Suppose we know with 100% certainty that the world will end. Then we have to go to Mars. Only Mars is not the goal in this fantasy, writes Pim van Meer in this Pims Maze. Mars is the magnifying glass for our way of doing things now.
My boss, Daan van der Vorm, the owner of Vorm Holding asked me, "Write about living on Mars." But you're not going to Mars because our Elon wants to foist a space trip on you. You only go to Mars because apparently we only really move when physics gives us a deadline. We only experience a sense of urgency when the world is literally on fire. Now don't say we feel the sense of urgency and then go on merrily with the delusion of the day.
And yes, this column began as a wish, from our Elon Musk. But actually, it's not about rockets. This is about the Netherlands, about housing construction, about when you've really understood data-driven work, and you've proven that you're allowed to go to Mars.
Because Mars is the ultimate lean project. No margin for waste. No hassle with we try again. There, only one design question applies: how do you build in such a way that people can continue to live, objectively testable at the top with minimal resources and maximum longevity. Building and modular construction, otherwise don't.
Suppose we apply the Mars logic here NOW. First the ethics: who gets a ticket in the first place? You only send parties who show they take responsibility over the full life cycle. Not just deliver, but maintain, modify, dismantle. Only building concepts that are modular, inspectable, repairable. Only material combinations that make sense for energy, health AND reuse, not just for the brochure.
On Mars, really good insulation is not a wish but a prerequisite. Heat loss is not an energy label discussion there, but a mortality issue. So you build gap-tight, cold bridge-free, hyper-insulated - and you measure it. If we knew we were going to Mars, we would build much more energy responsibly tomorrow. Here on Earth, we still sometimes pretend that drafts have character. The house breathes, we say. Yes: your money out the door.
Water on Mars is not a service, but a system. Every drop is reused, not because that sounds nice in a manifesto, but because otherwise you'll dry out while your manifesto is still wet from the printer. Here we flush drinking water down the toilet because it's cheap, and then are surprised when drought suddenly turns out not to be a theoretical risk. Mars would find that childish.
Material use automatically becomes fair there. Every kilo you send up has to do something. Preferably more than one thing. Wastage is not a cost but starkly punished stupidity. Here we accept failure costs and double logistics as if they were laws of nature. As if it's just there at belongs That we draw things three times, order them twice and throw them away once. We have been debating the logic of masonry for years but little changes. Mars simply pulls the plug on that behavior.
And then the design itself. On Mars, you build modular, demountable and maintainable. Everything has to be open, adaptable, replaceable. Not because circular is a trendy word, but because you have no choice. Here we still often act as if a home is a finished product. As if occupants never change life stages and installations last forever. When things go wrong we call it management challenges instead of design errors. We talk about circular here but are we acting accordingly?
And aesthetics? Mars doesn't ban beauty. It shifts the order. First program, health, energy, maintainability, flexibility, material passports, comfort. Only then the question of how it looks. Not: it has to look like 1930s or it won't sell. But: does it meet performance requirements, is it legible, human, not anonymous? After that, you get to play with rhythm, texture, color. Aesthetics no longer become an excuse to hide poor performance and a program that just doesn't fit. Aesthetics is an extra layer on top of a correct sum.
And somewhere there, the real ethical question chafes: when have you proven that you are allowed to go to Mars? Not when you have made the most beautiful render, but when you show that your building still makes sense after twenty, thirty, fifty years. That you've thought about real integrality beforehand! Maintenance, replacement, real adaptation. That you don't build to get away with the minimum requirement, but to put up a system that doesn't saddle others with your negligence.
Mars also forces us to be socially mature. Living there is, by definition, a team sport. If someone doesn't clean the filters, everyone else breathes in the results. If someone skimped on maintenance, everyone feels it. You can't hide behind that the chain. Here, we often want the freedom of individual choices, but not the discipline of collective agreements - until things go wrong, and we all stare in amazement at the sector modes.
So, Daan van der VORM, Mars is a great topic! Mars is the magnifying glass that shows that we are already technically far beyond our behavior. That we need (very serious) pain to embrace real change. We do have the knowledge to insulate better, use water smarter, create material passports, build in a demountable way and define aesthetics differently. The question is not whether we can do it. The question is whether we dare to oblige - on ourselves.
Filing moment
We like to talk about visions of the future, but if we're honest, Mars wouldn't give us a ticket today. Not because we don't have the technology, but because too often we choose drama over responsibility.
And that is perhaps the most painful insight: it is not gravity that is holding us back, but our own willingness to finally start living like urgency is not science fiction.
About Pims Digital Maze
In this column, Pim takes you into the sometimes wonderful, tangled but rapidly changing world of digitization. He draws on his experiences as director of digitalization at VORM. Pim is outspoken, critical, but above all wants to help you. Are you stuck in the digital maze? Pim helps you find the way out.... Do you have a question for Pim or are you looking to get in touch with him? Follow Pim on LinkedIN.
