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.
IntroductionAs part of the IAAC MAEBB academic course, we have participated in the Furnish Kids 2.0 program. The program aims to improve public space through design interventions of tactical architecture. This year’s edition, hosted in the creative hubs of Barcelona and Milan, and co-funded by the European Union, concentrated on the ever-changing area of Plaça … 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
The Furnish Kids program aims to improve public space through design interventions of tactical architecture. The design for this term has been developed to utilize natural materials such as Pine logs unused for previous Valldaura Labs projects and offcuts from wooden plan production. The materials have been cataloged, measured, and scanned for improved digital modeling. … Read more
3D Scan The fountain project for Open Nature was developed through a collaboration of hands-on experimentation and computer modeling. First, to understand the site best, it was advantageous to the group to 3D scan the landscape. This allowed us to work with dimensions and positioning relative to on-site boundaries that the mountains and vegetation created. … 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 other. … 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
The project ‘[Wood]le’ – a ‘Wooden Noodle’ explores the idea of steam-bending tree logs to create a self stable structure. The [Wood]le 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
Through the classes of this course, we practised and learned how to apply the parametric software Grasshopper as well as associated plug-ins into our computational designs. We implemented what we learned in our studio projects in order to comprehend it in real-time. Since our project did not require any direct fabrication through 3d software, we … Read more
INTRODUCTION The Design and Fabrication course’s main objective is to orient us towards learning and gaining experience in the use of tools and machines in relation to fabrication. Through designing, manufacturing and prototyping the models we were able to gain hands-on experience on how to fabricate and construct our projects. Valldaura Green FabLab provided us … Read more
As IAAC’s Valldaura Labs and Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) class of 2022/23 we have the opportunity to intervene in a natural setting at the edge of the city and act as a bridging element between the city and forest. Thus, the vision is to facilitate rejuvenation and giving the site of … Read more
As part of the Self-Sustainable Living Labs Experience of Valldaura, students of the MAEBB Program take on the task of handling, maintaining and managing the 0.5 hectares of garden every year. The process involves preparing the soil (weeding, manuring and mulching), transplanting saplings & seeds and harvesting when necessary. For the Autumn Winter Rotation this … Read more
As IAAC’s Valldaura Labs and Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) class of 2022/23, we have begun another yearly garden. Within the Agroecology course we started in October with a new autumn-winter rotation. The fresh seeds and saplings were planted and transplanted at the start of October and are still regularly maintained and … Read more
As IAAC’s Valldaura Labs and Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) class of 2022/23, we have been given the challenge of working on the activation of a public space that happens to be a transitory space between the city of Barcelona and the regional park of Collserola, specifically honouring the site of Font … Read more
Public spaces in the city of Barcelona play a vital role in the daily lives of its citizens. But often there is a clear boundary seen between the urban and the peri-urban forests of the city. The project approaches the site of Font Del Gos as a transitory space between the city of Barcelona and … Read more
BRIEF This past fall, our Collaborative Design Studio class joined forces to bring a new life to an abandoned area. We had the unique opportunity to work on a project commissioned by the New European Bauhaus – a mission to connect the city to nature. Our assignment was located in the Font Del Goss neighborhood … Read more
BRIEF Public spaces in the city of Barcelona play a vital role in the daily lives of its citizens. But often there is a clear boundary seen between the urban and the periurban forests of the city. The project approaches the site of Font Del Gos as a transitory space between the city of Barcelona … Read more
Brief The main aim of the sculpture seats was to use discarded branches and every part of the tree to create our structure in a sustainable manner. Our project’s objectives were to serve something unique, comfortable and most importantly an advanced form of seating using wooden elements. We began with collecting branches from trees that … Read more
SCOPE / OBJECTIVES Many European cities are looking to redesign their public spaces. FURNISH (Fast Urban Responses for New Inclusive Spaces and Habitat) aims to merge the challenge of having more public spaces through ‘tactical urbanism’, which can reconfigure and co-create a street expanding the space for pedestrians and leisure, with local manufacturing, through the … Read more
