The MaCAD is a unique online programme training a new generation of architects, engineers and designers ready to develop skills into the latest softwares, computational tools, BIM technologies and AI towards innovation for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.

Evaluate Your City

Concept The purpose of the app was to help with viewing and researching information on different types of amenities (like parks, playgrounds, etc.) near selected locations, based on the available OSM data. It’s based on Grasshopper script that is sent to Rhino Compute and visualized on the web using three.js. Grasshopper base The script is … Read more

Timber Lattice System – A Tale of Cairo’s Rooftops

This research aims to explore the application of timber lattice systems on roofs in Cairo, Egypt. Before delving into the project itself, a thorough review of relevant references was essential for a better understanding of the system. The building analyzed was the Sunny Hills Cake Shop, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates. Characterized by a … Read more

Frihamns Navet Port HUB. Multilevel Timber-skeletons… at work 

This project, approached as a demonstrative project, was elaborated by Group 8, Anna Irene Del Monaco and Athanasios Vagias and worked on multilevel Timber structure.  We started investigating precedents on timber skeleton structure. Our initial interest fell on the Maggie’s center by Foster and partners for the masterful creation of a refined structural node in … Read more

Climate-Responsive Design in Boulder, CO

Context The city of Boulder, CO is populated by low-rise buildings and is known for a cold, dry climate given its high altitude and proximity to the Rocky Mountains. The investigated project involved selecting parameters that could respond to these characteristics and improve both outdoor and indoor comfort. The proposed structure is a 450 m2 … Read more

Self-organized city – a product of collaboration

Sustainability and collective intelligence Manifesto diagram illustrating the participatory processes of the city inhabitants, created by the group Each section of this manifesto can be perceived independently. Choose the reading order and create your own narrative. The personalized narratives reflect the methodology to address the complexity of collaborative urban design processes at a macro level. … Read more

Symbiotic Metabolism

Problem Statement Modern buildings are fortresses holding nature at bay, reflecting Dualist philosophies separating humans from nature. Our current Anthropocentric notion of “nature” as something “out there” and separate from culture has created a metabolic rift1 within our urban and architectural landscapes, obscuring the ravaging of the earth. Resources are shipped from across the globe, … Read more

Reversing Ecosystem Degradation

MaCAD 23/24 // ACESD Theory Existing State of Urban Design In order to understand how to strive for successful ecological design practices, designers must first understand the problems that currently exist in the process of urban design. The current state of design tends to create distinct enclosures between both natural ecosystems and humans, with the … Read more

SYneRgism

Synergism is the interaction and cooperation of two or more organizations, agents, or groups of people to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their own. After analyzing how the city of Damascus has evolved over time, we saw how the city started slowly growing away from the Eastern inhabitable agricultural lands closer … Read more

Program And Ranging Aggregations

Used in this project: Main: Rhino3D, Grasshopper3D, Grasshopper Plugins: Wasp, Elk, Ladybug3D Context: OpenStreetMaps / GeofabrikMaps: policymap.com, strava heatmaps, Urban3, Connect Dallas (2021), 2011 Dallas Bike Plan, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) aei.orgState of the Art Precedents: Block’hood by Jose Sanchez, Habitat 67′ by Moshe Safdie, VM by BIG + JDS Introduction Our project is located … Read more

Climate Canopy

A new mobility hub for Green square station, Sydney, Australia Climate Canopy is a project about improving the qualities of Green Square station in Sydney, Australia. The Climate Canopy is an open-air timber grid shell creates an urban landmark by framing a new entrance to the station, without interfering with movement and wayfinding. The canopy … Read more

BREACHING THE PARAMETER “??????”

SITE ANALYSIS l TRIPOLI Known as the capital of the North, Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city: from a regional trade capital for the past centuries, the city is nowadays the most impoverished of Lebanon and on the Mediterranean. The city has been scared by the violent clashes and conflict over the past 40 years … Read more

A Test Model for Environmental Design

Introduction Professor Ivan Sutherland at the University of Utah supervised several doctoral students in the 1970’s and 1980’s who later created many of the biggest leaps in computer graphics. These include Ed Catmull who founded Pixar and developed Catmull-Clark Subdivision, Alan Kay who worked on the first graphical user interfaces and the first laptop, Jim … Read more

Urban Envelope

The project’s land plot is located in a dense high-rise populated area in Vancouver, Canada. Thus, an idea for an urban vertical park emerges from the limitation of space and the parallel increased need for vegetation. Initially the climate analysis for Vancouver Canada commenced with an in depth identification of the coldest and warmest months … Read more

Peaceful parasites

Historical data Peaceful parasites is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and addresses the urban scars created by the recent troubles. Deep rooted segregation has generated detrimental urban divides and this project aims to solve this problem. Historically, the troubles started in 1969 and subsides to some degree in 1998 with the ¨good friday agreement¨. 2023 … Read more

Climate Canopy – Timber Grid Shell

Structural analysis and optimisation Our project is a timber grid shell which forms a roof canopy covering an underground train station in Sydney, Australia. The shell acts as a climatic roof providing shade and creating a cool public square below. The timber shell forms funnel columns that land in the station below the public square, … Read more

Twisting into Shape

What do you get if you combine an umbrella with a funnel? A Fumbrella of course! Combining the idea of using an umbrella coupled with a water collecting funnel to create a Fumbrella. This new urban infrastructure is parametric in that it opens and closes according to both solar radiation and rainfall. It is well … Read more

Light and the Nordic city

Around 60°N latitude, where several Nordic capitals—including Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki—are located, daylight plays a special role in the daily lives of their inhabitants. There is a large seasonal variation in daylight from  long summer days up to 19 hours of daylight to long dark winters with less than 6 hours. The opposite occurs in … Read more

Heat & Light

particle trace visualization of wind patterns around a building

Wind Effects on Buildings With this blog post we would like to hit on a sample from the multitudes of complex factors affecting the built environment in an urban context. These factors will aid or inhibit a designer’s ability to utilize wind to provide a better internal climate for the users of our buildings. One … Read more