Real-time Daylighting Performance for Adaptive Reuse Planning

This project aimed to develop a daylight predictor to facilitate and generate well-informed adaptive reuse projects, with a specific focus on providing sustainable design solutions for low-income housing. Los Angeles (LA) was selected as a case study due to its proactive open data initiatives and commitment to adaptive reuse. This proposal provides a snapshot of … Read more

Materializer

Introduction Our project, Materializer, leverages the power of multiple self-trained machine learning models to predict material quantities based on an image uploaded by the user and the building coordinates. This innovative approach utilizes image segmentation to isolate buildings, image classification to read material pixels, and a height prediction model for buildings lacking height information in … Read more

Customizing comfort

From parts to purpose – embracing circularity by redefining furniture composition Problem In contemporary furniture markets there is a problem of the environmental impact caused by inefficient design, excessive waste generation, and unsustainable consumption. Results are overproduction, resource depletion, and high carbon emissions during production processes. Additionally, limited design solutions don’t fully meet user needs, … Read more

Timber Narratives

Building on the principles of disassembly explored last semester, this phase of the Timber Narratives project delves deeper into advanced data-driven design strategies. We now capture and utilize timber colour values through enhanced scanning technologies, integrating this data into our designs. Additionally, we’ve implemented machine learning with logistic regression for precise categorization of timber for … Read more

ReWeave_3.0

Abstract: The ReWeave project develops a robotic system to repurpose construction and demolition (C&D) waste into functional, attractive walls, enhancing human-robot collaboration. We created a database by scanning broken tiles to extract shape, size, and color information, then developed custom nesting algorithms to optimize tile arrangement. The workflow includes scanning tiles, exporting outlines via ROS, … Read more

TREE WISE

TIMBER SENSING TECHNOLOGY A material system combining timber and graphene, replacing traditional sensors through graphene’s sensing capabilities. This innovative approach allows first, real-time tracking of deformations inside the wood. Second, creating a digital twin that improves maintenance efficiency in the operational phase. Third, providing a detailed service life passport, this system supports reuse and reduces … Read more

Decharbonization

From exterior soil remediation to interior acoustics enhancement The goal of this project is to create a non-cementitious geopolymer, using as the main component biochar, an worldwide abundant material, and amplify its qualities to sequester carbon in order to make carbon sink architecture. Through the process of material engineering and testing, it was possible to … Read more

WOODEN MOSAIC

Wooden Mosaic tries to tackle the increasing global demand for timber by using waste branches from Timber industries. These waste branches are transformed into modular blocks with conventional tools, offering a sustainable supplement to the current timber industry. Using the waste wood, the aim IS to decrease the environmental impact associated with logging and wood … Read more

A FISHERMAN’S TALE 渔夫的故事

Harmonising Coastal Futures, Restoring Balance in China’s Maritime , A Speculation of Communal Synergy in the context of Houtouwan THE PROBLEM // RESOURCE EXPLOITATION | OVER FISHING China’s over fishing crisis looms large, statistics revealing a stark reality of declining marine resources. With the majority of the worlds fishing resources coming from China, the country has … Read more

Territorios hídrico-sensibles

 “Ciclo biótico de infraestructuras hídricas resilientes para la recarga de acuíferos: El caso de Valle de las Palmas“. El voraz crecimiento de las ciudades ha generado una degradación del medio natural. En este proceso, la participación de actores locales, tales como grupos sociales, asociaciones civiles, institutos y órdenes de gobierno, crea plataformas para la toma de … Read more

ReWeave_3.0_Gamified

Abstract The escalating challenge of managing construction and demolition waste necessitates innovative approaches to enhance sustainability in the construction industry. This research proposes an automated robotic workflow leveraging Multi Agent Systems (MAS) and computer vision to repurpose planar construction waste materials, such as tiles, into new construction elements like bricks or walls. The primary objective … Read more

Agent-based Manufacturing System

Industry Setup Relevance:  ABMS could be a twist on traditional manufacturing by using software agents to control different parts of the process. Imagine a factory where machines, workstations, and even software programs aren’t just following instructions but can somewhat act and decide independently. This helps in faster problem-solving mechanisms and could help reduce human intervention … Read more

Activación RURbana

Imaginarios en  búsqueda de la gobernanza multinivel para el municipio de Masaya mediante la socio- productividad y la bioeconomía. El presente blog constituye la continuidad de una serie de blogs que intentan exponer alternativas para la reactivación de la interrelación rural- urbana del municipio de Masaya en Nicaragua, específicamente: En consecuencia, en la presente entrega, … Read more

Corredor AgroEcológico

Imagen creada por la autora con imágenes de la base de datos – Canva Premium Contextualización En las últimas décadas, la expansión urbana en la Región Metropolitana de Río de Janeiro se ha producido a un ritmo promedio de 30 km² por año. La mayor parte de esta expansión se ha producido en asentamientos informales, … Read more

Forms of Inadequacy in Dakar

Abstract Dakar is Senegal’s capital city and rapidly urbanizing economic center. Today, Dakar’s urban area is home to 3.54M people, half of Senegal’s population, and generates 55% of the Country’s GDP. This growth is artificially constrained by an urban growth boundary, where new homes are informally built, and due to the city’s topography, a peninsula … Read more

Rising Waters

The year is 2100. Latin America is sinking. Due to global warming the polar icecaps have almost melted completely. In addition the increased temperature has caused the global water mass to expand by almost 1%. As a consequence sea levels are rising at unprecedented levels globally. The coastline in South America is hard-hit by these … Read more

VIDA Y MUERTE DE CIUDADES MINERAS.Estrategias territoriales para una nueva imagen del Cerro de Pasco, Perú – 2045

El inminente fin de todo proceso extractivo plantea interrogantes sobre el futuro incierto de la ciudad y/o contexto socio urbano en el cual se ha emplazado o que ha generado. Por lo general, las operaciones mineras están intrínsicamente ligadas a la degradación y desterritorialización de los sistemas naturales, como también, a la violación de los … Read more

Bionook

This blog describes and showcases the second-term research and prototyping for Bionook. Research Topic: Investigating the Synergistic Potential Between Additive Manufacturing Methods and Engineered Timber in Reshaping Urban Design Paradigms. This research delves into precisely integrating sawdust and orange peels as industrial by-product additives for Soil Additive Manufacturing and locally sourced Engineered Timber, synergizing them … Read more

ARBOREALITY | Advancing sustainable urban development through mass timber and vernacular root

Keywords: Mass timber city, Sustainable forest management, smart cities, Vernacular, Local species wood ABSTRACT: The capital city of Nepal- Kathmandu, like many urban cities globally, is undergoing uncontrolled urban expansion, neglecting its natural-based construction heritage, particularly timber. This research advocates for a paradigm shift towards mass timber, particularly multispecies Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), to address environmental … Read more