Rammed Chair
TOTEM INTERFACE ELEMENT STONE WALLS SLOPE WALL INITIAL RAMMED PROTOTYPE FINAL RAMMED PROTOTYPE FINAL RENDERS
Within the current global context of rapid change, integrated with the potentials of digital technologies, IAAC’s Master in Advanced Architecture (MAA) is committed to the generation of new ideas and applications for Urban Design, Self Sufficiency, Digital Manufacturing Techniques and Advanced Interaction.
In this context IAAC works with a multidisciplinary approach, facing the challenges posed by our environment and the future development of cities, architecture and buildings, through a virtuous combination of technology, biology, computational design, digital and robotic fabrication, pushing innovation beyond the boundaries of a more traditional architectural approach.
Living Pillars
ELEMENT 01 – TOTEM – Species Selection ELEMENT 03 – RAMP – SPECIES SELECTION ELEMENT 04 – WAYFINDING – SPECIES SELECTION ELEMENT 05 – PARAPET – SPECIES SELECTION FINAL RENDERS
Scarpa
“If the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing.” — Carlo Scarpa Introduction The GreenInCities Seminar at IAAC explores the potential of circular construction practices and multispecies design within contemporary urban environments. Framed by the GreenInCities initiative in Barcelona, the seminar challenges students to rethink … Read more
Lifecycle of a Landslide
THE GREAT HIMALAYAN TERRAINKinnaur lies in the Middle to Higher Himalayas, one of India’s most landslide-prone regions, while also functioning as a critical ecological transition zone between temperate, sub-alpine, and cold desert ecosystems. The Sutlej valley acts as both a human infrastructure corridor and a biological movement corridor. News reports show … Read more
Croando el río de vuelta a la vida
Contexto During much of the 20th century, the Besòs River was transformed by industrialization and urban growth into a highly engineered system. Its new rigid structure, designed to control flooding, disconnected the river from its natural processes, accelerated water flow, and reduced ecological habitats Today, these structural modifications continue to generate major problems. Difficulties in … Read more
Mining The City
“Metabolising waste into habitat in a resource-scarce future” “Mining the City” reconceives legacy industrial infrastructure as an active force for urban regeneration and material resilience. Rather than treating waste as a problem to be discarded, this project positions Barcelona’s material flows from household refuse to industrial by-products as the resource base for a new metabolic … Read more
Cano(Pi)
A dynamic forest pavilion. Plaça del Pi, Barcelona, Spain Design Concept Form Finding Psuedo Code The script relies on the organic undulation of sine and catenary curves to reflect the organic nature of our inspiration as well as provide a real-life simulation of the suspended fabric forming the canopy reacting to gravitational logic in both … Read more
THE TERRACOTTA LUNG – Breathing comfort through clay.
Introduction This project explores a double landscape approach, bridging a student accommodation in the city with an ecological extraction site in the Collserola foothills. It establishes a material and climatic dialogue between the two contexts: one as a site of inhabitation, the other as a site of making. At its core is a breathing terracotta … Read more
SOMA LOOM
This project introduces an environmental sculpture, up to 1.5 meters tall, placed in the garden of Ballina Methodist Church in Ballina, Ireland. The column acts as a multifunctional architectural element supporting local biodiversity—attracting insects, bees, butterflies, and small birds—while blending harmoniously into the public landscape. Constructed from a geopolymer made with crushed seashells and biochar, … Read more
Ostara
SITE CONTEXT Ballina Methodist Church in Ballina in County Mayo. It was built in 1857 originally as a school. The old Methodist Church in Ballina was built in 1839. In 1983 the Methodist Church in Ballina relocated to this building. INSPIRATION Irish rock wall stacking is a centuries old dry stone technique characterized by carefully … Read more
Domus-X
DomusX is a modular pavilion designed using the Assembler plugin in Grasshopper, exploring parametric assembly systems for adaptive architecture. The structure consists of interlocking components that can be easily reconfigured or expanded, allowing flexibility in design and use. DomusX promotes sustainable, site-responsive design through modularity and digital fabrication. DomusX leverages Assembler’s generative capabilities to create … Read more
TERRANOVA: Organic Waste to Ecological Wealth
Located in the quiet community of Sant Adria De Besos lies the Besos Power Station. This waste to energy power plant is responsible for providing power to over 10 municipalities of Spain and takes care of nearly half of the waste that comes into Barcelona. While this factory proves to be highly effective, several negative … Read more
BACK TO ZERO
NARRATIVE Back to Zero is a regenerative concept that targets oil refineries and other aging infrastructures that pollute our world. The narrative is inspired from the “skin in the game” concept, and calculates lifetime co2 emissions for high emitting “hosts”, which then becomes a target for that same “host” to sequester through the carbon sequestration … Read more
BIOGENESIS
TRANSFORMING WASTE INTO SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL RESOURCES The goal is to convert various types of waste into sustainable resources, establishing a circular economy that enhances environmental benefits by repurposing waste, promoting renewable energy, and encouraging innovation in bioproducts. This site, like many others around the world, holds the memories of a different time. What happens when … Read more
EntoNest
This project seeks to transform La Fira, an industrial zone in Barcelonès, into a sustainable insect farming hub. By embedding insect farming within the existing infrastructure, it will leverage local resources to efficiently produce high-protein insect products. Traditional agriculture faces growing pressures including water scarcity and limited space, especially in urban areas like Barcelona. Insect farming … Read more
