Diatom: A Rotating Space Habitat That Borrows Its Strength From the Shells of Ocean Plankton

The most persuasive model for a structure in orbit may be an organism too small to see. Diatoms, single-celled plankton that drift through Earth's oceans in the trillions, build glass-like skeletons that are strong, light and astonishingly ordered. Together they produce around 20% of the planet's oxygen each year. This project takes that microscopic engineering seriously and scales it up into a rotating habitat. Its argument is clear: if a fragile cell can make a durable shell out of weak material through hierarchy and repetition, a space station can follow the same rules.

Designed by Yiwen Song, Yixiao Wei, Mei Wu and Kaiwen Wu, the proposal was a shortlisted entry in Origyn. The team frames human expansion into space as a kind of drift, like plankton finding a foothold in open water, and answers it with a habitat organised around a modular ring, radial ribs and a cellular core.

From Microscope Slide to Floor Plan

The opening diagram series sets out the method plainly. A plan of occupiable space, a layout of circulation spokes and a microscope image of a diatom shell sit side by side, and the resemblance is intentional. The team draws on research showing that diatom skeletons get their strength from multiple hierarchies and repeatable microstructures, not from strong materials. That insight is what allows the leap from biology to building.

What makes the comparison useful is that it is structural rather than decorative. The shell is not a pattern applied to a facade; it explains how rings, spokes and cells share loads and define movement. Placing the microscope image next to a circulation diagram shows the team reading the diatom as a working system first and an image second.

A Truss Ring, Radial Ribs and a Hexagonal Core

In plan the habitat becomes a set of nested hierarchies. An outer truss ring rotates around a central axis to produce artificial gravity in its chambers, so inhabitants can live, work and carry out research in conditions close to those on Earth. Radial spokes connect this ring to the core, and around the centre a cluster of hexagonal cells takes on the nano-scale logic of the diatom shell.

Each layer does a clear job. The hexagonal frames carry solar panels, and because the cell repeats, the array gains stiffness and can grow without being redesigned. The ribs are tunnels as well as structure, moving spherical modules between the central and peripheral zones. Circulation works radially along the spokes and circularly around the ring, which gives the plan two clear directions of travel and avoids a single congested route.

Shipped in Pieces, Assembled in Orbit

The orbital renderings show two disc-shaped rings hovering above the curved blue edge of Earth's atmosphere, followed by a closer, angled view of a single disc. At that distance the segmented outer ring is easy to read, along with the spokes and the hexagonal cluster around a glowing central hub. The segmentation is the key detail. It records the project's most practical idea, a modular ring whose parts are launched separately and assembled on site.

This is where the diatom analogy pays off in engineering terms. A shell built from repeated units suits a construction process limited by launch capacity and cost. Every segment is sized for transport, every hexagon is interchangeable, and the finished form emerges from accumulation rather than from a single huge component. Showing two rings in orbit together also suggests that the system is meant to multiply, not just to be built once.

Inside the Lattice: Laboratories, Living Cabins and a Mall Below Ground

The interior view moves to human scale. Two lattice tubes run past a truss beam toward faceted white volumes overhead, with black space beyond. The latticed structure, once read as diagram, now frames the experience of moving through the station, and the openwork tubes make the rib tunnels feel like passages rather than sealed pipes.

The programme splits between two cabin types. Laboratory cabins give astronauts and researchers dedicated workspaces, with mechanical layers that hold experimental equipment and can be adapted to specific needs. Living cabins are designed for rest and social life, including a three-storey shopping mall below ground level with space for dining and leisure. Each cabin has its own water storage and circulation system, a quiet but important choice that adds redundancy so a failure in one unit does not spread through the habitat.

Why This Project Matters

Space architecture often swings between pure engineering diagrams and science-fiction spectacle. This entry finds useful ground between the two by asking a precise question: how does nature build strength without heavy materials? The answer it borrows from diatoms, hierarchy plus repetition, links structure, energy collection, circulation and construction logistics into one coherent idea. The hexagon holds solar panels, the rib moves modules, and the ring generates gravity while also serving as the unit of assembly.

Not every question is answered. The relationship between the rotating ring and the hexagonal core, and how people move between gravity and microgravity, would benefit from more development. Still, the proposal shows how biomimicry can work as an organising method rather than a stylistic reference. For a field that has to treat every kilogram as precious, a lesson taken from one of the ocean's lightest builders makes a compelling place to start.

View the Full Project

About the Designers

Designers: Yiwen Song, Yixiao Wei, Mei Wu, Kaiwen Wu

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Project credits: diatoms by Yiwen Song, Yixiao Wei, Mei Wu, Kaiwen Wu Origyn (uni.xyz).