The competition involves several partners: IaaC  (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia), Fablab Barcelona, Solido3d and the Mediterranean Fablab, with the media partnership of Archello, Cityvision, e-architect and 3d-dreaming.

The competition has selected various innovative ideas in the field of design and digital fabrication. The selected projects, and the related manufacturing processes will now be inserted into our online platform and proposed on the market through a specific e-commerce website.

To produce these objects, RESHAPE has identified a community of makers unique in the world. Many FabLab and digital craftmans have joined our network and are now ready to produce the proposals of our designers.

The jury that selected the winners was composed of experts from various fields of design and digital fabrication as well as architectural criticism and information.

It was an honor for us to have as members of the jury: Tomas Diez [director of Fab Lab Barcelona]; Luis Fraguada [computational expert at IaaC and director of BAD Barcelona]; Andrea Graziano [computational expert and co-founder of Co.de.It]; Filippo Moroni [expert and director of Solido3d]; Giorgia Olivieri [freelance journalist and communication manager]; Emmauele J. Pilia [critic director of Deleyva Editore].

We received projects from all over the World, emphasizing the international success of RESHAPE.

The winner of the first edition of RESHAPE is Wooden Furokishi designed ​​by the group formed by Yuko Ishizu (Japan), Xexaki Evi (Greece), students from ETH Zurich.

The second price is Aleph by Massimiamo Lorenzo (Italy), Arturo Tedeschi (Italy), Maurizio Degni (Italy) and Elnaz Ghazi (Iran).

Third price for Robotic Surface Manipulation Peter Sprowls (USA) and Rossitza Kotelova (Bulgaria) from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Have also been selected with the honorable mention: BeadBot of Ahmend Hosny (USA), Amanda Lee (USA) and Jared Friedman (USA); Joinery Based Deployable Structure of Nicholas Germann (USA);

Transformable Table by Kwok Tung Chun (China); L+L side table by Joris Nielander (Netherlands); Soma by Lorenzo Massimiano (Italy), Andrea Galli (Italy), Elnaz Ghazi (Iran); Biotube by Samanci Sinem (Turkey), Rodolfo Parolin Hardy (Brazil), Grugiel Sebastian Alvarado (Costa Rica); T by Daniel Gillen (USA).

The online voting selected first Henka of Michela Ruggiero of Marble Eco Design and Gildo Incitti.

Second Prize for Flip of Ramy Aydarous; Third Prize for Plaint of Plarent Berhamaj and Paolo Nazzari.

The numbers of the first edition of RESHAPE say: 162 applications received. 180 designers from 24 countries and 44 cities. Students from 49 Universities around the world.17 Fab Labs involved. 10 Projects selected. 7 Honorable Mentions. 3 Prize Winners. 1 Winner.

This first edition ends with a series of important lessons which we learn for the future. The results of RESHAPE show how around topics such digital fabrication and computational design there is a receptive and entusiasthic community. From the other side also evidence that the real challenge is to teach, explore and share properly these issues.

The team of RESHAPE is ready to accept it.

Friday 23rd of May 2014

John Palmesino
Lecture: Fathoms

@ 19.30, IAAC Auditorium
Open to the Public

JOHN PALMESINO
John Palmesino is an architect and urbanist. He has established Territorial Agency together with Ann-Sofi Rönnskog. Territorial Agency is an independent organisation that innovatively promotes and works for sustainable territorial transformations. Territorial Agency works to strengthen the capacity of local and international communities in comprehensive spatial transformation management. Territorial Agency’s projects channel available spatial resources towards the development of their full potential. Territorial Agency’s work builds on wide stake-holder networks. It combines analysis, projects, advocacy and action. Territorial Agency’s projects include the Athropocene Observatory with Armin Linke and Anselm Franke, and a series of researches on European transformation processes. He is the director of AA Territories Think Tank and a Unit Master at the Architectural Association in London, he teaches at Goldsmiths, University of London.

SEMINAR BRIEF:

Each day, the average computing power of any given device increases. Technologies that were visionary and innovative in the

past, might not have been birthed at the correct time in order to take full advantage of their potential. For example, Virtual Reality in the late 80’s or 90’s was little more than a gimmick as the real time rendering capabilities of computers was not up to par with the vision for the technology. Last month, Facebook purchased a startup company that makes the Occulus Rift Virtual Reality Headset for 2 Billion USD. The technology is the same, but the computing power is different.

Unity is a Game Editor, allowing artists and designers to have one common platform for the development of 2D or 3D games that are deployable across many platforms including Windows, MacOSX, Android, iOS, XBox, etc. This means we can create immersive environments with realistic shadowing, information overlay, animation, and much more and be able to run them on the phones most of us have in our pockets. The implications for how we present our projects are broad.

Objective:

Over the course of this module, we will learn the Unity interface, how to model for a game environment, how to create navigation systems, cameras, and gui elements. In the end of the module, each individual will have a game engine platform to use for the presentation of their studio project.

Tools:

- Unity 4.3.4 or latest version

- Rhinoceros 5.0 or any 3D CAD for modelling (Rhino will be used in any tutorials dealing with modelling for games)

- Grasshopper 0.9.0072 + Plugins

IaaC was represented by Rodrigo Rubio tonight at the Roca Gallery Barcelona that hosted a conference regarding Self Sufficient Energy, and in particular the Case of the Solar Decathlon in Catalonia. The evening was kicked off by Georg W. Reinberg who gave an introduction entitled “Towards an efficient and productive Architecture”. A series of projects and prototypes were then presented among which the Fab Lab House developed in IaaC for the Solar decathlon 2010 held in Madrid. Other projects presented included: Torsten Masseck (Low3); Jordi Mitjans, Adrià Vilajoana, Bernat Colomé, Martí Obiols, Guillem Ramon Pernau, Sara Ferran, (ETSAV).

This was the first session of a Series of conferences that will be held at the Roca Gallery Barcelona all regarding the theme of Efficiency in Architecture.

Thursday 27th of March 2014
Francis Soler
Lecture: The Art of the Opposition.

@ 19.30, IAAC Auditorium
Open to the Public

FRANCIS SOLER
Francis Soler set up his private practice in 1985. Its activities are extremely varied: from facilities to housing and from studies to urban development. The office takes part in major competitions for public projects both in France and abroad and in consultations by invitation. As much attention is given to small but remarkable buildings, such as public housing in Rue Emile Durkheim (Paris/Delivery in 1997), and in Clichy (delivery in 2001), layouts, and facilities, as to high prestige works, such as grandstand for 14 July celebrations (under François Mitterrand mandates), International conference centre (aborted project), Ministry of Culture (delivery in 2005), OCO / “Coeur d’Orly”, big urban airport project and Philharmonics of Paris (competitions).
In 2009, he participated in the elaboration of Vasconi report, ordered by Minister of Ecology Jean-Louis Borloo about environmental challenge and the discussion about placing architecture under supervision of this ministry and not Ministry of Culture.
His big project of Research and Development Centre for EDF (French Electricity) is actually under construction (delivery is scheduled in 2015). His private housing project for VINCI, in Zac Cardinet (Paris) is also under construction (delivery by 2015). The construction of his big public housing projects, in Porte d’Auteuil (Paris) with Anne Demians, Rudy Ricciotti and Finn Geipel architects is scheduled to begin in mid-2014. Executive studies for the construction of the huge bridge over the Arno River Florence, (Italy) are almost achieved and approved, construction being scheduled by the end of 2014.
The aim is to give them all an important role in the city, to make them into art works. Whatever the project is, Francis Soler’s priorities are to propose pertinent responses to the complex problems of old and new cities, and to give real pleasure to users and residents by offering them architecture that is an art of usage.

Nowadays the physical computation, the electronics and the new technologies every time have more presence in the architecture. Some items, like the systems of optimization of energy, the light installations that increase architectural elements with the use extended of the LED, or devices that extract information of the environment and apply it in a creative form to the buildings, and sensitive spaces that react to the persons, they are some examples of applications of the technology in this field.

Open source electronics such as Arduino and online communities have helped in the generalization and democratization of knowledge in the last decade. This technology has endowed architects, designers and artists with cheap, powerful tools, as well as being incredibly easy use towards the development of ideas in a rapid and efficient form without the need of contract the services to external companies or investing big quantities of money in environments of development that are expensive and inflexible.

Using these techniques the students presented their projects consisting in the design and development of a physical module with common elements creating an interactive application together, as well as a modular and scalable system.

The group, including journalists from the UK, Germany, Russia and Spain, toured IaaC together with MAA Director Areti Markopoulou and Alexandre Dubor (Research and Development).

The main interest of the tour regarded additive manufacturing. The journalists were able to observe prototypes and projects, all developed in IaaC, in action.

Andrea Debilio (Italy), Morten Bulow (Denmark), Antonio Atripaldi (Italy), recent graduates of the Master in Advanced Architecture 2010/2011 program, have won honorable mention in the Arch Medium New York Theater City competition. The students’ proposal, FanCity Theatre, was one of over 300 proposals submitted to Arch Medium and voted on by the jury.

Here is the students’ summary of their proposal:

“This project attempts to dissolve the normal relationship between the actors and audience.  It consists of two layers, a dynamic layer and a static layer. The dynamic layer is using the old railway tracks as a foundation for reconfigurable spaces. By enabling the functions at the campus area to be mobile, the campus area is able to suit the constantly change of need for the users of the campus and the public. The static layer is an envelope that provides shelter for the dynamic layer. The static layer is the element that communicates with the city and gives the campus area its identity. The core of the project lies in the relationship between the two layers. The interplay between the two layers enables the campus to generate a variety of spatial constellations, suit the constantly changing needs and act upon the notion of time. Just like the old train station the main driver is the time, but just as the train station the campus area will always be bound in the moment. The trains at the station, the campus area and the act is all temporarily. The show must go on!”

MAA Students: Gamze Gunduz (Turkey) , Virat Kumar (India), Diego López Ibarra (Mexico)

Studio: Digital Tectonics
Studio Instructor: Marta Malé-Alemany, MAA Co-Director

Project: Catenary with Crystals
Student Summary:

The aim of the project is to exceed the catenary principle, the ideal form of architecture, with the help of bouyancy and flexibility of threads while using crystals as ridifying material. For the time being, the project is in the state of exploring possible geometries and the material behaviour while the machinic part is improving.

Simulation with Grasshopper

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 project is from the Digital Tectonics Studio which will present their projects on Monday, June 27th beginning at 10.30h.

All presentations are open to the public. We invite you to come to see the MAA students present.

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.