Everyday life at the Institute for advanced architecture of Catalonia
#IAAC is out and about this week:
Academic Director Areti Markopoulou meeting with with Dr. Thomas D. Meier, president of Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), in the Connecting Space Zurich University of the Arts in #HongKong !
#SharingKnowledge #Connecting #LearningByDoing #FutureEducation#Arts #Architecture #Cities #BuildingTheFuture #now
On the 19th of June we had the MAA02 Individual Thesis Final Presentations here at IAAC. The jury included international guests Stephen Gage (The Bartlett), Franz Prati (Polytechnic School of Genoa), Elena Rocchi (Taliesin), Josep Ferrando (Josep Ferrando Architecture), Beatriz Minguez de Molina (EMBT), and Carles Casamor (Barcelona City Council); as well as IAAC members Areti Markopoulou (Academic Director), Silvia Brandi (Academic Coordinator), Manuel Gausa (Dean), and Maite Barvo and Ricardo Devesa (Research Methodology & Theory Faculty). The presentations were divided into 3 blocks, each block linked to thesis projects developed under one of the Individual Thesis Supervisors: Marcos Cruz, Vicente Guallart, Jordi Pagès, or Lluís Viu.
On the 18th of June we had the Intelligent Cities | Emergent Territories Research Studio, led by Willy Müller, Jordi Mansilla, and Jorge Perea, with Jordi Vivaldi, Final Presentations. The guest jury included IAAC Academic Director, Areti Markopoulou, Academic Coordinator, Silvia Brandi, Dean, Manuel Gausa, and theory faculty, Maite Bravo; as well as Luca Galofaro, IAN+, Ioanna Spanou, UPC, and Juan Carlos Sanchez Tappan, Espacio Sofan.
The 7 projects presented, working in the the area of connection between the Port and Montjuïc, proposed the future of Barcelona as follows:
Surface on Demand – Ran Shabtay - a language, or a system that can be adapt anywhere any time, as long as the city has water sources and physical buildings. This system can be changed and adapted to any situation.
RHIZOME_Adaptable Network – Marina Lazareva, Igor Cegar, Tamara Ivanovic, and Teresa Lodoño - imagines a different city, a different era where a model of transporting people from city to city, in a way of adventures and experiences, is proposed.
The Digital Matter | Intelligent Constructions Research Studio, led by Areti Markopoulou, with Faculty assistant Alexandre Dubor and Computational Assistant Carlos Bausá, had their final presentations on Wednesday the 17th of June 2015. The presentations were discussed with an all star jury international guests Irene Gallou (Foster+Partners Specialist Modelling Group), Ilker Bayer (Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia Smart Materials Group), and Carles Sala (Sala Ferusic); as well as in house members, Silvia Brandi (IAAC Academic Coordinator), Manuel Gausa (IAAC Dean), Maite Bravo (Theory Faculty), Eduard Cabay (Introductory Studio Faculty), Javier Peña (Design with Nature Faculty), and Aldo Sollazzo (IAAC Alumni & Noumena). Manuel Kreutzer (ETH Zurich, Materiability) was also invited but could not attend, although he managed to connect for a video review of the 8 projects!
The 8 project proposals tackle questions regarding Material Intelligence. Smart materials such as shape-memory materials, piezoelectric, thermoelectric or bio-materials able to adjust their properties to different environmental conditions, allow to programme buildings at a nanoscale, and open up a series of applications on an architectural scale and industrial applications. Furthermore, new composite materials that present preset combinations of mechanical properties or multi-functional properties of non-homogeneous materials in shape and composition across a wide range of scales bring forth the exploration of a shift in design culture, taking us to a new level of material awareness. Material Intelligence in combination with Artificial and Computational Intelligence, simulations, sensors, actuators, as well as with bio-mimetic innovations provide revolutionary ideas on growth, adaptability, repair, sensitivity, replication and energy savings in architecture.
The Design with Nature Research Studio, led by Javier Peña and Rodrigo Rubio, with Oriol Carrasco, in the Valldaura Labs, was held on the 16th of June. There to discuss the proposals were IAAC Academic Director, Areti Markopoulou, and Academic Coordinator, Silvia Brandi; as well as Josep Mascaró, head architect of the Collserola Park; Elena Rocchi, Taliesin Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture; Maria Jose Marcos, Magic Arch; Relja Ferusic, Sala Ferusic; Jonathan Minchin, Green Fab Lab Coordinator; and Alexandre Dubor, Digital and Robotic Fabrication.
The many project proposals consisted in:
MethLAB - Giuseppe di Domenico, Nada Shalaby, Philip Serif, Yasmine Hamza – Proposes to use food waste for Anaerobic digestion, the process of degradation of a substance in the absence of oxygen in 4 major steps:Hydrolysis : the cleavage of chemical bonds by adding water; Acidogenesis: products of the hydrolysis to fatty acids; Acetogenesis: bacteria consumes precursors and produce acetate; Methanogenisis: break down of acetic acid to produce methane gas; finally proposing the Methanecus Wormacus.
In response to the IaaC Alumni | Call for Speakers, IaaC invited 3 Alumni of excellence from around the world to come and share their specific experiences: Hemant Purohit (India, 2008) - session 1 – explained about his architectural and professional practice and the use of traditional technology with advanced design; Monika Wittig (USA, 2007) - session 2 – focused her presentation on research, development and her experience in this field; and Liliana Viveros (Mexico, 2011) - session 4 – discussed competitions and construction, giving an inside look to her own experience at FREE as a project leader.
On Monday 22nd of June we had the inauguration of the first IaaC Alumni meeting at the Valldaura Labs, a sight that had evolved visibly for many f the former generations of Alumni. The Alumni present at the meeting came from 17 different countries, including Iceland, Norway, Russia, Argentina, India, USA, Mexico, Philippines, and more; and covering 8 generations of IaaC Alumni.
After a small coffee breakfast where the more antic (not old!!) and new generations met up for the first time. We then got down to business with a working meeting, resulting to be a very productive and active talk about the next steps for the IaaC Alumni network. Among other things, the main topics discussed were the IaaC Alumni Platform, as well as the future possibilities of this network as a consolidated group in both the professional and academic fields. The main concerns of the new alumni regarded life directly after IaaC, many with both professional and academic agendas.
We concluded the productive meeting with a delicious brunch with all the alumni participants and later came back to IaaC for the Closing Lecture with Elizabeth Diller.