LighTopia: Light up community space with participatory design

LighTopia, a transformative project where the community plays a pivotal role in shaping their public space through the lens of participatory design. In this immersive journey, we invite you to explore our comprehensive methodology, emphasizing collaboration, empathy, and the dynamic synergy between community insights and innovative design. 1. Site Context and Data Analysis: Our journey … Read more

An Encounter with a Passage

1. Introduction In the exploration of urban design and its impact on community well-being, “An Encounter with a Passage” delves into the heart of participatory design. This project revolves around the central question of integrating green spaces in urban settings, not just as an aesthetic feature but as a core element of community identity and … Read more

Reversing Ecosystem Degradation

MaCAD 23/24 // ACESD Theory Existing State of Urban Design In order to understand how to strive for successful ecological design practices, designers must first understand the problems that currently exist in the process of urban design. The current state of design tends to create distinct enclosures between both natural ecosystems and humans, with the … Read more

Navigating GeoPandas and the Digital Wilderness

“Start the machine” …was the first operation in mind when asked to perform a task with Python script. One of the motivations to learn Python as an urban designer is to organize geospatial data with accuracy and legibility. Before we dive into the digital wilderness, of data trees and data frames, it’s important to note … Read more

LA CREMADA

The second year students of Master in Advanced Architecture (MAA) and Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction (MRAC) participate in Llum BCN 2024 with LA CREMADA / THE BURN, an immersive interactive installation that delves deep into the world of wildfires, their origins, impacts, and the critical need for understanding and prevention. The installation, located at Plaça Les Arts, C/ … Read more

Sprouting Habitats

Introduction The project “Sprouting Habitats” investigates the impact of ecological conservation sites, particularly in the context of waterbirds. As most living organisms on earth, birds heavily rely on water and its associated habitats, such as wetlands, to support crucial phases of their life cycle, including migration, breeding, and wintering. Unfortunately, human activities like intensive agriculture, … Read more

StropoSight

The system is designed to facilitate regular bird-watching opportunities through the observation deck. Distinguishing between average bird flights in the troposphere and migratory bird flocks in the stratosphere from the other layers of atmosphere, it focuses on capturing stratospheric and Tropospheric activity. LEDs on the observation deck signify flock distance, alerting bird watchers to arrivals … Read more

A Dammed Conundrum

How to activate uncertainty as a design-tool? Credits Characters Maya- Architect Charlett- Daughter of Architect Alex- Engineer Oliver- Worker It is autumn in Sandouping. The leaves, unsure of their directions float on the edges of a large lake. The lake is shadowed by the construction work of a dam on one of its edges. On … Read more

METAPHOREST

What modes of activism does the Anthropocene unleash? ABSTRACT “Activism takes various forms: from Guendalina’s digital activism to Gail’s passionate protests, Stephen’s data-driven focus, and Patricia’s philosophical reflection. Each approach offers unique perspectives in the fight for social and environmental change.” CHARACTERS ??????? ?? ?[Philosopher] – Patricia??????????????[Influencer] – Guendalina???????????[Scientist] – Dr.Stephen Numb ???????????[Local] – José … Read more

Xelajú-Digerible

El sistema alimentario como pilar estratégico para el desarrollo urbano de la zona 3, Quetzaltenango. Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. C.A El enfoque anteriormente abordado se centraba en la ecología y el cambio climático, exponiendo la situación actual de la ciudad de Quetzaltenango. Se identificaban los procesos alimentarios a través de la industria y cómo estas dinámicas contribuyen … Read more

FRONTERAS TRASLAPADAS

REPROGRAMANDO EL BORDE ENTRE TÁCHIRA – VENEZUELA Y NORTE DE SANTANDER – COLOMBIA AMÉRICA SIN FRONTERAS Antes de la creación de cualquier tipo de frontera geopolítica el territorio americano era hogar de diversas culturas indígenas ancestrales, Hace unos 50.000 años los primeros habitantes cruzaron el estrecho de Bering generando las primeras migraciones desde Asía a … Read more

TERRITORIOS REACTIVOS. Hacia una reprogramación de la región centro-sur de Uruguay

Territorios reactivos refiere a la activación del territorio como respuesta a la irrupción del Proyecto Ferrocarril Central, obra de rehabilitación de 273km de la infraestructura ferroviaria histórica de Uruguay que al 2023 se encuentra en obra 1. Antigua red ferroviaria La vía férrea, uno de los elementos más representativos de la primera revolución industrial, comienza … Read more

Networking Tacarigua

Networking Tacarigua: Modelo de Ciudad en Redes Hidrográficas para Maracay, Venezuela Agua: Fuente de Vida, Problema Urbano El origen de toda la vida puede trazarse hacia el agua. Es un elemento indispensable para la subsistencia de todo organismo que habita el planeta tierra. Para la humanidad, el agua siempre ha estado presente, con la creación … Read more

Environmental Asset Resilience

The Environmental Asset Resilience (EAR) Tool is a response to the pressing global challenge of environmental instability, particularly in urban areas. These areas face substantial costs associated with environmental problems and climate change. However, decision-making in addressing these issues is complicated by conflicting priorities, limited resources, and a lack of expertise. The EAR Project aims … Read more

Wildlife Corridors

Our project focuses on modeling and predicting habitat fragmentation avoidance mechanisms using graphs. We investigate wildlife corridors in Australia, leveraging graph-based approaches to create coherent passages and connect forest areas. By analyzing satellite images, road data, and other metrics, we construct and evaluate graph models that incorporate forest containment, node characteristics, and connectivity. Our goal … Read more

4sight

Insightful Predictions for Your City’s Future. The purpose of Foresight is to leverage the capabilities of machine learning to anticipate the potential effects of novel urban infrastructure on the city’s fabric and the value of city blocks. Foresight aims to serve as a preliminary design tool, with the ability to swiftly process vast amounts of … Read more

The 3-30-300 Rule

TRANSFORMING CITIES INTO URBAN FORESTS This principle, proposed by Cecil Konijnendijk, highlights the significant role played by urban forests and other forms of urban nature in promoting our health, well-being, and resilience to climate change. It acknowledges the need to consider various aspects of urban forests to achieve success. It also emphasizes the importance of … Read more

ThermoVision

ThermoVision is a predictive tool that leverages machine learning to gauge thermal comfort in urban landscapes, allowing us to understand the correlation between our built environment and the thermal comfort. There is inconsistent outdoor thermal comfort due to varied building topologies, building materials and vegetation. Understanding the thermal landscapes is challenging due to their complexity. … Read more

URBAN CASCADE

Re-imagining Food Production through Bio-Based Water Treatment Infrastructure This project was developed during the Digital Matter Research studio, in which It was first identified a waste stream in which the material could be upcycled to a building material, and then developed a project of design in many scales that had a bottom-up approach, having the … Read more

C O R K O O N

‘Corkoon’ is a design proposal by a group of six students from MAEBB 2022-23 for the final thesis design of a Mobile home. The project aims to cater to the materiality aspects of a mobile home which we try to achieve by bio-mimicking the principles of a caterpillar in its chrysalis where it goes on … Read more