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# Structure

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

PermanenceOS


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

Every design decision has a structure. For the AI studio seminar, we built PermanenceOS , a structural intelligence platform that helps architects understand the consequences of early design decisions, before they get expensive to change. The Core Problem In early design, structural decisions get locked in fast and by the time the engineer is brought … 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

Material Logic over Machine Efficiency: A Conversation with Manja van de Worp


MRAC-01 2025-2026 by
MRAC-01 2025-2026
Manja van de worp

Manja van de Worp Director, YIP Structural Engineering | Faculty: MAA, MaCAD, MRAC Manja van de Worp is a prominent structural engineer and the Director of YIP Structural Engineering London. With over 15 years of professional experience in the global construction industry, her work specializes in the synergy between structural geometry, advanced fabrication, and emergent … Read more

Software III: Structural Testing with Karamba. Optimizing Our Adaptive Willow Wall System


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

As part of our Software III course at IAAC, our team conducted a comprehensive structural analysis on our Willow Protocols system using Karamba, a parametric structural analysis plugin for Grasshopper. The Challenge: Beyond Aesthetics Our Adaptive Willow Wall is designed as a collaborative human-robot woven structure with variable thickness, integrated furniture, and thermal performance. While … Read more

GranuLith


MAA 2025-2026 by
MAA 2025-2026

Reassembling matter. Rethinking structures. The construction industry generates billions of tones of construction and demolition waste every year, yet most of this material remains excluded from structural applications due to its irregularity, unpredictability, and incompatibility with conventional building systems. Granulith investigates an alternative approach, asking whether demolition waste can be transformed from a discarded by-product … Read more

Living Fibers: Robotic Needle Felting as an Architectural Construction System


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

MAA/MRAC Studio Term 3 — 2025/2026 | Robotics for Ecological Building When you think of wool, construction probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But wool has a longer history as a building material than most people realize, and it carries inherent properties that make it genuinely compelling for architecture: moisture regulation, thermal … Read more

Food Systems Under Attack


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

Agriculture is not simply another economic sector. It is the foundation of food security, livelihoods and social stability. Yet in many conflict zones, agricultural landscapes are systematically damaged through bombardment, infrastructure collapse, restricted access to farmland, and disruption of water systems. While urban destruction is often visible and extensively documented, the destruction of food-producing landscapes … Read more

Optimized Reciprocal


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

Reciprocal Frames Reciprocal frames are self-supporting 3D structures. They consist of three or more sloping beams arranged in a closed circuit. Each beam rests on the preceding one and supports the next, creating a completely interdependent grid. This design eliminates the need for a central pillar or column. Traditionally these frames were made of wood, … Read more

MORPHOLOGIES OF SHADE: A Computationally Optimized Pavilion for the IAAC Rooftop.


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

Abstract Morphologies of Shade explores the design of a computationally optimized pavilion for the rooftop of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona. The project responds to the environmental challenges of excessive solar exposure and strong wind conditions that limit the usability of the rooftop throughout the day. Inspired by natural canopy … 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

Timber Reuse Stacking Typologies


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

Using AI scripting in grasshopper to create and analyse reused timber stacked systems Two methods of creating panels made from an existing stocklist of reclaimed Timber using AI scripting integrated into Grasshopper. The first method explores the simple end to end stacking, by taking a random piece from the stock and placing it in a … Read more

PORTAL FRAME


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

Introduction — Intent Building a portal frame from reclaimed timber, focusing on splicing and shuffling techniques to adapt irregular pieces into a stable, structurally working system. Material Intelligence — Understanding the Stock Structural Logic — Portal Frame System Methodology — Overlay & Splice Strategy FABRICATION — Digital vs Physical The workflow was driven by existing … Read more

Garage coders


MaCT-02 2025-2026 by
MaCT-02 2025-2026

This blog focuses on Agentic workflow created during the workshop in creating an “IFC Compliance” checking app through different tools like Claude code, Cursor, Github, Gradio, Python and Js. The objective of creating this app was simple and straight to the eye, Create an app that can read the models and replace the conventional method … Read more