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 blog is a combined review of the two books, 1. Mission Economy by Mariana Mazzucato and 2. Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo. – “On many weighty matters, economists and everyday people disagree” – “Public sector leaders and managers are not really taught or encouraged to think outside the box, … Read more
Exploring the Fundamentals of Scaling Laws with Geoffrey West’s Scale Geoffrey West’s book, Scale, explores the fundamental principles that govern complex systems in the naturalworld, including organisms, ecosystems, cities, and companies. The book argues that these systems exhibit predictable patterns of behaviour as they grow and scale, which can be explained by a few simple … Read more
The Nest is a project designed for the city of Accra, Ghana. The Site is located in close proximity to the lagoon and the sea. The design caters to public interventions like open markets, observatories, and residential units for the fishermen’s community. The goal with the design is to highlight the traditional techniques and materials used … Read more
Due to the low angle of the sun and the few hours of daylight in Reykjavik during Winter, the cost savings through producing our own electricity with a PV system did not cover the initial investment in the technology. We therefore propose to instead harness the energy of the wind with our Weather Envelope. Each … Read more
The design of the envelope plays a vital role in the design. The roof and the facade are part of the metabolic systems to aid with generating solar energy and collecting rainwater. The envelope is also efficiently designed keeping the thermodynamic analysis in mind. FACADE DESIGN: The facade is designed using a cane facade. The … Read more
(01) Core *(02) Sleeping Shelves (N)(03) Sleeping Shelves (S)(04) Cluster Shelves (N)(05) Cluster Shelves (S)(06) Envelope (N) *(07) Envelope (S) *(08) Roof(09) Core (Ground Floor)(10) Ground (N)(11) Ground (S) * Unconditioned ZonesCore/Bathhouse – Equipment Load : 600 W/m2 In order to simulate the energy consumption of the layer system, we decided to isolate 1 cluster … Read more
Larsen Bidstrup, Shruti Sahasrabudhe, Nishanth Maheshwaran, and Antoni KostrzewaMaster In Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities 2022-2023, IAAC Paro, Bhutan is a place of rich culture, high environmental values, and beautiful nature. For the design of a place to learn and exchange traditional handicraft techniques and knowledge, our building follows design values to enhance the space … Read more
With the design of the Nest, the idea is to best utilise renewable energy to offset the electric loads in the building. The goal is to use photovoltaic cells on the roofs of the building and design the structure to be as self-sufficient as possible. CLIMATE ANALYSIS: ENERGY CONSUMPTION: DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR SOLAR ENERGY: To … Read more
The region of Accra, Ghana receives heavy rainfall and has two wet seasons. As a result, through the design, the goal is to trap as much rainwater as possible and utilise it in an optimum manner. The Site is also located in close proximity to a natural lagoon. Hence, ground water and stormwater treatment become … Read more
Basant Abdelrahman, Disha Arora, Pradyumna Vikharankar and Raffaele SchiavelloMASTER IN ADVANCED ECOLOGICAL BUILDINGS AND BIOCITIES 2022-23, IAAC THERMAL QUESTIONS THERMAL MODEL WALL DETAIL SENSITIVITY STUDIES DIGITAL TOOLS FOR CLIMATE ANALYSIS
Basant Abdelrahman, Disha Arora, Pradyumna Vikharankar and Raffaele SchiavelloMASTER IN ADVANCED ECOLOGICAL BUILDINGS AND BIOCITIES 2022-23, IAAC CONCEPT Inspired by the Nubian Architecture, we conducted in depth research on the characteristics and structural elements of Aswan Villages. ASSEMBLY Assembly process highlighting the important elements in each step STRUCTURAL GRID CLUSTER PLAN 01 CLUSTER SECTION 01 … Read more
THERMAL QUESTIONS: Q1. Having studied the sun path diagram, it is observed that there are low sun angles in the east and the west throughout the year. How can thermal heat gain be prevented from the east and the west direction? – To prevent the heat gain from the lower angle of the sun from … Read more
We don’t wantWe don’t want to FEEL LONELY We don’t want to WASTE RESOURCES We don’t want to DEMOLISH structures We don’t want to EMIT Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere We don’t want UNIVERSAL and HOMOGENEOUS structures We don’t want to LOSE CONNECTION to our environment We wantWe want to LIVE in COMMUNAL settings We … Read more
