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.
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
The design began with the process of understanding the culture, the climate and the people of Accra, Ghana. The design is based in a tropical climate where the temperatures and the humidity are high. This design was then set in a Metaversal city that was a culmination of 6 sites from different regions of the … Read more
Authors : William McDonough (Architect) – “Design is a Signal of the Intention.” & Michael Braungart (Chemist) – “Nature does not have a design problem.” In 1995, they established McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, a product and system development firm assisting clients in implementing sustaining design protocol. The framework details how to execute their Cradle to … Read more
Our case study is located in Tabriz, the coldest region in Iran, with an average temperature between 1.1 C and 6.6 C during winter, and an average between 30.4 C and 17.9 C during summer. The climate widely corresponds to Central European weather conditions. With the following study, we have designed a our building Tabrizian … Read more
Rated under the World Water Pressure Map, Iran has an extremely high risk level of water stress assessment and the ratio of withdrawls to supply in a 2040 forecast. For our building Tabrizian Tapestry, we have created the following study and water management assessment through the following strategies: 1. CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS: Through subsurface flow constructed … Read more
Tabrizian Tapestry becomes a self-sufficient building with the usage of photovoltaic cells on the roof’s building. Simultaneously, the cell’s surface function as rain water collecting area. CLIMATE ANALYSIS:
We believe in creating structures that not only meet functional requirements, but also celebrate and pay homage to local architectural traditions. With this in mind, we have taken inspiration from the iconic domes of Iran and integrated them into our design. Our building incorporates a unique bazaar on the ground floor, featuring a series of … Read more
In terms of implementing the concept of Resilient envelopes in Tabrizian Tapestry, the envelopes have been developed, driven by specific sustainable constructive systems, and integrating materiality with specific origin and composition, as well as ample room for maneuver in terms of performativity, recyclability, bio-degradability, longevity. Advanced CLT balloon frame with Brick facade clad in north … Read more
The continuos overuse and destruction of Natural Resources has been a problem during the time that Elinor Ostrom published her book Governing the Commons and continues to threaten ecosystems today. Elinor Ostrom showed that this scenario is not inherent to all natural or „common pool resources“ (CPRs) as portrayed in „the tragedy of the commons“ … Read more
Shruti Sahasrabudhe, Larsen Bidstrup, Nishanth Maheshwaran, Jacek Antoni KostrzewaMASTER IN ADVANCED ECOLOGICAL BUILDINGS AND BIOCITIES, 2022-2023, IAAC To align with overarching sustainability values of the project, we approached the energy design module with intentions to reduce carbon footprint and improve self-sufficiency. Sunny Design software was used with climate date of Paro, Bhutan to help us … Read more
Shruti Sahasrabudhe, Larsen Bidstrup, Nishanth Maheshwaran, Jacek Antoni KostrzewaMASTER IN ADVANCED ECOLOGICAL BUILDINGS AND BIOCITIES, 2022-2023, IAAC In the Bhuddist traditions of Bhutan, water is holy. We sought to design with this respect top of mind. Before calculating water usage, we classified different water qualities into blackwater, greywater, rainwater, and potable water. On the basis … Read more
This blog is a review of the book, Buildings without Architects: A Global Guide to Everyday Architecture by John May. The book is a culmination of 60+ different styles of vernacular architecture ranging from different materials and different regions of the world. “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” – … Read more
This blog is a review of the book “Delirious New York” written by Rem Koolhaas. “The future is no longer about power, but about bandwidth.” Rem Koolhas Rem Koolhaas wrote a novel titled “Delirious New York” that outlines the evolution and background of Manhattan’s design and urbanism. Koolhaas wrote this book because he desired to … Read more
Aswan, Egypt being in a hot & arid climate follow specific passive strategies, which are incorporated in the design. Installing a lattice patterned terracotta skin was seen as the primary idea for envelopes considering it enhanced the functionality of the passive strategies incorporated. Further, the thermodynamic study of heat sources & sinks indicate at the … Read more
