The MAA is a visionary master program with an innovative and open structure, mixing diverse disciplines, shaping professionals capable of producing theoretical & practical solutions towards responsive cities, architecture & technology.
Course: MAA01 22/23 Digital Matter Studio
Today, we are facing a change in paradigm in the field of Architecture. Information Era Technologies and their impacts on architecture are drastically changing, and their relationship calls for new or adapted concepts, where physical space seamlessly intertwines with digital content, and where the language of electronic connections tie in with that of physical connections. We are consequently moving towards a different form of “habitats”, where architecture is not merely inhabited, but becomes technologically integrated, interactive and evolutionary. If computers were once the size of buildings, buildings are now becoming computers, both in a performative sense, on I/O Communication protocols, and in a programmable sense, at material molecule nanoscale; even becoming operational thanks to self-learning genetic algorithms. The key, thus, to 21st century challenges generated by global urbanization, economic instability and particularly the increasing awareness related to the environmental crisis will be the development of high efficient “products’ with increasing levels of functionality. Architecture following every stage of life will have to address and respond to both challenges and advancements. Our buildings and cities will need new interfaces to communicate with the environment and embedded systems of performance that do not rely on existing urba infrastructures. Active and bio-materials will play a critical role in this development, forcing architects to get free from mechanical actuators or computing devices and integrate into their designs the inherited functions that “smart materials” present on a molecular scale.
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“Waste does not exist—products are designed and optimized for a cycle of disassembly and reuse.“ _Ellen MacArthur Foundation The construction industry is the number one consumer of global raw materials while being one of the biggest producers of waste in the European Union.In this Research, we aim to explore the possibilities of secondary waste wood … Read more
FROM WASTE TO TAP
REIMAGINING WATER TREATMENT INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH BIO-BASED SOLUTIONS PROJECT OVERVIEW WATER STRESS Due to the climate change, inefficient irrigation systems for agriculture, population growth and inefficient water infrastructure, the water stress in the world is increasing. But we question ourselves if water is really a scarce resource or is it just the issue of how the … Read more
Re-clay(m)
The old builds the new Manifest Can we transform construction waste? Can brick waste be a potential upcycled material in an structurally optimized system? Two main factors, the huge amount of CDW and the importance of brick production in Spain, gives us the decision to select our material, the brick waste. We attempt to propose optimized solutions … Read more