To shelter is to claim a place—to draw a fragile boundary between life and the unknown. In space, sheltering takes on new meaning. It is not merely the construction of walls or the solving of engineering challenges; it is an act of survival, adaptation, and imagination.

Sheltering in Space – A Guide explores the full spectrum of what it takes to inhabit planetary and off-world environments. From visible structures and proposed construction methods using local extraterrestrial materials to the often-invisible systems that support life—air, water, energy, communication—the exhibition reveals the intertwined physical and conceptual layers of shelter. Scarcity, environmental fragility, and technological innovation converge with questions of migration, belonging, and cultural memory. Space architecture operates at the edge of possibility, where each habitat must negotiate with its surroundings—whether navigating vacuum, dust, radiation, or the interdependent systems of a fragile ecosystem.

But sheltering is not only a technical feat. It is also a deeply human act—the creation of refuge, of community, of continuity. For some, shelter takes the form of a structure; for others, it is a way of protecting knowledge, relationships, and ancestral connections that stretch across time and space.

The lessons of sheltering in space resonate powerfully here on Earth. The challenges of off-world habitation—resilience, scarcity, sustainability—mirror the pressing environmental and social issues we face today. What we build, how we live, and what we preserve are as urgent on this planet as they are beyond it.

Through architectural models, speculative design, performance, and art, this exhibition invites new ways of seeing and imagining. Drawing from Indigenous cosmologies, futuristic prototypes, and interdisciplinary research, Sheltering in Space – A Guide asks us to rethink how we dwell—together, across boundaries, and into the unknown.