Particularities and Nature of Space Projects: Engineering or Social Architecture?
Particularities and Nature of Space Projects: Engineering or Social Architecture?

Summary/Abstract: The article raises the issue of the nature of space projects. Some of them were implemented, but most remained on paper. On the one hand, the author discusses specific features of nonconventional social engineering to which he, in particular, refers space projects, and on the other hand ‒ the successful social Donor Project. He demonstrates that the designer cannot rely on existing prototypes in nonconventional design. Therefore, he/she is compelled to constitute the object being designed. To characterize the processes being developed and conditions defining them, he/she has to conduct researches and formulate concepts of these processes, to form the environment and the strategy of implementation of the project. Besides, nonconventional design implies the formation of a number of new kinds of activity (involvement of users in the designing, complex management, expert examination of projects, etc.). The analysis of the Donor Project made it possible to identify such conditions of success of this project as sound financial support, efficient project management, availability of administrative resource¸ methodological support, and interest of the main social subjects in its implementation. The author used characteristics of nonconventional and social design revealed in the analysis in the second part of the article at the discussion of space projects. He considers conditions under which such projects may be developed and implemented. The Donor Project could be developed and implemented due to creating a number of unique conditions, but in terms of scale, this project is nothing compared to space projects. Though the author shows the problematical character of the development of space projects – as yet there are no necessary conditions required for their implementation – he deems it necessary to continue to work on them, keeping in mind that it is a matter of nonconventional and social design

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