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.

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Alfafa Colony: BIM & Smart Construction

Project Concept Establishing a Martian food colony around a Mohole, designed based on growth morphology of alfalfa for efficient organization and development using L-systems. These terminologies are further explained below. Moholes Moholes on Mars are massive cylindrical excavations in the regolith, reaching up to 1 km in diameter and 7 km in depth. With temperatures … Read more

Integrative Ant Hill Colony

Our group project is Ant Hill Colony on Mars, which has both above/below ground elements and underground heart, tunnels and pods. The project concept derived from “learning from ant colony,” therefore, the geometry shapes were more organic and natural. Originally, we recreated this by starting with LiDAR technology to identify the soil characteristics, then applying … Read more

Aquamines

Inhabiting Ice Cavities under the Martian Surface Introduction – The Idea For the first settlers on Mars, we have envisioned a colony of Aqua-Miners with the primary task of harvesting water as a resource from the ice beneath Mars’ surface, storing it and recycling it for sustainable use. Our approach to this problem has been … Read more

Well-Nest

Sculpting on Mars Martian Environment – Human Habitat – Water Production “Well-Nest” is a Mars colony primarily dedicated to water mining and accommodation.We advocate for the development of a comprehensive system aimed at extracting, storing, and circulating water throughout the colony. Low Terrain Slope; Min Risk of Excavation Challenge; Expose to Solar radiation – Gaining … Read more

Genius Loci

View some of the collected data here: Street Types and Property Information Genius Loci was inspired by the work the of Sarah Williams in her book ‘Data action – Using data for public good’. In today’s data-driven world, the use of data has become increasingly pervasive, shaping various aspects of our lives from policymaking to … Read more

UrbanCanvas

UrbanCanvas is an innovative web application designed to provide comprehensive and detailed data for urban areas, empowering users with precise information about plot boundaries, buildings, 3D structures, roads, land usage, and empty plots within a city. This platform seamlessly integrates advanced mapping technologies, data visualization, and analytics tools to facilitate urban planning, real estate development, … Read more

Automated Construction Through the Integration of BIM and Digital Twins

Digital twins or “digital replica” refer to a highly detailed virtual model of a physical building or infrastructure project, and through real-time monitoring the delivery of continuously updated data about systems and construction processes can be recorded within BIM. In a “House of Digital Twin”, the foundation of the house is Building Information Modeling (BIM), … Read more

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

Urban Impact Analyzer

In the dynamic landscape of urbanization, migration towards cities is an undeniable trend. With this migration comes a myriad of challenges, notably the exponential rise in land costs and the often haphazard nature of urban development. As cities expand, there’s a pressing need for thoughtful and strategic construction that not only addresses the demands of … Read more

EVALUATE

Evaluate is an App that helps Investors and Planers to position their building on an uploaded Terrain, and visualize its Setbacks and Feasibility in terms of cost and total floor area. By automating this simple process, one can evaluate any building Plot simply by having its terrain, instantly and without bothering with checking specific Area … Read more

BIM and the Sustainable development of affordable communities for informal settlements in Egypt

Abstract Informal settlements across all of Egypt are characterized by complex socio-economic situations aggravated by the immense size of the population and its rapid growth. As a result of lack of building regulations, extreme poverty and continuous need for expansion, the rise of uncontrolled informal settlements remains a significant challenge for Egypt. Our research explores … 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

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

GRAPH MACHINE LEARNING TOWARDS ADAPTIVE CITIES: A data-driven approach to sea level rise problematics

Abstract This thesis explores experimental approaches when addressing sea level rise challenges , the impacts of land loss due to sea rise and population growth. It delves into considerations associated with innovative approaches while emphasizing the integration of urban syntax and graph machine learning. Drawing upon case studies and open data, underscoring the importance of … Read more

Superblock BCN

A Multidimensional Study of the Superilla My research starts from observing human behaviour. Often when we face a change in our lives, especially when it wasn’t planned, we feel resistance and it takes time before we accept and embrace it.  As you probably know Barcelona in the last few years lived some changes in its … Read more

WEB GRAPH MACHINE LEARNING

Our project website can be accessed at bit.ly/graphml Introduction Our research focused on hosting a machine learning model on the web that accesses Rhino.Compute. It receives an input of a polyline drawn on a Leaflet.js map by a user to indicate the central corridor spine of a building and returns a graph of that building … Read more

FireFly

Harnessing the power of drone-based photogrammetry and artificial intelligence to create a low-cost urban wildfire diagnostic tool. In recent years, the global community has witnessed a significant upsurge in the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Driven by a combination of climate change, urban expansion, and land-use practices, these fires have not only devastated vast natural … Read more