As a child, Tomáš Rousek spent his childhood near the Kosmonautů metro station. He admired the statues of Vladimir Remek and other space conquerors and dreamed of life beyond the borders of our planet. His love of the cosmos lasted until adulthood. As an architect and designer, he is on the designs of artificial gravity spaceships and 3D printed bases on Mars or the Moon.

His latest project is a model of New Prague on the Moon, which he will present in the Virtuplex virtual reality laboratory during the Czech Space Week event. At the same time, he designed the Luniaq monthly rover inspired by Škoda cars.

“In virtual reality, people can walk around the first Wenceslas Square in space and enjoy the premiere of the first space Škoda. Princess Libuše, who said – I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars – would be happy about that, “says Rousek with a laugh.

In the past, the 39-year-old architect also prepared concepts for the modification of its Mladá Boleslav complex for Škoda Auto. He has also worked for NASA, ESA, the European Union and the British-Swiss company ESTEE. And in London and Prague, it operates its own architectural studio XTEND Design focused on architecture and graphic design.

He started his business at the age of sixteen. “I applied for a brigade in Danone, but he turned me down. That’s why I figured out how to make money differently. So instead of packing yogurts, I started making graphic designs and websites, “says Rousek.

He also found that he had a talent for design, so he continued to study architecture at CTU. During it, Ondřej accidentally appeared, from whom he learned about the International Universe in Strasbourg with space architect Doul. Rouska was thrilled and decided to go to Switzerland to study.

Thanks to that, he got a job for both the American and German space agencies. And especially for interesting projects, such as the Martian greenhouse.

“The hydroponic system, where the soil is replaced by living solution and the sunlight is replaced by LED lighting, was tested by scientists in Antarctica as a supply for the crew of the local Neumayer station. And I designed its space version, “explains the architect of the European Union project called EDEN ISS.

As chief designer of the Swiss-British company ESTEE, he again worked on a simulator of a Martian base with a closed ecosystem. As part of the BioDynamo project, colleagues and colleagues designed a residential module connected to greenhouses.

These have layers of water in the mantle that would shield the radiation and at the same time let light through the plants. They would use not only hydroponics, ie cultivation without soil, but also aeroponics and fogponia, where the roots grow in the air.

As part of his work for NASA, Rousek, along with other architects Ondřej Doul and Katarina Eriksson, also created the monthly SinterHab project, which combines solid, inflatable modules made on Earth and carried into space with buildings built in space.

“NASA’s robotic systems should use microwaves to print dwellings out of lunar dust. And to extract local raw materials from soil through metals to ice for the production of water, fuel and tools, ”describes Rousek.

Like the lunar village, the use of 3D printing and the habitat project on Mars, which the Czech architect created with colleagues as a competition design for NASA, is planned.

Even in this case, the main building block would be local raw materials, from which robotic systems will print the base. The basis is an inflatable structure, which is covered by durable 3D printed walls.

While working for the NASA Habitation Team, Rousek will appear on another interesting AG Cycler project. As part of a larger team, including the famous astronaut Buzz Aldrin, he designed a spaceship for a trip to Mars.

And not just as ordinary, but one that would generate artificial gravity by rotating the entire vessel. The structure would consist of materials such as carbon and zylon, and the ship would use solar electric propulsion in interplanetary space.

Not just in space

Tomáš Rousek does not only create projects for space, but also for Earth. For example, he collaborated with the world’s largest architectural firm, AECOM, a resort in the Maldives and buildings for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and prepared the design of a number of buildings for the FIFA and Formula 1 championships in the Middle East.

“I came up with futuristic designs for two royal families in Qatar and Dubai. For example, a new city district focused on wellness and health full of green technologies and a huge spa. However, it was this design that was ultimately destroyed by Brexit before implementation, “says the architect.

According to him, terrestrial architecture can be inspired by the cosmic one. “There is extreme pressure in space for everything to be possible and all systems to be closed. And with growing climate problems, we must learn to use this on our planet as well, ”says Rousek.

After all, it recycles itself, for example, on the construction systems of forged plastic, the green infrastructure in London or the European water purification project on Earth and in space.

Although he has a lot of interesting projects behind him, he would like to fulfill many more. He would like to work on the design of airports, futuristic houses and hotels on land, underwater and in space, or to build a green city that is sustainable.

“I will see what projects one gets to. For example, I should have worked for NASA and had a branch office on the River Thames in London, as well as the famous architect Norman Foster. And I succeeded in both, albeit in a more modest form than in the original ideas, “says Rousek.

He adds: “Imagination is our superpower. Many people forget about it as an adult because it falls into the carousel of work, family and mortgages. But it is dreaming that moves humanity further. For example, beyond the borders of our planet towards the universe. “