Vernacular architecture has steadily lost relevance in contemporary practice. Industrialized construction methods, aesthetic shifts, and the pursuit of perceived reliability in materials like concrete and steel have overshadowed traditional techniques. However, these modern materials often come at a high environmental cost. Among the overlooked methods is quincha, a construction technique common in Latin America. It … Read more
Re-Rio is a vision to bring dignity, connection, and opportunity to the Gradim fishing community in Rio de Janeiro. Faced with poor infrastructure and social neglect, this project reimagines housing and public space through sustainable, affordable, and flexible design. It creates cool, breathable homes, shared learning spaces, and eco-tourism paths that celebrate local culture. By … Read more
Nestled within IAAC’s Master of Advanced Computational Design program, our recent investigation of Graph Machine Learning (Graph ML) sought to reimagine how we perceive, evaluate, and improve architectural spaces. Our team of Andrea, Leila, Lennart, and Mahnoor worked on a courtyard prototype to create a seamless process that combines parametric modeling, semantic data interchange, and … Read more
AQUA.NEST: An AI-Powered Decision Support Toolbox for Adaptive Urban Design Using Nature-Based Solutions in Flood-Exposed Coastal Cities Coastal urban flooding is emerging as one of the most urgent climate challenges of our time. Without strong adaptation, annual flood damages could reach €930 billion globally by 2050, even with improved infrastructure (OECD, 2020). Rising sea levels and … Read more
GWP-data enriched graphs Imagine being able to see the carbon footprint of a building, not after it’s built, but while it’s still a sketch. What if architects and engineers could get real-time sustainability feedback the moment they decide on a material or tweak a wall layout? That’s the vision behind Visual GWP. We combined Graph … Read more
“The Amazon rainforest, often called the ‘lungs of the Earth,’ is rapidly disappearing. But this isn’t just an environmental crisis—it’s a geopolitical and economic issue. In the heart of this transformation lies [Mato Grosso], Brazil’s largest soy-producing state. Its key location fuels both economic growth and ecological destruction, leading to tensions over land use, trade policies, and environmental governance.” … Read more
Bridging Carbon estimations in early design stages The built environment accounts for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, the urgency to integrate sustainability into architectural and engineering processes has never been greater. Yet, decisions made in the earliest stages of building design often lock in the majority of a structure’s lifetime carbon footprint, long before … Read more
A story of water, resistance, and the quiet uprising of chlorides and carex Water Pollution in Barcelona The water waits. It holds its breath Its beauty hides a slow-built threat. The rain forgets to fall for months, Then crashes down in angry stunts. No roots to catch it, drains too tight It pulls the metals … Read more
The third and final volume of the Theories of the Urban Seminar has taken science fiction as both a critical framework and a mode of spatial representation, using cinematic and theoretical lenses to examine urban futures in the Anthropocene. Where previous volumes addressed urbanization as historical concept and financial phenomenon, this installment confronts our planetary … Read more
Project by Saad Khan , Sai Mohan Satwik and Baran Koc INTRODUCTION Our group was assigned to study the TMDC building, focusing on its material composition, spatial qualities, and potential for on-site material reuse. The goal is to explore how the existing structure can become a source for recycled construction materials, which we would then … Read more
DEL ARROZ Esta investigación se sitúa en el territorio arrocero del noreste de Uruguay, caracterizado por tierras bajas y húmedas asociadas a la cuenca de la Laguna Merín. Dentro de su territorio está el sistema de humedales Bañados del Este y Franja Costera, reconocido por su importancia planetaria y por servir de hogar para especies … Read more
Hacia la reconquista de los No Lugares urbanos: El caso del aeropuerto EOH de Medellín 00 Introducción Las infraestructuras globales Las infraestructuras son uno de los temas centrales dentro de la planeación urbana mundial, 6 de los 17 “Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible” establecidos por la ONU están relacionados con ellas. Allí, las definen como “la … Read more
Infiltraciones en el Barrio Ferroviario de San Juan. Artes, Oficios & Rituales. Huellas Ferroviarias El 2 de abril de 1885 llega el ferrocarril a la Provincia de San Juan. Su llegada fue indispensable y fundamental, junto a la inmigración europea. En el año 1948, el presidente de la República Argentina, Juan Domingo Perón, nacionalizó los … Read more
a BIOCHAR BASED concrete WITH A negative carbon footprint BARA is an opportunity to build negative carbon constructionsystems by rethinking concrete and methods used in the buildingindustry. Using on-site 3D printing and casting, entire buildings can beconstructed with reduced cement while storing and capturing carbon. The focus is on optimizing and improvingstructural performance, enhancing carbon … Read more
