interaction between a human and a living material in the creation of a responsive environment. The performative architecture that is created is able to […]

International Habitation module for the lunar orbital platform July 2018 – September 2019European Space Agency (ESA) Phase A/B study, under a subcontract to Airbus Bremen This Phase A-B1 study includes the design concept phase of the international habitation module (i-HAB), part of the GATEWAY Lunar Orbital Platform, a collaboration between ESA, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, and […]

metabolic apps for transforming our habitats from inert spaces into programmable sites April 2016 – June 2019European Union – Horizon 2020 (EU-H2020) research project, FET-Open Living Architecture is a next-generation, selectively-programmable bioreactor. It is envisioned as an integral component of human dwelling in the future, capable of extracting valuable resources from light, wastewater and air […]

Complete list of exhibitons 2024 MARS. Die Entdeckung des roten Planeten. LavaHive – 3D-printed Marsbase in Haus der Natur, Salzburg, Austria. November 2024 – Ocotber 2026 (opening 28.11.2024) KIKK – Stellar Scape, Namur, Belgium. Astronomy and space exploration. LIQUIFER presents SHEE. 22.06.24 to 26.01.25 rauminhalt_harald bichler – space & content, Vienna, Austria. LIQUIFER. Living Beyond […]

Ground Demonstration of Plant Cultivation Technologies and Operation in Spacefor Safe Food Production on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and Future Human Space Exploration Vehicles and Planetary Outposts March 2015 – February 2019European Union – Horizon 2020 (EU-H2020) project, topic of Space exploration / Life support A sustained human presence in space requires the development […]

Conceiving a lunar base using 3D-printing technologies January 2018 – November 2018European Space Agency (ESA) general study  Logistics remains as one of the major constraints in long-term human space missions. Space agencies have shown great interest in the utilization of lunar resources as the next logical step in implementing a global strategy for human exploration […]

Sintering regolith with solar light November 2015 – April 2018European Union – Horizon 2020 (EU-H2020) project, topic of 3D-printing / Advancement of TRL Future human activity on the lunar surface will use 3D-printing to build infrastructure from lunar soil (regolith) using the sun as the only source of energy. Today this technology is considered disruptive, […]

March 2015 – March 2018European Space Agency (ESA) general study, under a subcontract to COMEX The International Space Station (ISS) is slowly approaching the end of its mission (2028). The European Space Agency (ESA) and international partners are considering new mission targets for the future of human space exploration in the post-ISS era. Highest ranked […]

Permanent Exhibition by LIQUIFER at the Vienna Technical MuseumSince October 2014 The Erdöl und Erdgas (Oil and Natural Gas) exhibition explores the dependence that high-tech and mobile societies have on petroleum and natural gas for the maintenance and continuation of everyday life. Fossil fuels enable transportation and generate electricity, as well as serve as the […]

Human-Robot Collaboration November 2013 – October 2016European Union – 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (EU-FP7), in the frame of Space MOONWALK develops innovative technologies for cooperative human-robot space exploration (robot-assisted Extravehicular activity (EVA)). It uses and develops further European infrastructure and validates new technologies for use under simulated extraterrestrial planetary conditions (low […]

Growing As Building May 2013 – February 2016Research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) as part of PEEK 2012 GrAB takes growth patterns and dynamics from nature and applies them to architecture with the goal of creating a new living architecture. The aim of the project GrAB is to develop architectural concepts for […]

Self-deployable Habitat for Extreme Environments January 2013 – December 2015European Union – 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (EU-FP7), in the frame of Space To integrate human labour into construction on the lunar or Martian surface is very risky, complex and costly.  Therefore, it is imperative to plan for construction methods that are […]

Analogues for preparing robotic and human exploration on the moon – needs and concepts September 2014 – October 2015European Space Agency (ESA) general study In view of lunar exploration, which is foreseen to be one of the next steps in human space exploration, lunar analogues are, and will continue to be, powerful tools to support […]

August 2015 Competition – NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge – 2015 World Maker Faire New York, NYThird Prize LavaHive is a modular 3D-printed Mars habitat using a novel construction technique called lava-casting. The habitat is made from the readily available surface material found on Mars called regolith and uses the abundant energy resource of the sun […]

Forward Acquisition of Soil and Terrain for Exploration Rover November 2011 – November 2014European Union – 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (EU-FP7), in the frame of Space FASTER – the Forward Acquisition of Soil and Terrain for Exploration Rover describes an alternative method of collecting surface information of an unknown terrain during […]

Space is not somewhere out there. It is all around us. Exhibition by LIQUIFER at the Vienna Technical MuseumOctober 2013 – January 2015 The exhibition SPACE focuses on outer space – a space without perceptible limits that surrounds our planet earth. Though we still know very little about it, outer space has inspired human thinking […]

Architecture Defined by Natural Patterns 2010 – 2013 Research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) in frame of PEEK 2009 This arts-based research project sought to discover the New Ornament (a concept derived from Adolf Loos’s seminal text Ornament and Crime) through means of emerging design practices based on digital techniques and Biomimetics […]

from subsea to moon  2012LIQUIFER in-house project co-funded by COMEX & Delft University of Technology The objective of the MEDUSA project is to test critical elements in the design and utilization of future inflatable habitats for the use on the moon, Mars, or in orbit. The concept is for the development of a fully submerged […]

A sleeping bag for zero gravity 2010 – 2012LIQUIFER IN-house project co-funded by the Austrian Aeronautics and Space Agency (ALR) of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as part of ASAP 7 The ISS – Sleep Kit is a sleeping bag developed for zero gravity and for use at the International Space Station (ISS). LIQUIFER […]

Vienna, Austria Private residence – renovation 2010 The conversion of a private residence in Vienna sought to provoke feelings of transcendence from planet earth to a realm more mysterious. The materiality of surfaces and their inherent characteristics are considered as drivers in the design. Transparencies and the reflection of light are carefully articulated to create […]

Rover for Advanced Mission Applications November 2007 – February 2009European Space Agency (ESA) project /under subcontract to Thales Alenia Space, as part of Surface Architecture Studies Parameters and design constraints for a mobile research laboratory as surface architecture applicable to the moon and Mars are researched and analysed and serve as the basis scientific and […]

Permanent Exhibition at BIOS National Park Center in Mallnitz, Carintha, Austria Since 2008/09 The BIOS National Park Ranger exhibition allows visitors to simultaneously learn about and simulate the duties and responsibilities of park rangers through the use of interactive media stations. In an unconventional and inspiring format, information is relayed through a series of games […]

for Space Stations for the International Space Station 2007 – 2009LIQUIFER in-house project co-funded by the Austrian Aeronautics and Space Agency (ALR) of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FGG) as part of ASAP 5  The concept of a deployable getaway stems from the problem of fatigue and its impact on both the quality of life […]

for the Office 2007 LIQUIFER IN-house project co-funded by Departure – the creative agency of the City of Vienna [BI1]* The Deployable Getaway for the Office is a mobile, ergonomic and transformable ‘cocoon-like’ structure that employees may utilize during the work day for the purpose of rejuvenation. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that a 20-30 […]

MObiles KIndermuseum 2007 Competition proposal for FESTO, Austria MOKI – MObiles KIndermuseum is the design proposal created by LIQUIFER for the invited competition sponsored by FESTO, and is based on LIQUIFER’s ongoing interest in transformable spaces. The mobile children’s museum transforms from car, to trailer, and ultimately into an inflatable exhibition pavilion. The deployable structure […]

Living In The Future 2007 Competition – BUWOG, Vienna All Live Differently is a housing structure that enables flexible accommodation of its different inhabitants. Fictional user profiles such as: conventional family, individual, small group, single parent, young couple, and patch work family are defined to aid in the creation of new apartment typologies. The design […]

Information Center, Vienna International Airport Permanent Exhibition by LIQUIFER at the Vienna International Airport Since (2006-2007) The VISITAIR Information Center at the Vienna International Airport permits the exchange of information between a broad spectrum of people and entities through the means of four interactive media stations, each dedicated to a specific topic. The integrative media […]

Is there life on Mars? Installation by LIQUIFER at the Planetarium, Vienna, Austria, part of the exhibition “die wahr/falsch inc.” by SCIENCE COMMUNICATIONS June – July 2006 BEFLECKTE ERKENNTNIS is an interactive outdoor installation designed by LIQUIFER and explores the theme of evidence to hypothesis, inspired by the work of an interdisciplinary team of Hungarian […]

Facility for Integrated Planetary Exploration Simulation 2005 – 2006 European Space Agency (ESA) Phase A – Definition study The feasibility of an integrated simulation facility for a planetary exploration habitat, permitting research in the life sciences including operational medicine and psychology, environmental research (including life support and associated technologies) and exobiology was researched in this […]

Exhibition by LIQUIFER at the ZOOM Kinder Museum, Vienna, Austria September 2005–March 2006 This interactive exhibition for children between 6-12 years of age featured a multi-media experience of a rocket launch, and simulation opportunity for the reoccupation of the deserted space station SKYLAB 5. Digital animations are combined with architectural designs that can be physically […]

A flagship mission of the Aurora program 2004Consultants to European Space Agency (ESA) In 2001, the European Space Agency endorsed the Aurora Program devoted to the study of the universe with the primary objectives of devising a long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system and of searching for life beyond […]

2004Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) The renovation of the first FFG’s 1900-premises accommodates new programmatic elements of reception, lobby and office space in a flowing sequence that is also used to connect the FFG to the Austrian Space Agency housed the floor below. Sculptural forms are conceived to meet user-specific requirements and to create visual […]