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.
Abstract and purposeThe collapse of the European wool value chain—processing shifted east, traditional breeds producing coarse, low‑value fibre, and raw fleece often classed as waste—coincides with a crisis in ceiling construction: high embodied carbon, linear material flows, and aesthetic loss. This thesis proposes CatVa: a prefabricated compressed earth–grog block reinforced with directionally aligned waste wool … Read more
Thermodynamic invariants as architectural constraints on machine learning for recycled-aggregate mix design Santhosh Shyamsundar · MAEBB02 · Valldaura Labs, IAAC · 2024–2026 The micro-scale matter the kernel’s thermodynamics, transport, and strength engines must keep mutually consistent. SEM image after Kafedra434, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), recoloured by the author. An irreversible material under a reversible … Read more
In the Augmented & Mixed Reality class learnt how to work with unity game engine to create an individual projects that would support our thesis investigations in an interactive way. This project explores how digital tools can reintroduce play, creativity, and spontaneity into the contemporary city. Developed as part of my urban play thesis, the … Read more
In our final project for the Large-Scale 3D Printing with Biomaterials workshop at IAAC, we developed a temporary acoustic barrier made from recycled cork and bio-based binders. The proposal rethinks permanence in architecture by designing a material system that can serve a specific event, then return to the soil after use. Project Concept The project … Read more
Santhosh Shyamsundar · IAAC / MAEBB02reMIXED REALITY Seminar · Advanced Manufacturing 2025/26 Beyond the 28-Day Blind Spot In contemporary construction, concrete quality is traditionally verified by “crushing cylinders” 28 days after pouring. This lag creates a critical information asymmetry: by the time a defect is confirmed, the material is already structural. MaOS Unity XR addresses … Read more
As the generations who have grown up around video games reach an age where they are beginning to buy homes, architects should provide advanced and easily navigable interfaces for people to interact with architecture. We should provide basic information on project mission and sustainability etc. and then allow potential customers to explore the designs in … Read more
