The Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities (MAEBB) postgraduate program is an 11-month immersive academic program focused on learning how to design and build a new generation of buildings and cities to respond to the planet’s emerging climate challenges. The program is carried out in Valldaura Labs, in Barcelona, a 135 He property located in the Collserola forest. Here, students will live and work surrounded by nature while using the most advanced technologies and design techniques in the pursuit of what is also IAAC’s long term initiative, to create self-sufficient and ecological environments.
Crafting Nature’s Palette for Sustainable Printing Introduction For our ecological interactions class, we were tasked with creating a place specific cottage industry, that takes local natural resources and turns them into unique products for the community. The cottage industry should be mostly self-sufficient, and should use resources intentionally and responsibly, to promote longevity and healthy … Read more
Tornant a l’olivera was born from a simple belief: that the most nourishing products come from landscapes that are alive, respected, and cared for. Based in Catalunya, we work with regenerative olive groves where resilient olive trees coexist with aromatic undergrowth—lavender, rosemary, and native plants that strengthen ecosystems and shape the character of each harvest. … Read more
This drawing explores how architecture transforms when it stops imposing its order and allows the forest to define its own conditions. It explores a shift from “building in a forest” to “building as a forest”. In the drawing Valldaura Lab is not an object placed in the forest, it is an interpreter of the forest … Read more
Valldaura Garden Valldaura is a living laboratory for 21st century innovation and self-sufficiency. We practice techniques for small/meso scale agriculture, ensuring that some percentage of our food each week is truly zero kilometer. The farm is an important part of the Valldaura experience, it is where we learn about how to grow high yield organic … Read more
MICRO-ESSAY BY REUBEN DIAMOND “ A new conceptual lexicon must be created for identifying the wide variety of urbanisation processes that are currently reshaping the urban world” (“Planetary Urbanization,” Brenner, N., & Schmid, C., p. 13) BOUNDARIES DISSOLVED As planetary urbanization reconfigures social, economic, and spatial relations, the traditional frameworks of urban studies encounter profound … Read more
During a week, 10 students from MAEBB, MAA, MaCT and MDEF got together as part of the Ecological Interactions class, that took part at the village at Benifallet, placed by the Ebro River. During this period, the students got in touch with the faculty’s land in order to come up with analysis, thoughts and solutions … Read more
Valldaura forest is a post-agriculture, post-industrial landscape which is now returning to native forestry. Cistercian monks turned the Valldaura (valley of the laurels) area of Colserolla national park into agricultural land in the 19th century, the evidence of which still remains in the terraced beds we will grow produce on as part of our Ecological … Read more
Abstract In response to urgent carbon mitigation challenges and biodiversity loss, a paradigm shift toward manufacturing symbiosis and circular bio-economy is crucial for ecologically sensitive design in urban ecosystems. This study explores the transformative potential of a 3D-printed urban Bionook, incorporating layers of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) with a natural-locally sourced soil admixture, to enhance strength, … Read more
In the process of creating this blog post dedicated to defining a Biocity, I played a crucial role in conducting comprehensive research and contributing to the compilation of a specialized dictionary. As part of a collaborative effort involving students from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), and under the guidance of mentors Honorata … Read more
Welcome to the world of advanced computational tools, where we delve into the intricacies of Grasshopper, a graphical algorithm editor tightly integrated with Rhino’s 3-D modeling tools. This blog post will guide you through the learning process, focusing on the fundamental aspects of Grasshopper and logical representations. Grasshopper Fundamentals Grasshopper is a powerful tool that … Read more
This project was designed embarking on a vision to create a city that embodies sustainability, organic density, decentralization, multipolarity, complexity, transversality, liveliness, resilience, inclusivity, diversity, mixed-use, beauty, biodiversity, cohesion, safety, health, accessibility, and support for an active life and a city of care – all with people at the centre rather than technology or economics. … Read more
Our Sustainable Forest Management course kicked off in December with an open air lecture from Dr. Arbol. This explorative walk through the Valldaura forest helped us to better observe and understand how the ecosystem forest functions. We also learned how to identify the existing tree species and their way of growing in the context of … Read more
During the first session of the Agroecology course, we were introduced to the concept of bi-annual rotation agricultural system and its importance in restoring soil quality. Every Monday was spent actively taking care of the plant beds as part of Valldaura’s Living Labs. We prepared the beds by removing weeds, tilling the compact soil, mixing … Read more
As part of the IAAC´s Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities of 2022-2023, we got involved in the yearly garden that conforms not only of the Valldaura Labs property, but also to our home and therefore provides food to all our us. In order to manage the garden, during these past months we had … Read more
In designing and fabricating the fountain arrangement of the Open Nature project, we explored various prototypes. First, we built a small waterway in the garden space at Valldaura Labs to brainstorm how to capture the water in an elegant way. This helped us understand basic grading methods to let the water drain appropriately. Next, we … Read more
The project ‘[Wood]le’ – a ‘Wooden Noodle’ explores the idea of steam-bending tree logs to create a self stable structure. The Woodle assumes the function of a seating area as it rests on the ground at one end and folds up to become an element that frames the valley of Font Del Gos on the … Read more
