A Community Board Game for Mukuru, Nairobi Jumuiya means “community” in Swahili. My Jumuiya is a participatory board game in which 3 to 6 players each embody a different resident of Mukuru, Nairobi — a mother, a factory worker, a doctor, a kid, a teacher, a university student, a market seller, or a person with … Read more
Trinitat Nova and Trinitat Vella Scavenger Hunt Moving between the neighborhoods of Trinitat Nova and Trinitat Vella in Barcelona, and reaching natural landscapes nearby, like the Collserola hillside or the Besòs River, can already feel a bit like a scavenger hunt. Large highway infrastructures carve through the area, creating barriers that make simple trips … Read more
This project introduces a high-performance terrace pavilion that merges environmental data with advanced robotic fabrication. The design process began with a comprehensive solar and circulation analysis, identifying thermal hotspots and vantage points to determine the optimal balance between shaded gathering areas and open viewing corners. The resulting structure features a complex, interlocking timber geometry that … Read more
Scrap Metal, Migration and Urban Recycling To better understand people, we must understand the spaces they occupy – the city they navigate, the neighborhood they experience. Robert Park notes that the city is a man’s most consistent and on the whole, his most successful attempt to remake the world he lives in more after his … Read more
Cities are often described in terms of movement. We often tend to move through them in familiar loops – leaving home to catch the metro, commuting to work, coming back in the evening, running errands, going to appointments. Over time, these repeated paths shape how we think about urban space and can seem to define … Read more
This project explores the computational assembly of components to form a multi-functional complex. By translating configurations into graphs, we applied Space Syntax logic to evaluate three key values : Depth, Integration, and Choice. The optimal architecture was selected based on the balanced symmetry of these indices. Finally, these analytical values directly guided the spatial programming, … Read more
A Model for Connected Stewardship Context The Montseny landscape is shaped by terraced slopes, a system that historically functioned as both agricultural infrastructure and ecological stabilization. These terraces were carefully constructed to retain soil, slow water, and create productive microclimates along steep terrain. Stone walls regulate moisture. Layered planting stabilizes slopes. In this system, humans … Read more
Our Collective Design Goals As designers, we see this project as an opportunity to create a play environment that is genuinely functional, inclusive, and meaningful for children, while deepening our own understanding of how design can support play, curiosity, and well-being. We aim to learn basic design, fabrication and installation with wood as a material. … Read more
Oriol Carrasco – Anomaly.Build Oriol Carrasco is a PhD architect from Barcelona. He is a senior fabrication expert at IAAC with extensive expertise in composite manufacturing. Oriol currently teaches in MAA and 3DpA programs. He has been co-leading the Design with Nature research line since 2013, teaching now in the metabolic introductory studio. He has … Read more
The Purpose of AI in the Age of Resource Scarcity Introduction: Redefining the Question The question “What is the purpose of AI in AEC?” often elicits a predictable response focused on speed. For years the industry has viewed Artificial Intelligence primarily as a mechanism for automation. It is seen as a faster way to produce … Read more
Introduction — Where My Interest Began My interest in AI and its application in the AEC industry started before this course. During the IAAC GSS, I worked on a study in Bogotá using GIS and image‑recognition tools to map sensory criticality in care-focused urban zones. What surprised me most was how accessible the process was. … Read more
Crafting Nature’s Palette for Sustainable Printing Introduction For our ecological interactions class, we were tasked with creating a place specific cottage industry, that takes local natural resources and turns them into unique products for the community. The cottage industry should be mostly self-sufficient, and should use resources intentionally and responsibly, to promote longevity and healthy … Read more
Research question: How can a material be used in restoration of the existing buildings in the region of Terres De l’Ebre which is beneficial for the future ecology whilst creating industries of extraction of that material without depleting the ecology? Abstract of the proposal: The project explores how the abundant geological materials of Terres de … Read more
Exploring Low-Tech, Sustainable Construction Methods and Manual Strategies for Community Empowerment The use of bamboo in construction is emblematic of an ongoing tension between traditional knowledge and the global imperatives of sustainable development. Despite its traditional use in many regions, the potential as a resilient, self-sustaining construction material remains largely underexplored in the contemporary architectural … Read more
This project focuses on accessibility and orientation between nearby schools and Parc dels Pins in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. It emphasizes children and inclusion. Through co-creation with local schools, the design tests inclusive wayfinding strategies using sensory and tactile signage. These aim to improve safety, visibility, and spatial awareness. The process brings together children, educators, … Read more
We had an incredible, whirlwind five days co-creating public spaces with Pablo Muñoz, Luisa Torres, Josefina Ovalle Parot, and the amazing community of Santa Coloma de Gramenet. It felt like a rapid-fire game—running around the park, talking to people, collecting stories, analyzing data in GIS and Grasshopper, figuring out who to design for, and then … Read more
