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BIM – Building Information Modeling is rapidly changing the architectural practice as we know it. During the second module of the MaCAD – Online Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture and Design, students are trained in the use of the most advanced tools to tackle this new paradigm, becoming proficient in managing Parametric Modelling processes based on Rhino and Grasshopper and BIM platforms such as Revit, with the goal to develop a seamless Interoperability and inter-collaboration workflows.
Throughout the term, students had the opportunity to work with internationally renowned faculty, including, Maite Bravo, Ardeshir Talaei, Luis Fraguada and Will Pearson from McNeel, Alan Rynne from Speckle, and MaCAD Director David Andrés León, focusing on three relevant aspects of BIM and Smart Construction: Integrative modelling, collaborative workflows, and cloud-based data management in design.
After three intense months, students developed outstanding projects which tackle the challenges that these topics propose, and presented them to a selected international jury panel, composed by outstanding renowned experts in the field including: Xavier de Kestelier (Hassell), Ana Guerrero González (SAGA), Zrinka Radic (Zaha Hadid Architects), Advenit Makaya (ESA – European Space Agency), Julian Höll (Herzon & De Meuron), Octavian Gheorghiu (Foster + Partners), Kike García (Rhino.Inside – McNeel). and, presented their outstanding outcome in the end of March to an international jury panel of experts in the field.
Located in 20 different countries, MaCAD students are connected thanks to the most advanced platforms for video-conferencing and collaborative working. Working in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams across the globe, students experimented with cutting-edge approaches to collaborative working, getting ready for the next steps of their careers.
The results of their efforts can be seen in the outstanding projects showcased below, developed in the BIM and Smart Constructions Studio. Have a look at the highlighted projects and don’t forget to visit the IAAC blog to see all of them!
Applications for 2021-22 edition are open!
Want to know more? You can schedule a video or text chat with the MaCAD Coordinator or Apply using the buttons below.
HIGHLIGHTS
Lunar Residency
MaCAD Students: Marissa Ridzuan, Hesham Shawqy, German Otto Bodenbender
MaCAD Studio Faculty: David Andres Leon w/ Oana Taut
The purpose of this project is to create a self-sustainable residential community that does not just solve the technical challenges of becoming the first extraterrestrial species, but thrive on it. The design process was based on modularity, adaptability, self-assembly, individuality, and embracing lunar gravity. The project embraced radical inclusion, decommodification, communal effort, radical self-reliance, participation, and an extreme approach to a leave-no-trace attitude towards our community.
The workflow was designed to keep all of the design parts automated and parametric. The user interface is created using the Human UI plugin to control this complex design process, this configurator has different tabs for each step of the project workflow, going through the aggregation rules, parts quantities, structural analysis, radiation analysis, walkability analysis, Interoperability with Revit and streaming the project on the web.
The Sports Centrifuge
MaCAD Students: Basel Ghazaly, Felipe Romero, Keshava Narayan Karthikeyan
MaCAD Studio Faculty: David Andres Leon w/ Oana Taut
The Sports Centrifuge is based on the premise that Artificial Gravity is integral for the long term survival of humankind on the Moon. The design concept involves harnessing the advantages of weightlessness on the Moon as well as generating Earth’s gravity by means of a centrifuge. It is imagined as a utopian place where exercise can be fun and a social activity which incorporates the well being of humankind on the moon also. Thus the typology of a sports complex is entirely rethought based on the requirements of the inhabitants of the Moon.
Sustainable construction methods such as 3d printing and solar sintering lunar regolith are used as opportunities in the design process. The design also uses the new possibility of constructing 100% parametric BIM-native models using Rhino.Inside.Revit and Speckle in which one can change the location of the built form and requirements and the dynamic BIM model would be edited dynamically without any manual intervention.
LEAF | Luna Enhancement and Agricultural Farm
MaCAD Students: Alexander Tong, Dongyub Lee, Nawapan Suntorachai
MaCAD Studio Faculty: David Andres Leon w/ Oana Taut
How can we grow food in a radical scenario like the Moon surface? LEAF project develops design solutions for a self-sufficient station on the moon, taking advantage of smart farming technologies and the symbiotic relationship between four elements: Vegetables, Fish, Fungi, Insects.
LEAF relies on solar energy to power its cycles, and it is entirely designed and operated with Smart Construction solutions and a workflow based on BIM tools: combining Grasshopper and Revit thanks to Rhino.inside plug in and ensuring a seamless interoperability.
LFLC | Lunar Fab Lab and Convention Center
MaCAD Students: Kyunghwan Kim, Sumer Matharu
MaCAD Studio Faculty: David Andres Leon w/ Oana Taut
The LFLC (Lunar Fab Lab and Convention Center) is a 70 m diameter factory for the Lunar settlement. As a space devoted to fabrication, it harnesses materials such as regolith for laser sintering or basalt for reinforcement material The material flow at the factory itself creates a system of sorting, repurposing or reusing, quality checking, assembly and fabrication, and dispatch for a panel based construction system that self-builds the factory and the rest of the colony.
The panels used for the building are designed to integrate structural, protective and energy-generation functions: solar panels, regolith panels for the base, window panels, and interior panels.The building uses the same panel typology in varying compositions and thicknesses, which was designed and applied in revit as an adaptive panel family.
Bombs And Flowers. Lunar Energy And Water Plant
MaCAD Students: João Silva, Natalia Voinova, Sergey Kryuchkov
MaCAD Studio Faculty: David Andres Leon w/ Oana Taut
To address the challenge of designing an Energy and Water plant for the Lunar settlement, the project locates the space for humans and the water storage underground, to be protected by the regolith (lunar soil) and avoid the radical environmental conditions of the surface. These underground spaces are created with controlled explosions and adaptation through 3d-scanning tools and digital fabrication means.
The surface is reserved for the solar harvesting and ice melting installations only. The solar farm consists of two types of equipment: stationary structures and portable equipment.
Students run the simulations in Grasshopper using the Kangaroo plug-in. All the parametric structures are in fact informed by the sun study and the study of reflections. This information has been exchanged using the Speckle software, and the geometry is bridged to Revit thanks to the Rhino.inside plug in for Rhino. Revit, as a powerful BIM software, enabled a full information processing of the design proposal.
Applications for 2021-22 edition are open!
Want to know more? You can schedule a video or text chat with the MaCAD Coordinator or Apply using the buttons below.