Nobody will forget where they were during the turbulent year of 2020.

This is especially true for the recent graduates of the 2019/20 Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities, who concluded the program on September 5th after successfully presenting their remarkable full-scale, self-sufficient prototype dwelling.

These 19 students from 13 nations not only survived Catalonia’s complete corona-virus lockdown, they emerged from it as a unified, mutually supportive family. The majority remained in residence at Valldaura Labs for these months, unanimously committed to having nearly no physical contact with the outside world in order to protect the health of their community.  Meanwhile, the few compelled to return to their home countries or elsewhere assumed the added responsibility of connecting online, managing extreme differences in time zones, to remain fully engaged in the curriculum. This diligence empowered the MAEBB class to continue working full speed ahead developing and fabricating the architecture of the future, the ecological aspects of which the pandemic proved immediately relevant to the world at large.

Furthermore, rather than merely waiting for the difficulties to pass, they took direct ameliorative action by 3D printing personal protective equipment and ventilator valves for local hospitals, by practicing local resilience through agriculture and gardening, and by designing and constructing a quarantine cabin which promotes inhabitants’ mental and physical well-being during isolation, as well as strengthens the greater environment through its performative strategies, material composition and construction techniques.

Accordingly, the Valldaura Labs team is delighted to, once more, congratulate the MAEBB class of 2019/20 on their well-deserved diplomas, and for serving as an ideal example of cross-cultural solidarity, ingenuity, adaptability and pro-activity during times of shared crisis; well done!