The Building Information Modeling & Smart Construction (BIMSC) Studio, part of the Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture & Design (MaCAD), integrates advanced computational tools and artificial intelligence into architectural practice. Through this studio, led by Oliver Thomas and German Otto Bodenbender, students gain practical experience with Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows, improving their collaboration and innovation skills in real-world architecture.
The BIMSC Studio focuses on collaborative BIM use, where students utilize BIM in team settings; interoperability, integrating BIM with other design technologies; streamlined design to production, enhancing efficiency from design to construction; and digital fabrication, developing digital design to fabrication workflows. Through these focuses, students become proficient in advanced BIM and collaborative tools, preparing them for professional practice.
For the BIMSC studio project, the class designed a human colony on Mars, initially for 50 inhabitants, expandable to 300, at the Jezero Crater. The masterplan included thirteen zones. The Mars Medical Center, designed by Jana Semaan, Lucas Sentís Fuster, Mustapha Nachar, and Behrad Rezaie during the MaCAD 22/23 aims to be a modular, adaptable facility, integrating green areas and both artificial and natural light to promote healing.
The center consists of 3D-printed modular buildings with interconnected metaballs along a hexagonal grid. Modules in three sizes meet various needs, with reusable inflatable formworks for efficient 3D printing. The metaballs’ arches dictate interior partition lines.
Interiors are organized around radiation-protected pseudo-exterior spaces designed to reflect healing qualities. Natural and artificial light on central columns replicates the circadian cycle, and green spaces offer biophilic healing effects and support pharmaceutical crops.
The Mars Medical Center combines functionality with therapeutic design, addressing the psychological and physiological needs of Mars inhabitants. The project demonstrates the innovative integration of advanced BIM workflows and computational tools in architecture. It sets a precedent for future extraterrestrial design, emphasizing modularity, adaptability, and therapeutic environments. Read more about the project here.
Credits
Students: Jana Semaan, Lucas Sentís Fuster, Mustapha Nachar, and Behrad Rezaie during the MaCAD 22/23 BIMSC Studio
Faculty: Oliver Thomas and German Otto Bodenbender.
About the Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture & Design
The Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture & Design is a unique online programme training a new generation of architects, engineers and designers with the skills that the industry of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) demands nowadays. The programme provides expertise in the application of the latest digital softwares for design simulation, analysis and optimisation of digital data in architecture, offering a broad and advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of computational design.