Yesterday at 13:00h in Barcelona (and 16:00h Mumbai), students in the IAAC Global Summer School began their final presentations after 15 days of hard work and preparation. Their goal: turn a city “SuperBlock” into an intelligently connected system of distributed information.
The Global Summer School students from Barcelona were split into 6 groups, each group was assigned one block that was part of the Barcelona “SuperBlock” they were analyzing (students in Mumbai were split into 3 groups with 3 blocks). At the beginning of the workshop the groups analyzed the levels of consumption for each block (energy, water, CO2 emissions, etc) taking into consideration the various types of buildings and residents of each block (commercial, industrial, residential, vacant buildings, public space, etc). With the data collected they were able to make recommendations as to how each block could become more efficient, not just on its own, but acting in conjunction with the other blocks within SuperBlock. This is a sample of a network that could be applied to an entire city in the future where the city working together as whole can be more efficient than the sum of its parts.
The Interactive Model
To demonstrate the effect of each proposal in its interaction within the SuperBlock, students created an interactive model which calculated the various levels of 5 calculations:
1. Environmental Data: Light, Temperature, CO2 emissions
2. The block’s global role, how much activity takes place on the block
3. Water Consumption
4. Energy Consumption
5. Energy Generation
By assigning a value to each input the students were able to rate their block on a 6 point scale (Optimum as the highest and Very Low Efficiency the lowest) which was represented by a colored system in the interactive model. The interactive model was made up of a network of Arduino boards with light sensors displaying the color status of each portion of the block, all connected to data input dials. As the inputs (resource consumption and generation) for each block changed, so did the color (efficiency level) of each block within the SuperBlock.
Congratulations to all of the students in Barcelona and Mumbai on their hard work for the past 15 days!
About the IAAC Global Summer School
The IAAC Global Summer School (GSS) is testing a distributed educational model seeking to generate a dynamic network based on distributed knowledge and collective actions.
IAAC GSS is taking place simultaneously in Barcelona, Turin and Mumbai. Students located in Barcelona (IAAC) and Mumbai (BSSA) will work under the same thematic research sharing seminars as well as broadcasted lectures from Barcelona, Mumbai, Turin, and Texas.
Self<a>rchitecture is an agenda, with both research and educational goals, that combines science and technology with architecture and urban planning.
Throughout the program students will work in collaboration with many experts in the fields of environmental research and information technology including: Urbiotica, Masimo Banzi (Arduino), Usman Haque (Pachube), Thales Alenia Space, Nikos Salingaros, Dhananjay Gadre, Andrew Pane, Carlo Ratti (MIT SENSEable City Lab), Autodesk, McNeel Europe, and more.
Follow the summer school blog at: www.iaac.net/globalschool