Houston, 03.2024. Juan José Castellón, Assistant Professor at Rice School of Architecture and partner at Xmade submitted “Building Ecologies”, an installation created in collaboration with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, the Shepherd School of Music, and the support of the Carbon Hub.
The project has been selected as one of the three finalists for the 2024 Forge Prize by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
This prototype was exhibited at POST Houston in Texas, USA, and proposes innovative approaches for urban infrastructures and collective spaces for social interaction. The objective is to promote the integration of architectural, technological, and ecological systems, creating a sustainable installation based on a prefabricated modular system. The prototype is composed of a space structure of steel tubes, an expansive waterproof membrane, and hollow ceramic pieces to provide cooling and shade while capturing rainwater for irrigation on urban rooftops and public areas. This interdisciplinary initiative involved industrial collaborators such as Ceramica Cumella, Industrias BEC, Cosentino, and Serge Ferrari, as well as engineering and manufacturing consultants such as Arup and Thompson Metal Fab.
The Forge Prize, established by the (AISC) in 2018, recognizes visionary emerging architects, architecture educators, and graduate students for design concepts that embrace innovations in steel as a primary structural component.
Credits
Principal Investigator: Dr. Juan José Castellón (Rice University, xmade)
Environmental Engineering: Dr. Qilin Li (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University)
Soundscape: Kurt Stallmann (Sheperd School of Music)
Research Assistants: Rae Atkinson, Candela Cicinelli, Van Pham, Dante Gil Rivas, Michael Xu.
Structural Advice: Ricardo Pittella and John Hand (Arup, Houston), Robert Brufau (BBG Estructures).
Materiality: xmade, Ceramica Cumella, Cosentino, Industrias BEC, Serge Ferrari, and Thompson Metal Fab.
Photos: Divya Pande.