WHAT WE ARE PLANNING
We are a community of Finnish architects, artists, designers, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and other creatives. Read more about our team on https://spaceonfire.com/team.html
The core of our installation is a parametrically designed wooden space approximately 120 sq meters in size (1300 sq feet), combining the best of innovative Finnish wood architecture and cutting edge space technology. This pavilion receives and broadcasts signals from and to space and transforms them into an immersive audiovisual experience in the middle on Deep Playa, Burning Man 2017.
The project aims to bring space closer to each one of us and help us realize that space technology and space exploration is no longer the privilege of national governments and multinational corporations.
OUR PAST PROJECTS
The team members have already delivered two resonating well received art pieces to the playa and beyond, both receiving wide praise internationally. In 2015, the team brought the first Finnish installation called “The Pike of Mana” and in 2016 they collaborated with Burners Without Borders to bring “Koulu School” to the Man Base. The idea behind Koulu School is to build a school with minimal resources. Since Burning Man 2016, Koulu School has been tested in post-disaster situation in Nepal and at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Both of the pilots have produced promising results for turning the concept into a humanitarian aid program.
WHY THE ‘COSMIC EGG’?
The team has realized that Burning Man is a great testing ground whether it comes to refugee situations or colonizing Mars. The pavilion is a prototype of a parametric, self-load-bearing structure that can easily be scaled up to structures as big as 3000 square meters (32 000 square feet). Because of the optimal durability and efficiency of the design, these types of structures are a common choice when designing structures to be built on the surface of Mars.
The satellite ground station that is used in the project will be tested for extreme conditions and scalability. The project explores the possibility to build a global, open-source satellite ground station network hosted by public science centers. Some of our project members are affiliated with CERN (The European Organisation for Nuclear Research) and Heureka Science Centre in Finland. The objective would be to bring satellite data available to the greater public.
The project will produce data for two peer-reviewed papers in management science to learn about holacracy and radical innovations, and two in architecture and structural engineering to learn about a new type of joint design and how to build asymmetric parametrically designed structures with straight blocks. The study will be conducted by researchers at Aalto University in Finland.
FUNDING
This far, the project has been funded with two grants from Finnish foundations 38.000€ in total - and hours and hours of voluntary work. With this money, we have been able to acquire and process the wood for the space dome for Burning Man as well as our prototype in Finland, as well as send the dome to The USA. Right now, we would need your help in order to make the experience within the dome as amazing as it can be. Altogether, we would need to raise about 20.000 euros (23 000 USD).
- Ground station materials & radio equipment
- Sound equipment
- Lighting
- Transport (2 Uhaul trucks and gasoline)
- Wiring and electronics
- Custom-made fire pit
- 2 x 3000 watt inverter generators (reliable and safe for electronics)
- Tools & scaffolding
- Shade for the build period
- Firewood
- Logs around the fire to sit on and other decorations
- Indiegogo expenses
- Perks, VAT & shipping
As perks, we are offering exclusive items designed for our project by leading Finnish artists and designers.
Our goal for the fundraising is flexible. The more money we manage to raise, the better the experience will be. With a minimum of 10.000 EUR we can transport the installation to Black Rock City, receive signals from space with a simple antenna, have more modest and less immersive audio-visual experience with scaled-down sound and light equipment.
RISKS & CHALLENGES
The biggest risks for the installation not happening this year are a lack of funding, the installation getting stuck in customs, or force majeure.
We have made sure that the shipping of the structure is handled according to rules and regulations, all of the pallets are accordingly stamped, and the shipment is properly insured. However, in case the container gets lost, stolen or any other ‘force majeure’-situation happens to it, is naturally out of our reach.
Moreover, we have made sure that the project does not depend on any single person. In case a key person falls ill, suffers fatality or alien abduction, is denied the entry to United States, then the other project members have the experience and expertise to carry on with the project. The project documentation is available to every project member, and it includes all the necessary tasks and contacts.
We also avoid dependency on third parties as much as we can. Therefore we take care of the transport and build on our own, and have designed the installation so that it is possible to build without external help or heavy machinery.
The project team has already constructed one prototype in Finland and has the confidence that the structure can be built in time unless an external influence intervenes with the build schedule.
In case of extreme weather conditions on the playa during the build, we have to stand down and make sure that the construction can be finished safely.
FOLLOW AND SHARE
To support our campaign and cause, please follow us on social media and invite your friends to participate as well.
Website: www.spaceonfire.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/spaceonfire
Twitter: www.twitter.com/spaceonfire_fi
Instagram: @spaceonfire_fi
IndieGoGo: https://igg.me/at/spaceonfire
#spaceonfire
ALL PRICES OF THE PERKS ARE INCLUSIVE OF WORLDWIDE SHIPPING AND FINNISH VAT.
