Category Archives: Uncategorized

This evening the OTF Researchers reviewed their project elaborations and prototypes, insode the research lines of Intelligent Building Constructions and Smart Urban Elements. Advisors of both research lines were present, consisting in Areti Markopoulou, Marc Viader, Silvia Brandi, Victor Iribas and Luis Fraguada, as well as Breinco Executive Director Joan Balagué, and IAAC Faculty Alexandre Dubor and Guillem Camprodon.

The projects and prototypes gave way to an open discussion focusing on the potential outcomes of each OTF project, as well as the potential of envisioning further research on the topics.

Read More »

Tonight we had the pleasure of hosting Richard Blythe as part of the IAAC Fall Lecture Series. The Dean of RMIT started his discourse on the Ticklish Subject of Architecture with a series of images of typical Australian architecture, or “monuments”, that is the Bigs: the Big Banana, the Big Merino, the Big Earth Worm…etc all of which in some way transform into architecture what is particular to that territory, or to put it more straight forward, what that place is about.

Richard Blythe then presented a series of his projects, as well as some of his PhD Candidates work in the search for quality in architecture, presenting possible answers to a variety of questions among which: what is it that drives architecture? What is the urge? What invites us to experiment? And how do I, architect, create a moment with the user, how do I grab you?

For Richard Blythe architects are gardeners who tend to their own imagination of urges and afscination, growing a garden of urgent possibility, aiming to move us. There is no thing more important that an arhcitect can do than to move us in some way.

Read More »

Beforelight and IAAC held the “Creating participatory lighting prototypes” Workshop, within the European-funded project Urban Lightscapes, this weekend.

Urban Lightscapes is a European Project focused on the multifaceted study of urban lighting, through an interdisciplinary platform that involves artists, designers and citizens, with utter goal to promote open dialogue and residents’ active participation. Involving three activities: a symposium, a workshop and light installations, Urban Lightscapes aims to change the way citizens perceive open spaces and urban lighting, aspiring to be a successful example of an interdisciplinary and social collaboration with positive influence in public lighting.

The aim of the workshop was to design and fabricate a Participatory light Prototype/lighting Process, promoting users’ participation in creating different light interventions in their neighborhoods.

The development during the 3 days of the intense workshop regarded the development and fabrication of an urban lighting prototype, that could interact both physically and digitally, using tools such as Rhino 3D – Grasshopper, programming with Arduino UNO, sensors and digital fabrication.

The outcome of the 7 groups, all consisting in integrated groups of students and engineering, industrial design, lighting dessign and architectural professionals, were a series of very interesting projects and prototypes, all concentrating on and reflecting the management of urban lighting.

Read More »

A huge congratulations to the Smart Citizen Project, winner of the 2013 Word Smart Cities Awards for the Most Innovative Initiative at the Smart City Expo World Congress!!!!!

Today the When Energy Becomes Form Studio had their Mid Term Review with Claudia Pasquero, Marco Poletto and Carmelo Zappulla, as well as MAA Director Areti Markopoulou, during which the students presented the research developped until now as well as their bio-technological prototypes, presenting morphology, materiality and aesthetic novelty, through the emergent qualities of specific flows of energy and information.

Read More »