/weekEleven-Twelve.design_dialogues
(22_december_2021)
The last two weeks of this first trimester were focused on the preparation of the
Design Dialogues event. The idea for the eleventh week was to hold the Design for
the Next Billion Seconds course but it had to be postponed, which gave us more time
to develop the content we were going to present at the exhibition.
On the other hand, we finally had the opportunity to visit a very special place that
we were very curious about: Valldaura Labs. Valldaura Labs are some land and buildings
that IAAC has in the Collserola mountain range where different activities are carried
out and also a master's degree in which students stay in the rural house throughout the
year.
.valldaura_field_trip
The excursion to Valldaura Labs was a truly satisfying and inspiring experience. We
were lucky enough to enjoy spring weather in the middle of December and that helped
us to contemplate the beauty of these forest and mountain environments. Although close
to Barcelona, the truth is that once you get lost in the little paths of Collserola
you get the impression of being completely isolated, and the location of the rural
house that IAAC has is simply perfect for developing the work and projects on which
they focus.
During the visit, Jonathan, Philip and a second year MAEBB student presented the
different projects that had been carried out in recent years, such as the Solar
Greenhouse, a small house for growing plants and cuttings, fully equipped with
automatic irrigation and lights, and with a simply excellent design and finish.
It was an inspiration to see the work done in just one year and to admire every
single detail.
We also had the opportunity to visit the outside of the Niu Haus, the project of
the first edition of the master's course, which consists of a completely habitable
house, with two floors including a dining room, kitchen, bathroom and a bed. Another
truly spectacular work.
We also visited the interior of the building and saw the different spaces where wood,
the main material used in the construction of Valldaura Labs, is worked. In fact, the
wood comes directly from the Valldaura forests, which makes it even more special. We
were able to see many different machines for each of the tasks and admire the spaces
(honestly very well kept) of the Masia de Valldaura.
Finally, we did a bit of farming in the cultivated land of the area, while enjoying
the splendid day and the good company of our classmates.
.design_dialogues
In the eleventh week we started to prepare the necessary material for the Design
Dialogues exhibition. The main objective of this event was to be able to show our
progress and work done during this first trimester while collecting feedback and
ideas from our fellow students and also from other invited people such as faculties,
alumni and students from other masters.
In my case, the preparation focused mainly on the Plant B project (which you can see
on the Design Studio sessions page), which was our Collective Design Intervention,
as I had no other relevant content to show for the moment. Of course, for the next
Design Dialogues I expect it will be very different as I will finally have been able
to experience more first hand and develop more content to show. I also designed a new
poster of my fight which you can find here.
The fact of doing this event was really instructive and it was also a point of
connection and interaction with my fellow masters where we could finally talk a bit
and explain to each other what we had been doing these months and what our interests
were for the future. It was very interesting to get to know the interventions of the
other people and the work they have been developing on their own, and without a doubt
the fact of giving feedback to each other is very important to be able to grow and see
different points of view and options for the future.
