Educational Program - Global Summer School 2011

/IAAC GLOBAL SUMMER SCHOOL 2011
Barcelona, Turin, Mumbai
Simultaneous collaboration and investigation from all three locations.

Self<a>rchitecture
Key words: ecology, metabolism, responsive architecture, artificial intelligence, data-driven structures, open data, multiscalarity, digital fabrication, parametric design

Abstract: The IAAC Global Summer School for the 2011 academic year will continue to investigate multiscalar strategies for the (re) construction of our inhabiting environments (home, city, planet). The last few years of technological, social, political, economic and cultural changes (at both the global and the local scale) demand that we rethink what kind of habitat humanity will live in in the coming decades, given that space in all its aspects (landscapes, cities, places, buildings and bodies) is undergoing dramatic transformations.

The growing interest in managing climate change, in embracing of the green agenda in urban development, in the development of techniques for local energy generation, in the incorporation of information technology into the physical space and other relevant situations, call for a new vision of the evolution of the city and architecture.

This opens up a wide range of possibilities for the development of projects and initiatives that will help transform habitable spaces in keeping with the new requirements of both global and local users.

Self<a>rchitecture is an agenda with research and education goals that combines science and technology with architecture and urban planning. Self-Sufficiency, Self-Fabrication, Self-Organization, Self- Design and Self- and Collective Intelligence are some of the key words on which the academic agenda of the programme will focus.

The final outcome of the programme will include design proposals and the testing of Self<a>rchitecture at three scales:

Scale 1. 1000 people (urban block)
Scale 2. 100 people (urban building)
Scale 3. 1 person (home, shelter)

Producing Self-Sufficient architectural products means, above all, producing more effective organizational systems. The design of the buildings will have special relevance, equipping them to generate the totality of the energy they consume and creating, where necessary, new physiological and metabolic delimitations of the building.

The proposed buildings will be related to a variety of uses (residential, work, commercial, etc) and their users’ needs (micro scale) as well to the specific context and the sum of groups of information (macro scale)

Building structures on all three scales will be defined by a set of parameters, which will drive the final designs. These parameters will be generated by geographical characteristics of the specific sites: latitude and longitude, environmental data (temperature, CO₂ emissions) and urban context (density, flow of people). The building is thus converted into a micro-city, with all of the strata of a small city, and is understood as a complete organism, plugged into a substratum by the managing of the input and output of local data and characteristics.

The final structures will be treated not only as independent nodes but also as parts of a network — a new urban layer. Such networks and their dynamics will be explored with a view to understanding how information affects the construction of the physical world, and how cities and their built elements can be seen as informational architecture systems.

The intention is not simply to interface with the built environment but to implement strategies that will transform built environments themselves into information systems.

Distributed educational model: IAAC Summer School 2011 is part of the IAAC Global School (GS) project. IAAC GS is an initiative which seeks to generate a dynamic network based on distributive knowledge and collective actions. As part of this initiative The Global Summer School 2011 will take place simultaneously in 3 different locations: Barcelona, Turin, and Mumbai.

Aimed at: The programme is aimed at students from a variety of compatible fields, such as Architecture, Engineering, Fine Art, Design, Landscape Architecture, Programming, etc.

Calendar: Programme duration: 13-28 July 2011

The programme is structured in three sections:
1. Digital Design and Parametric Modelling (13-17 July)
2. Interactive and Informational Development (18-21 July)
3. Digital Fabrication Prototyping (22-27 July)

1. Digital Design and Parametric Modelling
Wednesday 13 July: Introduction
14-15 July: Design proposal development, Grasshopper Tutorials
16-17 July: Design proposal development, Ecotect Tutorials

2. Interactive and Informational Development
18-19 July: Special workshop, project development
20-21 July: Interaction proposal development, Arduino/Programming Tutorials

3. Digital Fabrication Prototyping
22-24 July: Project Development, Digital Fabrication Tests, Digital Fabrication Tutorials
25-27 July: Global Workshop, Final Project Development, Prototype Fabrication (scale of prototype to be announced)

Thursday 28 July: Final Presentation, Guest Jury
Software: Rhino 4, RhinoCam, Grasshopper, Ecotect, Arduino

Programme Activities: Lectures, Master Classes, Building Visits, Exhibition Visits

References/Bibliography: Successful applicants offered a place at the IAAC Summer School 2011 will be provided with the relevant bibliography, which should be looked through before arriving in Barcelona.

Application Documents: Applications must be accompanied by the following documents:

- A completed IAAC Summer School Application Form (available from applications@iaac.net)
- Current Curriculum Vitae
- A photocopy of a valid passport or other accredited I.D.
- Proof of payment of the non
- Non-refundable application fee of 50 euros, payable by bank transfer to the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya

Bank: Caja de Arquitectos, Barcelona (Spain)
Account Number: 3183-0800-8200-0064-8636; IBAN: ES86 3183 0800 8200 0064 8636; BIC/SWIFT: CASDESBB

 Language: The course language is English, and all sessions, classes, lectures and meetings with supervisors are in English; knowledge of Spanish is not required.

Fee: The tuition fee for the IAAC Summer School 2011 is 2,000 euros.

Scholarships: IAAC will be offering seven special scholarships, to be awarded on the basis of the applicant’s portfolio:

Three special scholarships of 100% of the total tuition fee
Three partial scholarships of 30% of the total tuition fee
One special scholarship (Mohamed Omer Scholarship) of 100% of the total tuition fee

*Scholarships are subject to change according to applicant profiles.

Certification: All participants will receive an official certificate from IAAC and the Fab Lab BCN testifying to their participation in the course and accrediting their knowledge of the software used and expertise in Digital Fabrication techniques.

Previous IAAC Summer Schools: Visit the two previous IAAC Summer Schools, which focused on:

1. Hyperhabitat
2. Fab Lab Solar House
3. Informalism

For more information contact applications@iaac.net