All projects
Themes
Circularity
Nature-based Materials
Prototyping
Value Chains and Networks
Duration
2022
Location
Barcelona, Spain
Mass is More: Barcelona Pavillion
© Adria Goula
Concept
Mass is More was a two-week exhibition that explored the use of regenerative and decarbonizing architectural materials, exposing the multi-layered material processes entailed (and impacts incurred) in the production of buildings. Through the application of emerging principles of the circular bio-economy, the biocity model promotes new design approaches, construction techniques, and urban management methods that can create and reinforce a mutually beneficial relationship between cities and forests. Co-developed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Bauhaus Earth, this exhibition explores the potential of advanced wood building technology as a means to store atmospheric carbon in the built environment. The exhibit is hosted at the Barcelona Pavilion, the quintessential icon of the modernist era designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lily Reich almost a century ago. It reaffirms a pivotal Spanish-German architectural collaboration and ushers in a new era of ecological construction.
© Adria Goula
© Adria Goula
Exhibition
Adhering to the architectural language of the pavilion, the Mass is More installation created a dialogue between the most advanced materials of the 20th and the 21st centuries. Through a series of elements made of cross laminated timber (CLT) panels from local forests, it demonstrated the structural capabilities of this new materiality and its suitability for constructing more sustainable buildings with a much lower environmental impact.
In addition to the wooden pavilion, the exhibit comprised a 4.8-meter-long diorama showing the path of wood from the forest to the city as a material with carbon-storing properties; an interactive digital application offered a comparison between the environmental impacts of the 1929 Barcelona Pavilion and of the mass timber installation.
To compare both structures fairly, only architectural elements, such as the roof, walls, columns and floor, were considered. The comparative analysis comprised the embodied carbon emissions in every element, as well as the energy utilized, kilometers traveled and steps taken during the different processes of extraction, manufacturing, transportation and assembly. This digital component was accompanied by analogue tags placed on various vertical elements of both pavilions, displaying all materials used for their fabrication. In the same way edible goods are required to disclose their ingredients, this piece offers transparency to architectural practice.
Moreover, visitors enjoyed a video installation showing the material transformations undergone by the wood harvested for the construction of the mass timber structure from a first-person perspective.
No items found.
No items found.
Outcomes
This space served as the venue for the launching of Mass Madera, a Spanish mass timber building network promoted by Built by Nature. The installation was produced by Finsa and Xilonor, a Galician timber company. The exhibition incorporated an interactive digital application was developed together with Bestiario. Filmmaker Jaume Cebolla Mass was responsible for the Mass is More Documentary. The exhibition was part of the European Forest City 2022 taking place in Barcelona, organized by the European Forest Institute, with the support of the Metropolitan Area and the Barcelona City Council.
The Mass is More pavillion also served as the location for the presentation of the Barcelona Protocoll, a European action plan by Bauhaus Earth and its partners.
Team
Alan Organschi
Director Global Labs
Rosa Hanhausen
Fellowship Programme Co-Manager and Researcher
No items found.
Funders & Donors
No items found.
No items found.
FAQ
How do I use the CMS reference field?
Using a refence field in Webflow is simple:
You select the field, and then options will be shown to you automatically which projects, or subpages, or other?
Link
Question
Answer
News
Upcoming Events
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Curious about our past events further ahead? Check out all our past events below.
No events in the upcoming weeks
Past Events
No items found.
Resources
Outcomes
The Mass is More Pavilion was one of the first projects executed by Bauhaus Earth and its partners. Multiple other projects stemmed from this collaborative work.