La Comtesselation renovation - La Drôme, France (by STERLING PRESSER Architects + Engineers)

La Comtesselation renovation - La Drôme, France
by STERLING PRESSER Architects + Engineers

Located on a sacred site in the Drôme, France, La Comtesse is a renovation project that bridges ancestral wisdom and local know-how with contemporary design through an intervention titled Comtesselation (Comtesse + Constellation).

The project seeks to inscribe a celestial map onto a traditional stone dwelling, treating the architectural act as a contemporary rite of alignment that rehabilitates the existing structure, renewing it with respect for local craftsmanship and history. The design joins the solid, rectangular stone base with a new organic form—revealing the site’s spirit rather than changing it.

The two-pitched roof complies with local regulations, but softens into a gentle curve that flows outward into a wooden pergola. This fluid extension opens the home toward the landscape, blending structure and nature. This wooden mesh acts as an elongated pergola, using fluid geometry to extend the roof's capacity as an awning au vent, balancing cosmic elevation with terrestrial grounding. Every joint and curve corresponds to a point in an imagined constellation, reflecting the sacred energy integrated through Kogi principles and the rhythm of the universe. 

Sustainability comes through careful use of materials: the original stone is preserved and repurposed, reducing waste and giving new life to the structure as a spiritual and enduring threshold between the human and cosmic worlds.

"To execute these complex, organic forms and ensure every joint aligns with the intended celestial symbolism, we utilize Rhino to generate a precise digital model that provides the technical framework for a local carpenter to realize the intricate timber engineering."

Details... 

Timber Segmented shell in Pyrenees by MPDA BarcelonaTech

The MPDA Master’s program at UPC School concludes each year with a built project that brings together innovation, sustainability, and community engagement. 

This edition took place in Alp, a mountain town in the Catalan Pyrenees, where students and faculty fully designed, engineered,  and built a new sports pavilion as a lightweight public structure for the local community.

Developed in just four months, the project combined computational design in Grasshopper, structural analysis with Karamba3D, and digital fabrication via Cadwork to create an efficient segmented timber shell. The structure is formed by planar n-gon modules shaped as an antifunicular ribbed system, with optimized joints and a fabrication process that balanced precision, structural performance, and manufacturability. Components were produced with CNC machining at Tallfusta and LaserPenta, and pre-assembled before transport.

The final construction in Alp took place over one intensive week, during which students and faculty installed the foundation, assembled the prefabricated elements, and placed the protective membrane. Beyond the pavilion itself, the project offered a full-scale learning experience that connected advanced parametric design with real construction, leaving behind a sustainable and meaningful space for the town.

Credits

• Collaborator institution: Alp Municipality
• Students: Khalid Abbood, Bilgenur Balkiz, Mihir Bhamare, Agustina Couzier, Arvind Das, Rahel Degu, Helly Desai, Youssef Essam, Davis Gan, Sara Guessous, Pravin Kandasamy, Maciej Król, Dana Mneimneh, Jaume Monclús, Nathaly Osorio, Tomás Pérez, Sayed Sanobar, Sena Sezer, Damla Şişman, Anna Solà, Maria Tzavida, Martin Uquillas, Mehad Yasser.
• Faculty: Gerard Bertomeu, Quim Escoda, Enrique Soriano, Pep Tornabell, Rafael Hellín, Bruno García.
• Guest Professors: Almudena Majano, Antonio Lara, Matthew Tam, Simon Vorhammer
• Sponsors: Rothoblaas, Festool
• Fabrication Partners: Tallfusta, Sumeplast, Garnica, Laserpenta, Piloedre, Tecnodimension
• Software partners: Karamba3D, Cadwork
• Acknowledgments: Maria Tiana, Topografía Cerdanya, and always to Daniel Piker
• Photography: Andrés Flajszer, Arvind Das

MPDA Master’s program at UPC School

Over ten successful editions, MPDA has trained new generations of computational designers from around the world, many of whom now work at leading international design and engineering offices.

Want to enroll? The next information session will be held on April 14th at 14:00.

MPDA is a 60 ECTS one-year program, 4 months online and 5 months in person. During the program, you will learn advanced computational design tools and apply them to the design and construction of a numerically optimized, digitally fabricated building.

Casa Ecológica Campeche by Affonso Orciuoli + Marcelo Leal, arquitetos

"EcoHouse is a small house located on a plot very close to Campeche beach, on the island of Florianopolis, Brazil. It seeks to minimize the impact of construction, both in terms of interference with the landscape and the materials used. Except for the foundations (reinforced concrete), the entire house was built with autoclaved treated pine wood, and some walls were clad with plasterboard. The carpentry is aluminum, with mosquito screens, promoting cross-ventilation.

Another important aspect was building the smallest possible house to free up land for the garden. It has a living room with a home office space, dining room, and kitchen—all in one integrated area. This space opens onto a balcony and a deck that connects the house with the outside. The goal was to create a certain "confusion," where you don't know if you are inside or outside the house, or inside or outside the property. We believe in a continuous, integrated space. The bathroom is on the ground floor, and the bedroom, also without doors, is on the upper floor.

The timber frame construction process allowed for a lightweight yet high-quality build with excellent thermal and acoustic comfort. We used "rock wool" as insulation. When studying the best solution for rainwater, we noticed a tendency for people to cement the ground, which causes flooding because the soil cannot absorb the rain. Flooding is typical in Floripa on rainy days. So, we created a 40 cm layer with construction debris, which was practically free. When it rains, this "mattress" absorbs the rainwater, creating a natural drainage system that allows the earth to "dialogue" with the high-water table due to the proximity of the beach.

The house has a green roof and a large tropical garden on the ground. From above, what you see is a large green spot. Therefore, we do not interfere with the natural process of the rainwater cycle.

As a concept, the main idea is to minimize the boundary between being inside and outside. The house opens to the garden and the street, contrary to the trend of high walls with security systems. It aims to be as transparent as possible and to establish a dialogue with the neighborhood. This is the only way to build a city.

In terms of project development, we chose to use Rhino and VisualARQ. We were obsessed with having exhaustive control over all the materials used to generate the minimum amount of waste. In this sense, the material lists that VisualARQ generated were fundamental. VisualARQ also helped define the construction steps. We were able to complete the construction in 2 months with 3 people on-site.

EcoHouse aims to be an alternative for sustainable construction, rationalizing the materials used and the speed of execution. At the same time, it re-evaluates the amount of space a home needs. In its natural life cycle, it can be easily expanded, with the goal of reusing its materials."

Affonso Orciuoli + Marcelo Leal, arquitetos

Complete details (in Portuguese)...

Digital Fabrication Showcase by RhinoFabStudio

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To all our Certified RhinoFabStudios, ARTCs, and ARTs, we want to thank you and express our appreciation for all the work that you do.

We have created a portfolio called Digital Fabrication Showcase that includes outstanding computational designed projects manufactured in these centers worldwide before 2020. Check out these exceptional projects!

If you are a Certified RhinoFabStudio, ARTC, and ART, please share your most remarkable projects with us so we can include them in our new portfolio. We want to display your projects and developments in the latest version of our Digital Fabrication Showcase.

Fill out this form to get started!

For more information, please get in touch with Lucia Miguel at lucia@mcneel.com

What is RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer-controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

To become a Certified RhinoFabStudio, visit this link!

Open Sky/Oasiz (by ARCHIOLOGICS)

Adolfo Nadal from ARCHIOLOGICS has been kind enough to share his recent project Open Sky/Oasiz, modeled with the help of Rhino and Grasshopper:

At ARCHIOLOGICS, we conceive each project as a process thought and designed to meet the expectations, tastes and needs of each profile. We combine design and construction with the highest levels of precision through a workflow based on virtual models, true digital twins for construction. We are able to combine the most advanced industrialization and design systems with the customization of each design and work thanks to our Rhino-based, tailor-made solutions. Whether you are looking for a pure geometric or textured design, specific sizes or proposals, or a bright and striking aesthetic, our team of professionals will develop the best version for your needs.

From design to construction

Our façade solutions highlight the value of material and geometry through fully customized computational processes. We optimize investment and minimize costs thanks to early analysis and rationalization of the geometry, improving its constructive and aesthetic potential. All this can be achieved by harvesting the native power of Rhinoceros' NURBS geometry core and the extended functionality we add by means of Grasshopper and the software's API. In this particular case, we were able to develop more than 22000sqm of unique panels seamlessly integrating design and construction procedures, such as surface rationalization, structure optimization, and drawing automation, including a wide variety of planar, curved, and double curved geometries.

At Oasiz, we provide value to this raw material to the extent that it becomes a truly unmatched design. Unique products are combined with geometric cladding and vitreous finishes, adopting the essence of industrial and minimalist environments for a project that seeks to stand out by itself.

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