City Strategies and Fabrication A City Tour and Fabrication Workshop Barcelona, Spain | April 13-17, 2015
A self-organized trip by Architectural Association Students In collaboration with:
GREEN
FAB LAB
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Rationale
This trip was organized as response to Vicente Guallart’s lecture on “Self-Sufficient Cities” at the Architectural Association, London, last November 13, 2014. It is structured into five days, and two parts namely: Barcelona City Strategies (Day 1) - seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the self-sufficient city model, its strategies and processes, how these are implemented in Barcelona, and if it can truly serve as an inspiration, and an effective model for the rest of the cities around the world. This is built around series of lectures in the morning and tours around the city from afternoon ‘til evening. Fabrication Workshop (Days 2-5) - dubbed as the “AA Meet and Make”. It’s a collaborative workshop on fabrication techniques and tools between Architectural Association Students and the experts at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Fab Lab Barcelona and Green Fab Lab. The students through this workshop aim to develop or aquire new skills in digital fabrication including operating tools, understanding the process and workflows of 3D printing, CAD-CAM Design and CNC, Robotics, etc. The output will be an assembled structure that will be exhibited in Construmat, and for the future use of the Green Fablab. The following pages are a photo report of the activities during the 5 days and personal reflections of the participants about their experience.
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Day 1: Barcelona City Strategies Lecture by Vicente Guallart Lecture by Rosina Vinyes 22@ Walking Tour Mies van der Rohe Pavilion Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
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Lecture by Vicente Guallart Entitled “The Self-sufficient City Barcelona 5.0 - Projects and Policies for the City to Come�, the lecture reflects the ever changing and ongoing process of development in the city of Barcelona. Vicente Guallart covered the importance of looking back into history to understand how the city influences today, and the present policies already set in motion and some to be implemented that will influence the future. It also highlights the importance of good governance and the strong will of Barcelona’s leaders to innovate and ensure ideas are implemented and lives of citizens and visitors improved.
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Day 1: Barcelona City Strategies
Lecture by Rosina Vinyes The 22@ district is part of Barcelona’s urban and economic renewal plan of the Poblenou district. The group was introduced to the district’s history, the Three goals - Urban Refurbishment, Economic Revitalization, and Social revitalization; the strategies to achieve these and the current developments at the district. Rosina Vinyes emphasizes on the variation of the urban fabric, where not everything is built as new or modern, but a balance of preserving history while achieving density, flexibility and diversity of use and activities. The lecture was followed by a walking tour, where the group experienced first-hand the on-going developments.
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Day 1: Barcelona City Strategies
22@ Walking Tour
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Day 1: Barcelona City Strategies
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Barcelona Pavilion Although closed for an exhibition exactly on the week of the workshop. The group was still fortunate enough to be allowed to move around the pavilion’s open areas. Perhaps one of the most iconic pieces of modernism by Mies van der Rohe and has stood as a testament to his dictum “Less is more”. The minimalism is expressed through clean lines, choice of materials and careful placement of enclosures. And without the clutter of objects it truly represents how architecture can be beautiful in itself. 12
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Day 1: Barcelona City Strategies
Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura To cap the first day, the group visited the office of Ricardo Bofill. Previously an old cement factory, it was transformed into one of the most functional and beautiful spaces. Entering the compound is like being transported into another destination. The high and massive concrete structures greet you as you enter. These solid forms are balanced and softened by the subtle curves of the round silos and vegetation around the site. A guided tour in the building and office spaces reveals the high-quality of thought and design that went into making the office environment that it is, and such quality reflects on the practice’s long history and their continuous leadership in the industry today.
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Day 1: Barcelona City Strategies
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Day 2-5: ‘AA Meet and Make’ Fabrication Workshop Led by Jonathan Minchin and Researchers from FAB Academy
Introduction and Tour to: Can Valldaura & Green Fablab Workshop on CAD-CAM using CNC Wikihouse Joint Prototyping Introduction and Tour to: IAAC and Fablab Barcelona 3D Printing Lecture by Anastasia Pistofidou Robotics Workshop with Alexandre Dubor Wiki-House CAD-CAM Machining Frame Assembly BCN: City Strategies and Fabrication Workshop
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Day 2: Valldaura Green Fablab
Introduction and Tour Can Valldaura & Green Fablab The group was welcomed by Jonathan Minchin and FAB Academy researchers and they were introduced to the history of Can Valldaura, the present operations of the Green Fab Lab, past and current projects on display, and the current experiments and activities by the researchers. A walk around the estate grounds reveals the vastness of the property, and a brief “Follow the water” activity traces the area back to its agriculture function and also shows the old infrastructure of ingenious engineering for irrigation. A welcome ‘Catalan’ lunch followed where the group experienced eating Calcots, drinking cafe cortado and complementary chupito under the afternoon sun.
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Day 2: Valldaura Green Fablab
Photo by Panit Limpiti
Photo by Panit Limpiti
Workshop on CAD-CAM & Wikihouse Joint Prototyping Alexander Nikolas Walzer led the workshop on understanding the concept behind the open-source architecture and design - The Wiki-House. The proposed Green Fab Lab - Wet Lab utilizes a modified version of the WikiHouse, and the initial aim was to build at least one bay for exhibit at the Construmat. An introduction and training on CAD-CAM followed and was led by Jonathan Minchin. The team learned the fundamental terminologies, techniques and important considerations to set-up a CNC file. Also, a prototype of the joint was cut and tested for its rigidity and tolerances. This exercise served as applied knowledge on how to set-up files and operate the CNC machine.
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Day 3: IAAC, 3D Printing and Robotics
Introduction to IAAC and Fablab Barcelona The group was introduced to the staff and given a brief tour of the facilities and programs of IAAC and Fablab Barcelona before getting on with the lectures. They also had the opportunity to witness the FAB Academy session in the afternoon, where ideas are reviewed by Neil Gershenfeld and participants/researchers from Fablabs around the world are also tuned in.
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Lecture on 3D Printing 3D printing has since revolutionized the way people think and design. Anastasia Pistofidou delivered a lecture on this subject, not only did she discuss about the available technologies now, its advantages and limitations, but she helped gave the group a wider perspective on the possibilities of the technology and what has been and is being done in various industries today.
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Day 3: IAAC, 3D Printing and Robotics
Robotics Workshop Led by Alexandre Dubor, his passion and deep interest in robotics is very evident as he delivered a lecture on Architecture and Manufacturing and how this link is being revived and shaping the way we think. The workshop also included an introduction to programming the robot movements through Grasshopper, and perhaps one of the most interesting highlights of the third day was to finally operate the KUKA Robot.
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A Walk Up to Valldaura Another way to experience the beauty of the city and get close to nature is to walk up the trail to Valldaura. Up the winding and narrow pathways, shubs and trees occasionally frame the view overlooking the city of Barcelona, offering a refreshing perspective.
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Day 4-5: Fabricating the Wiki House
Nesting, Cutting and Assembling The last two days was dedicated to applying and developing the techniques learned on the Wiki-House, CAD-CAM workshop (Day 2). The group did the nesting of the Wiki-house components, labeling, preparing files for cutting and operating the CNC machine, and assembled the cut components. A frame for the proposed Wet-lab was completed on the last day. It was learned that proper coordination, labeling, and organization are essential for the ease of assembly and lessens fabrication time.
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Goutham Nijalingappa, India
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he Easter break for me composed of vacation articulated with architectural learning. With the BCN workshop as a part of my workshop, I sculpted my travel in BARCELONA around the visit to Ricardo Bofill’s office. After being mesmerized by the work by the office during the lecture in AA with minimal verbal understanding due to language barrier I decided to try and visit the office to understand the process behind the think tank in the office. The building itself projected the specialisation of the firm in innovative reuse of factory buildings. The depth of works lie from commercial towers in China to university in Middle East. The most important part according to me was the was evident signature of the firm stamped on all designs produced. The understanding of the use of spaces in the office itself with interactive floor plans integrated with archives and model making makes a complete office. The presence of staff housing in the same site with privacy achieved is admired. Of course the most overwhelming spaces of the building is the meeting room. I would also like to mention that the staff was very helpful during our visit with informative inputs and answered questions. I would like to end by saying that it seems to be one of the few offices worldwide focused on architecture without any distractions and it would be a privilege to work in it or organise an office along the similar principles.
Mariel Drego, India
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he BCN City Strategies and Fabrication workshop was an effective platform to explore Barcelona beyond its tourist attractions, allowing us to develop a deeper understanding of its urbanism and evolving urban fabric at the @22. Being a small group of four, I feel we benefited from a more individual and personalised experience, - from our interactions with Vicente and Rosina at the urban planning office, to learning to use the CAM machinery and software at the IaaC Fablab from experts like Jonathan and Alexandre who shared so much knowledge with us in such a short span of time. As a Housing & Urbanism student at the AA, coursework never involves using the school prototyping labs, and I was glad to have the chance to understand and use fabrication tools like the CNC milling machine and robot arm. I find the concept of open-source housing, on which the Wikihouse is based, interesting as a futuristic self-help housing method, and I feel privileged to be involved in furthering the open-source Wikihouse database. My only regret was not being able to complete the quantum of work we initially set out to achieve. - We only erected one frame of the structure, since we failed to properly take into account the amount of time the milling machine would need to cut all the component members. Had we managed the cutting time effectively, I think we may have been able to complete one bay; which is something that could be taken into consideration for any future workshops.
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Personal Reflections Panit Limpiti, Thailand
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irst of all, It was an honor to meet Mr. Vincente Guallart, the chief architect of Barcelona in person. His lecture, The Urban Habitat was truly an eye opening. I gained in depth knowledge and concept of the transformation of Barcelona city to be one of the best European cities today. I am utmost impressed in the power of collaboration of thinker and the government for the better city vision.
Additionally, the lecture about 22@ was also the great example of the city strategy implementation on regional and local scale which I am utterly thankful for Rosina Vinyes for the lecture, materials and her time for in depth discussion. The integrated strategy of building conservation together with allowing the new community to grow is truly amazing. Architectural office visit at Ricardo Bofill was inspiring. The architectural piece and the office itself reflect the passion in creating inspirational spatial quality. I am thankful for the warm welcome by Margarida Dinis during the tour. My experience at Valldaura Green Fab lab was beyond my expectation. Warm welcome people, facilities and organization are fantastic. The Wiki house for Wet lab building workshop schedule was well organized and the in depth instruction from Jonathan Minchin helped us gained technical knowledge in the very short period of time.The fruitful discussions about the Fab Lab principal and self-sufficient community along the workshop period were truly inspiring. I also appreciate the opportunity to continue our collaborations and to continue exchange ideas.
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Carlos Ochando, Spain
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aving lived most of my life in Spain, I may say I have enjoyed BCN many times. Everyone who has visited this city more than once is completely aware of the fact that it has always something new to show, something new to be discovered. As a young architect born and raised within the Mediterranean culture and visitor of almost all the big cities around this sea, I could say that BCN is the model of “Mediterranean city”. Not only due to Cerdá in the XIX century, or Gaudí legacy in the beginning of XX century, but also because of the big impact that 1992 Olympic games caused in this city. After that, BCN has been a clear example of how a city could be developed and as a local in a place like BCN, it makes me always proud to host international guests. Plus, the deep knowledge and interest of these visitors created not only an outstanding architectural trip but a really formidable and enriching experience with lots of inspirational and motivating opinions.
BCN design and architectural production nowadays is one of the most exciting in Europe, so visiting some of the cutting-edge multidisciplinary and architectural offices was a must-do during our stay in this city. After emailing dozens of these companies, receiving nicely arranged visits proposals and squeezing our schedule, we decided to visit RICARDO BOFILL Taller de Arquitectura, which its located in one astonishing refurbished former cement factory. We joined a Brazilian group of architects during the tour. Extraordinarily guided by Margarida Dinis, we were able to see and experience how a medium size studio produces and works within such a wonderful atmosphere. BCN, as Mediterranean city, enjoys a lovely weather during most part of the year. During our stay the weather couldn’t be better. Although during the week the workshop became more and more intense, the few time to spare was at our arrival. The first day everything seemed to lead to the brilliant idea of spending the afternoon near the port and beach. Where BCN developed its Olympic city back in 1992. Standing on the sand of Barceloneta and drinking some local beers while listening to music and weather was a very relaxing and welcoming plan for that Sunday. Tapas for dinner around “poblenou” neighborhood completed the amazing welcome. Although coming from Spanish system and it may seem that BCN is an example of city very well and deeply studied in the schools, I consider BCN as a city that always has something new to offer. To discover 22@ in such a deep and clear explanations was another of the highlighted activities during that week. Prior the visit, I was aware of some characteristics of that neighborhood in BCN, and knew a bit about the plans. The visit and lectures given by Vicente Guallart and Rosinya Vinyes widened our knowledge and allowed us to get to know the only successful example of urban renovation mixing social empowerment techniques and diversity of Architectural forms.
Yutao Song, China
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s an architectural student, Barcelona is a dreaming place to visit. It contain the past, present and future of the architectural evolution and never stop. And that’s the reason we attend this 5 days’ workshop trying to understand this city better. The workshop start with the lecture that bring us briefly go through the Barcelona city development history. The glorious history, and the huge effort transforming the city towards
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Personal Reflections
future. Some revitalization plan for the industrial areas are really good example for other country to follow. We visit Ricardo’s office during the afternoon. This marvelous building transformed from a cement mill. The mysterious space with delicate details remind me the famous Japanese animation film “Castle in the sky” directed by Hayao Miyazaki. This building give you such feeling that the exploring in it never end. After the lecture and office tour, we arrive IAAC, the famous architectural institute that pushing Barcelona architecture into the frontier of the experiment. There are exciting experiments going on here, but not limit to the architecture. Fashion design, electronic design, computer science research, and environmental research are all covered by different group of students. You can have both fresh air from the technology and fresh air from the nature in Green Park, A special department of the IAAC not far away from the city center. That’s the place for our workshop. We enjoy learning the necessary skills from Johnathan and his colleague to develop the prototype of wiki house. And enjoy the conversation with another workshop that focus on the landscape survey with drone and computer vision techniques. You can find the diversity of interests at every corner of IAAC and surprised with their ambition that trying to educate not only architects but also any profession that have interests in improving city better. This short but intense workshop is really an impressive memory that will inspiring me to go further in my career.
Patrick Andrew Tanhuanco, Philippines
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s co-organizer of this trip, I feel very privileged to have collaborated with a lot of amazing people. It all started with just one email to Vicente, expressing my acceptance of his open invitation to welcome visitors to Barcelona and my interest to visit the IAAC and Fablab. The support and enthusiasm from Vicente, the people at IAAC, Fablab Barcelona and Green Fablab, especially Jonathan Minchin, encouraged us to push through with the trip even if circumstances - such as the dwindling number of participants seemed unfavorable. However, everything turned out for the better, and what transpired afterwards was truly beyond my expectations. Traveling to Barcelona is very refreshing and exciting for me. Within the 5 days, I was at the heart of innovation. The workshops and lectures - I can truly say re-kindled the ‘Maker’ within me! It broadened my knowledge and interests in digital fabrication and building, and pushed me explore and learn more about it.
I like the concept of ‘Meet and Make’. This is probably more prevalent in design, arts and crafts industry, but something worth pushing forward for the architecture and ‘Maker Movement’. Students, staff from two different schools, or any interested individual meet and collaborate on a project, sharing experiences, expertise, learning from one another, and an output would be to build something. It has some informality to it particularly the interaction, but is pursued with structured program. This trip I sincerely hope will be the one of many ‘Meet and Makes’ to come. I look forward to keeping the friendships and network we’ve formed, and hopefully collaborate again in the future for the fun of learning, sharing knowledge and widening the reach of ideas, technology and innovation!
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Schedule
0600-0700
April 12 SUN
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
April 13
April 14
April 15
April 16
April 17
April 18
TUE
WED
MON
THU
FRI
SAT
0700-0800
0800-0900
Venue: Barcelona
Venue: Valldaura
Venue: Barcelona IAAC
Venue: Valldaura
Venue: Valldaura
CITY STRATEGIES TOUR
WORKSHOP DAY 1
WORKSHOP DAY 2
WORKSHOP DAY 3
WORKSHOP DAY 4
0900-1000 Lecture URBAN HABITAT by Vicente Guallart
1000-1100
1100-1200
22@ Lecture and City Tour with Rosina Vinyes
1200-1300
IAAC Intro
Workshop @ Valldaura
Workshop @ Valldaura
Inventory Demo
Lecture: 3D Printing
CAD CAM MACHINING
CAD CAM MACHINING
Lunch Break
Lunch Break
Lunch Break
Lunch Break
Workshop @ Valldaura
Workshop @ Valldaura
CAD CAM MACHINING
CAD CAM MACHINING
Valldaura Intro Valldaura Tour
1300-1400 Lunch Break
1400-1500
1500-1600
ARRIVAL/ CHECK-IN SELF-GUIDED CITY TOUR
Antoni Gaudi Architecture Architectural Practices / Office Tours
Workshop Intro
Robotics Demo
CAD CAM Tutorial
CAD CAM Design
1600-1700 Ricardo BoďŹ ll 6:00pm
1700-1800
MACHINING Tutorial Optional Lecture: Bio Lab
Optional Lecture: Fab Academy
1800-1900 Exhibit and BBQ
1900-2000 Dinner
2000-2100
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Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
Barcelona Self-guided City Tour or Fly to Another EU country or Return to UK
Acknowledgements Our deepest gratitude to the people who made this trip possible and memorable. Also, for inspiring us, sharing their time and valuable resources, and treating us like family.
Vicente Guallart, for his open invitation at the AA to welcome vistors to Barcelona, for sharing his valuable time, passion and vision for the city of Barcelona. The city is indeed a testament, an inspiration for concepts implemented into reality. Rosina Vinyes, for providing us with a clearer picture and deeper understanding of the realities of urban planning and the developments at 22@. Montilla Mercedes, for helping us organize and coordinate with the schedules and lecturers at the city council. Luciana Asinari, Alberto Espada, Tomas Diez, for helping us organize and coordinate with schedules, lecturers and fees. Anastasia Pistofidou, for providing us with valuable insight and expanding our views and understanding on 3D printing and its great possiblities. Alexandre Dubor, for giving us a comprehensive lecture not just in robotics, but on the ever changing role of Architects as well. Lisa Bracke, for giving us a short tour around FABLAB and IAAC facilities
GREEN
FAB LAB
Jonathan Minchin, for making us feel at home in Valldaura. For his time, patience in teaching, and especially the trust he showed in us, gave us the confidence in accomplishing our tasks and operating the machines. FAB ACADEMY 2015 Researchers Martin Gutmann, Alexander Nikolas Walzer, Lina Monaco, Ronald Postma, Ivan Mitrofanov For making us feel like family, and for sharing their time and knowledge as well . Their passion is our inspiration. They made sure our stay also had a wonderful Catalan, Spanish gastronomic experience.
Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
Ricardo Bofill, for warmly opening the doors of his home and office to us. Margarida Dinis, for brining us around the facilities and sharing with us facts and experiences about the practice and the building. Carlos Ochando, “the local�, our beloved colleague who helped organize the architectural office visit, and for guiding us on walking tours, and reciting, translating to English restaurant menu items.
To God be the Glory! BCN: City Strategies and Fabrication Workshop
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BCN: City Strategies and Fabrication Workshop April 13-17, 2015 Al Photos by Patrick Andre All Andre d w Tanh Tanh an uanco unles ss ot ss other herwis wis i e stated P.A P A.Tanhuanco Phot hotogr ogr g aph ap y Š 2015