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# Design Research Studio

WOVEN EARTH: FROM CRAFT TO INTELLIGENT ARCHITECTURE


MRAC-01 2025-2026 by
MRAC-01 2025-2026

A Hybrid Robotic-Human System for Adaptive Woven-Earthen Construction Abstract Woven Earth reinterprets traditional willow weaving and earth construction as a digitally informed architectural system. Drawing from vernacular techniques such as wattle and daub, the project develops a hybrid construction method combining woven willow, variable-thickness cavities, and robotic fabrication. Infill strategies layer light earth and straw … Read more

Sensi: Making Comfort a Design Layer


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

Building Sensi, a sensory copilot for architectural floor plans. In architecture, we model everything. Structure, cost, energy, code compliance. Layer after layer of analysis that makes a building accountable before it’s built. But one thing was missing from the stack: how the space will actually feel. Not feel as in emotion. Feel as in the … Read more

BANANA MATTERS


MAA-01 2025-2026 by
MAA-01 2025-2026

Abstract Banana Matters transforms discarded banana pseudostem biomass into carbon-sequestering architectural panels through material research, bio-based binders, and digital fabrication. The project addresses the untapped potential of nearly 525 million tonnes of annual banana waste by developing lightweight, low-carbon composites with acoustic and structural applications. Through iterative material experimentation, heat-press manufacturing, and mechanical and physical … Read more

Motion Pixels


MaAI-02 2025-2026 by
MaAI-02 2025-2026

Mapping out Spatial Intelligence Program: Master in AI for Architecture and the Built Environment (MaAI)Supervisor: Wassim Jabi Motion Pixels is a research project that explores how pedestrian movement can be transformed into spatial intelligence. By combining computer vision, trajectory analysis, behavioral mapping, and machine learning, the project converts video recordings of public spaces into spatial … Read more

The Likable Public


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

Intro This digital essay explores the growing trend of designing interior spaces for image consumption rather than functional use. This project investigates the consequences for public spaces when they are reshaped by the “economy of likes”. Drawing on Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle, the researchers argue that social relations are increasingly mediated through images, … Read more

Project Michigan


MAA-01 2025-2026 by
MAA-01 2025-2026

Using climate clustering, vernacular precedent research, and evolutionary optimisation to create climate-responsive design typologies when no established local precedent exists Overview Lovingly named after the very first test location, Project Michigan is a tool that provides climate-responsive design guidelines when no local vernacular precedent exists. Through scraping climate data and global vernacular information, it helps … Read more

Co-RESPIRA


3DPA 2025-2026 by
3DPA 2025-2026
co-respira

Co-Respira focuses on the home’s most important space—a place to gather, relax, share moments, or spend time alone—while creating opportunities for different generations to coexist within the same environment. Responding to today’s housing challenges, including increasing density, social isolation, and the need for more sustainable living models, the project proposes a co-living approach that balances privacy … Read more

Robotics for Ecological Buildings: STRAW


MRAC-01 2025-2026 by
MRAC-01 2025-2026

This work investigates the structural potential of straw in its raw, unprocessed state — exploiting its natural wilderness and fibrous friction to build systems from its inherent properties. By coupling these material behaviors with robotic fabrication, the process becomes parameterized, enabling a vernacular material to be deployed within a precise and predictable architectural system. Introduction … Read more

Robotics for Ecological Buildings


MAA-01 2025-2026 by
MAA-01 2025-2026

Studio: Term 2 – MRAC + MAA For our third term MRAC paired up with MAA students to investigate how vernacular materials and techniques of Catalonia could be modernised with robotic precision to create new typologies. Our group chose to work with Canya; more specifically Arundo Donax, Giant Reed. Two vernacular techniques we looked to … Read more

Digital Tissue: A Living Map of the Hyperbuilding Cells


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

Preliminary Study: Demography as Design Driver In Hyperbuilding 3, our focus was to understand how demographic data can actively inform architectural decisions. We started by analysing the Chilean census portal, which provides detailed information for the entire metropolitan region and specifically for the Providencia district. From this dataset, we looked at age distribution, household composition, … Read more

Ecosystem Services in Lisbon


MAA-01 2025-2026 by
MAA-01 2025-2026

– Reimagining the Northern Green Corridor of Lisbon – Location The project site in Lisbon is strategically located within a dynamic urban fabric characterized by a mix of historic layers and contemporary development. Positioned between key mobility corridors and densely populated neighborhoods, the area experiences a high level of pedestrian and vehicular activity throughout the … Read more

Corked-Up


MAA-01 2025-2026 by
MAA-01 2025-2026

This project explores cork as a sustainable material and investigates new possibilities for its application through innovative design and production methods. By experimenting with different technologies and rethinking how they can be used, the aim is to develop new ways of working with cork that minimize carbon emissions, reduce waste, and limit the use of … Read more

EVERYDAY MOBILITY NETWORKS


MaCT-01 2025-2026 by
MaCT-01 2025-2026

Children’s journey to school, in Bosa Apogeo, Colombia INTRO Bogotá’s growth over the last two decades has been dramatic. The metropolitan area now holds close to 11.8 million inhabitants — a 51% increase in just 15 years. That growth has not been evenly distributed across the city. The city currently ranks 7th in the world … Read more