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 25/26 Back to the Future Seminar
An Investigation into New Structural Typologies for Timber Reuse
Back to the Future explores how stock-based design and material reuse challenge conventional structural typologies, shifting architectural thinking beyond idealized or “perfect” systems. The seminar emphasizes intuitive understanding of structural behavior prior to digital analysis, combining iterative computational modeling with physical load testing to evaluate force flow, material anisotropy, and reuse-driven typologies. Working with reused timber stocks and building on low-carbon construction practices developed by GS8, students design and test structural systems that integrate waste materials into robust, adaptable architectural solutions.
view Syllabus & Faculty
THE RECIPROCAL VIERENDEEL
DIMENSIONS MATERIAL USED PROCESS OF MAKING BEAM TEST SETUP BEAM DEFORMATION The images document progressive deflection under incremental loading (0 kg to 76 kg) where it can be observed that the block is taking the load on which the beam is placed and it is under high compression whereas beam is held by strap to … Read more
The Harmonica
The project documents the iterative design and manual fabrication of a 3-meter span beam constructed exclusively from limited recycled wooden members. Iterations The beam was developed through a series of structural iterations evaluated using utilization ratio, deflection, bending moment, axial force, and shear force. With a fixed inventory of recycled wooden elements, optimization focused on … Read more
The Interlocking Beam
Back to the Future– A circular construction prototype using gathered wood elements. Test Setup Type of load The test was setup to handle a single point load. The beam was raised on top of 2 concrete blocks and load applied to the center. Interlocking and Stacking– The Interlocking joinery was conceptualized along with stacking where … Read more
