MAA Student: Maria Marghariti (Greece)
Research Studio: Self- Sufficient Buildings
Studio Instructor: Vicente Guallart, IAAC Director, and Javier Peña
Project: Algae Farm Block
Student’s Summary:
Basic element of the project is the algae and its cultivation, that consists a powerful source of energy, an effective water cleaning system and captures great amounts of CO2 (essential for its growth), emitting at the same time O2. The algae is cultivated in photobioreactors that are hanged from the free ends of the beams of the light steel structure forming in that way the north-east and north west facades of the building that work as a filter between the interior and the exterior space. Furthermore, the terraces that are behind the photobioreactors consist a transitional space that can be unified at will with the interior space controlling in that way the conditions and the microclimate of the interior spaces. Moreover, principal circulation of the building are ramps and bicycle lines that follow the facades of the atrium of the building and that lead up to a green roof of a neighbor existing building.
The form of the structure is based on the placement of the columns and the perimetrical beams 2m towards the interior space of the slabs, creating that way a transitional space between the interior and the skin facade of Algae photo-bioreactors. That structure creates neighboring spaces with different conditions and gives the opportunity of a more free positioning of the interior partitions.
About the MAA Final Projects
In Final Phases of the Masters in Advanced Architecture program students attend one of three Research Studios: Self-Sufficient Buildings, Digital Tectonics or Emergent Territories. At the end of Phase II MAA Students presented their initial proposals. Throughout Phase III they have refined this research for their final presentations.
This year final presentations will be held the week of June 27. All presentations are open to the public. We invite you to come to see the students present. More information will be provided closer to the week of presentations.