A real life lesson on ecosystemic structures in action

The Ecosystemic Structures module, led by Guillermo Sevillano and Elena Orte of Suma Arquitectura, is a pillar of the MAEBB second semester. This is where students test the strength of new ecological building principles, learning how to construct dynamic structural proposals that hold radical implications for the shape of architecture to come. This module is also crucial to the students’ investigations into Mass Timber Products, which they will get hands-on experience with in the third semester. Guillermo and Elena are incredibly well versed in these new engineered wood products, and they show the students through lectures and critiques how best to employ them within their architectural proposals. 

Gabriel García Márquez library by Suma Arquitectura is nearing completion, offering lessons on Mass Timber Design

To really illustrate these lessons, the MAEBB students traveled to the construction site of the new Gabriel García Márquez library designed by Suma Arquitectura, which is scheduled to open this year. This is one of the first public wood building projects in Spain, and its ambition is to use wood in a bold new way in the public space. As the students toured the new building, there were lessons to be learned from the success of the construction as well as the mistakes and surprises that appeared during the construction process. 

A new wooden typology emerges in the urban area of Barcelona, open for the public to enjoy

Watching Guillermo and Elena explain the unpredicted aspects of the design process was enlightening, showing just how dynamic and reactive you have to be when working with a new material typology. However, it is truly inspiring to see these brave architects chart a new path for this new building typology, and tell the world of the new potentials and possibilities that await within mass timber buildings. After the tour, the students were busy designing and redesigning their own structural prototypes with a renewed ambition. Seeing such a dynamic wooden structure being built at full scale in the urban environment is an inspiring moment, and a lesson for the students in persistence and dreaming big.