Earth 3D Printed Pavilion: Optimized Arches for Self-support and The Fifth Facade

Designing for the 3D printing of a self-supporting Pavilion Background For the Competition phase, the brief asked for a design of geometries that addressed the 5th facade in the attempt to cover or go over and above the average human height. Our proposal attempts to have this brief satisfied without the use of additional/external support … Read more

Sustainable Forest Management

Our Sustainable Forest Management course kicked off in December with an open air lecture from Dr. Arbol. This explorative walk through the Valldaura forest helped us to better observe and understand how the ecosystem forest functions. We also learned how to identify the existing tree species and their way of growing in the context of … Read more

MO5 Collaborative Design – Bio Berms

After analyzing the site of Font del Gos we quickly realized that soil erosion was a significant problem.The site is a case study of human interception of an ecosystem, a naturally evolvedlandscape and water stream disturbed by human doings, causing dysfunction.Dry, eroded soil is unable to absorb water properly when raining.This causes a lack of … Read more

Digital tools for Environmental Analysis

The project is located in Shanghai, China. The first is the basic climate analysis of Shanghai. The warmest month in Shanghai are 06,07,08, the coldest three months are 12,01,02. According to the UTCI comfort analysis, the outdoor environment is relatively uncomfortable in summer and winter. According to the analysis of the wind environment, wind direction … Read more

Bioclimatic considerations for architectural strategies

This project depicts a study case considering a series of climatic aspects relevant for architectural strategies. This analysis occur in a subtropical humid zone located in Porto Alegre, extreme south Brazil, comprehending extreme temperatures and constant high humidity, the insertion of architecture in this climatic zones has to respect its natural constraints and be sensible … Read more

A Test Model for Environmental Design

Introduction Professor Ivan Sutherland at the University of Utah supervised several doctoral students in the 1970’s and 1980’s who later created many of the biggest leaps in computer graphics. These include Ed Catmull who founded Pixar and developed Catmull-Clark Subdivision, Alan Kay who worked on the first graphical user interfaces and the first laptop, Jim … Read more

The Air we Breathe

An analysis of the correlation between population and air quality in the districts of Barcelona. The air quality in urban areas have rapidly declined over the years. In the process of economic development, air pollution has become a significant health hazard. This project analyses the relationship between population density and air quality levels in Barcelona. … Read more

PAISAJES ANFIBIOS

Vista del área de estudio.

Los impactos del cambio climático cada vez muestran panoramas más críticos, principalmente con las ciudades costeras por el incremento del nivel medio del mar (sin descartar las otras afectaciones en otros territorios por las sequías). Este panorama hará que muchas zonas costeras requieran de una mayor (o real) sensibilización, estrategias e intervenciones para mitigar y … Read more

The Green Ally

In Spain, there is an urban myth, according to which – The country was once so thickly forested that a squirrel could cross the peninsula hopping from tree to tree. -However, this condition has changed throughout the years, both in terms of the natural environment and the existence of squirrels in Spain. The case study … Read more

Deaths from air pollution in Central Europe

Air pollution- the combination of outdoor and indoor particulate matter, and ozone– causes more than 7 million deaths each year (World Health Organisation) and it is considered to be one of the world’s largest health and environmental problems. The same data shows that 99% of the world population currently live in places with air quality … Read more

Almanac Autumn & Winter Rotation | Roots

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

Slow the Flow

Vallcarca Cane Park Manifesto The Vallcarca Cane Park is an urban farm aimed towards reconnecting the diverse set of communities that make up its surrounding neighborhood. Located in an urban void north of the Ronda de Dalt, our structure is built using cane, a vernacular material, and traditional fabrication methods such as active bending. The … Read more

A Parallel City for Pollinators

Introduction to Pollination The project attempts to study and research the possibilities of creating a green, three-dimensional corridor for pollinators in a specific area, the historical city center of Madrid, connecting Madrid’s most prominent green park “el Retiro” in the east to the “Casa de Campo” natural reserve in the west. In particular the proposal … Read more

Global scale data visualization

This project aims to explore the possibilities of mapping global scale data onto an 3D globe – in this case the CO2 emissions per country in Megatons. The project reveals the five biggest contributors to CO2 Emissions in 2019 – China, USA, Russia, Indian & Japan and also shows how little CO2 is emitted by … Read more

Hidrología Inteligente

¿Como afectará el Cambio Climático al ciclo del agua? El mundo evoluciona a pasos acelerados, tanto en progreso tecnológico, como en presión por parte de la naturaleza. La agenda del cambio climático corre de manera inversa al avance de las ciudades, y se hace una necesidad prever los escenarios que estos traerán a los lugares … Read more

Open Nature | Font del Gos

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

RE-GENERACIÓ / RE-GENERATION

This immersive installation was developed for Barcelona’s LLUM festival Feb 3-5, 2023. A series of dynamic visuals projected on the ground integrated with ambient audio, where visitors’ movements are tracked using a depth camera and processed in a computer to produce interactive visuals. The volume of the audio is responsive to the number of people … Read more

ALGAE LOOP

THE FUTURE OF HEURA’S WORKSPACE THE GOAL of this project is to envision the future of HEURA FOODS workspace, considering existing technologies and climate change scenarios and using Barcelona’s historical building as a site for intervention. HEURA FOODS was founded in 2017 by Marc and Bernan in a co-working office in the center of Barcelona. … Read more

Twisting into Shape

What do you get if you combine an umbrella with a funnel? A Fumbrella of course! Combining the idea of using an umbrella coupled with a water collecting funnel to create a Fumbrella. This new urban infrastructure is parametric in that it opens and closes according to both solar radiation and rainfall. It is well … Read more