The Collaborative Design Studio course instructs and engages students in the design, fabrication and implementation of real-world installations within the city of Barcelona.
In 1888, Barcelona hosted the World Expo in what is now the Parque de la Ciutadella. A key feature of the exhibition was an immense greenhouse, recently fallen into disrepair. Within the purview of an upcoming municipally-sponsored initiative entitled Maquina Climàtica, this historic precedent to the emergent paradigm of urban agriculture is undergoing renovation for use as an exhibition venue. IAAC’s Valldaura Labs has been contracted to design, fabricate and install exhibition elements including: vertical farming systems; architectural and urban models; and furniture elements; all of which will be realised by the Collaborative Design Studio.
These projects will utilise the digital fabrication and carpentry tools of the Green Fab Lab and made primarily from materials (i.e. lumber) harvested and processed by the students on site at Valldaura. The projects directly engage themes of agency and sustainability within the urban sphere, and hope to promote a new vision of ecological design within the context of the city.
As the first full scale prototypes of the MAEBB course, these projects will lend students an immediate sense for what is achievable with the tools and materials available at Valldaura Labs. In addition, they are ideal opportunities for students to establish effective networks of communication and design dialogue with their fellows as well as with external collaborators. These relationships will then be leveraged repeatedly throughout the programme. By working with the exhibition organisers to ensure all client and user-needs are met, students will gain firsthand experience satisfying the logistics of public-facing urban projects. Moreover, the public-facing nature of the exhibition offers an opportunity to practice narrative building around the context of a practical design proposal.
This ambitious initiative envisions a future where Barcelona embraces self-sufficiency by cultivating its own food in the heart of the urban environment. Through the medium of captivating imagery, we aim to spark the collective imagination and prompt thoughtful reflections across diverse social and political circles. As we reimagine the city with greenhouses on its rooftops, … Read more
“Notched In” is the final project developed as part of the Collaborative Design Studio course, which aimed to produce a shelving system to be used as a vertical farm at the Máquina Climática exhibition that will take place at the Invernadero from Parque de la Ciutadella (Barcelona/Catalonia). Shelving System For Vertical Farming No glues, No … Read more
Ensuring food security is a major challenge for cities worldwide. The vision of Bio-cities includes that of food self-sufficiency, tackling the environmental impact of current agriculture systems which contribute to environmental concern through food miles, land and habitat loss, soil erosion,and reliance on fossil-fuel derived fertilisers. The Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) has 636km3 of … Read more
In the first term, while working on the Collaborative Studio Design project, I took up the task of documenting and compiling into a 3-minute-ish video all of the goings on in all of the groups working on the project: the Shelves Team, the Chairs Team, the Armchairs Team, the Traceability Team, the Visualization Team, the … Read more
The first trimester’s Collaborative Design Studio Project we focused on the conception, design, and execution of a vertical farming system. The system is intended for exhibition at Barcelona’s Ciutadella Park in February 2024, in an exhibition titled MÁQUINA CLIMÁTICA. Our primary objective has been to create a vertical farming system that harnesses hydroponic techniques utilizing … Read more
The umbraculo bench is designed to be placed in the Umbraculo, Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona. It is designed as an organic shaped bench focusing on materiality, ergonomics as well to be a state of art element. It is designed and constructed using CLT panels made using pine wood lamellas. The Umbraculo The Umbraculo translates … Read more
Project AbstractThe Pine Table is a four-and-a-half-long table made out of solid wood that was locally harvested in the Parc Natural de Collserola. The central concept of the table is that of the ‘Harvesting table’ where the products of farming come together to be enjoyed together. Another main driver that has steered the design decision … Read more
