Supported by the Europe Forest Institute (EFI) and in collaboration with a number of organizations throughout Europe and beyond, Valldaura Labs has begun co-authoring the Green Book of Biocities, a seminal text which will define the new paradigm of Biocities and the key strategies to make them a reality.

By synthesizing inputs from stakeholders and all of the organizations involved – whose expertise span from sustainable forest management to agriculture, circular/bio-economics, health, ecology, nature-based solutions, social issues, architecture, urbanism and policy making – the ambition of the Green Book is to arrive at a consensus regarding the definition of Biocities which holistically incorporates all of these vital components.
The Green Book begins from the deceptively simple premise that Biocities are cities that follow the principles of natural systems to promote life.

Proceeding to the recognition that humans lived in harmony with nature for centuries prior to the industrial revolution and the widespread use of greenhouse-gas emitting fossil fuels; that the forms and functions of cities have historically evolved in direct response to the primary challenges faced by civilization during the era of their development; that cities now account for 75% of global greenhouse-gas emissions*; and that the human population is projected to increase by 2 billion majority urban individuals by 2050; the Green Book then acknowledges that a fundamental re-naturalization of the urban model is necessary both for existing cities and those destined to be built or expanded across the world if we’re to maintain any reasonable expectation of mitigating the most disastrous effects of global climate change.

The Green Book will be published in 2022, and will make clear how the technologies and knowledge available today can most effectively address these challenges, as well as which technologies and knowledge we must prioritize advancing.

Year Completed: 2021

Duration: 1 year

Budget: 200.000€

Project Coordinator(s): Giuseppe Scarascia-Mugnozza, Stefano Boeri (SISEF)

IAAC Project Managers: Vicente Guallart, Michael Salka

Partner Organizations: Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF), Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Croatian Forest Research Institute (CFRI), Public Interest Group on Forest Ecosystems (ECOFOR), KU Leuven (KULEUVEN), University of Hong Kong (HKU), Institute for Global Health Barcelona (ISGLOBAL), Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (HUB-GD), Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), UK Forest Research (UKFR)

Stakeholder/Expert Panel Organizations: Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF-RIF), BOS+ More than Just Trees (BOS+), Area Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB), Comune/Città Metropolitana di Bari (BARI), Urban Next/Actar Publisher (ACTAR), Secretaria Distrital de Ambiente Bogota (SDAB), TURENSCAPE Co. Ltd. (TUSC), University of Florence (DISIT), Sapienza University (PA-Rome), University of Sheffield (UNIS_LAND), ETIFOR, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA-FS), RUDN University (RUDN)

Funding Organization: European Forest Institute (EFI)

Barcelona will be the European Forest City of 2022 and will organize the annual conference of the European Forest Institute as decided by its annual Assembly held this year in Bonn. Barcelona, which presented its candidacy led by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) and the CForest Sciences and Technology Centre of Catalonia ( CTFC) competed with Madrid, Soria and Navi Sadf (Serbia) to organize the event in 2022.

The winning candidature proposes the celebration of activities throughout the year 2022, taking as a central topic of debate the impact of the Circular Bioeconomy in urban environments, overcoming the traditional dichotomy between urbanized spaces and natural spaces, which has come to be called the development of Biocities.

To make their case, the candidature presented the programs currently developed on the promotion of biodiversity in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, the fight against climate change, the renaturalization of public space, citizen participation in the promotion of biodiversity in cities and the use of solutions based on nature and specifically the development of innovative wood construction projects.

The candidature also included an educational program on forests and Biocities in educational centers in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, an event where projects related to the reforestation of the planet and the intelligent management of existing forests and the promotion of biodiversity, are to be presented. A Film and Ecology Festival, an international contest of designers for the development of products related to Biocities, and the development of a seminar during the Smart City Congress were also proposed.

The main conference will take place during the month of October 2022, spread throughout several locations in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, among others the Hospital de San Pau (where the EFI has a sub-headquarters) and Valldaura Labs of the IAAC, in the Collserola park. The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona has almost 40% of its 636 km2 as protected areas, including the Collserola Park, La Serralada Litoral or the Garraf Park.

The proposal also has the support of multiple organizations such as the Collserola Park Consortium, Barcelona Global, the Barcelona Urban Ecology Agency, the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya, the Col·legi d’Enginyers Forestals de Catalunya , the Col.legi d’Enginyers de Camins de Catalunya, the Higher Council of Architects of Spain, the Technological Institute of Construction of Catalonia, the City Council of Cerdanyola, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the Fira de Barcelona, the Fundación Catalunya la Pedrera, the Hospital de San Pau, the Cercle d’Infraestrctures and the Estudi Ramón Folch.

The European Forest Institute (EFI) is an international organization established by the European States, of which 29 have ratified the EFI Convention. It has 130 Affiliate Members and organizations from 40 countries and is headquartered in Joensuu, Finland.

Year Completed: 2022

Duration: 1 year

Project Coordinator(s): Vicente Guallart

Partner Organizations: Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Forest Sciences and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC)

Funding Organization: European Forest Institute (EFI)

Website: https://efi.int/explore/city

This exhibition was a presentation of various projects completed at the Valldaura Labs Campus of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. The core of this innovative project is a laboratory to promote investigation and set a new benchmark for self sufficiency. The Valldaura Labs represents a new paradigm for sustainability established by IAAC with the aim to create a progressive, consciously designed ecology using both cutting edge technologies and rich craftsmanship. As such, this exhibition comprises of various aspects:

Advanced Ecological Buildings
IAAC’s immersive master program of Advanced Ecological Building design takes place at the Valldaura Labs campus. Over the course of 6 months and under the guidance of directors Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibanez, young designers, engineers and professionals have designed building proposals for the future of Barcelona. These proposals present a new generation of advanced ecological building projects, which fuse the environmental values of the buildings (ecologically aware, renewable materials, energy, self-sufficiency and efficient material use) with an adaptive, modular and advanced design.

The buildings, developed for Barcelona’s blocks on the Besos River, include a fusion of housing programs and activities such as Mercado Ecologico, Aquaponic Gardens, Digital Manufacturing Centers and much more. The projects were presented to a jury of experts consisting of Miquel Lacasta (of Archikubik, author of the reform of the Deposit) Ali Basbous (of BAD, Beirut), Guillermo Sevillano and Elena Sevillano  and professors of the IAAC Honorata Grzesikowska, Nicolo Gnecchi and Jon Minchin.

Valldaura Labs, Through The Lens of Adria Goula
Adria Goula is a renowned architectural photographer whose work spans acclaimed projects by prominent architects, and has been showcased on the cover of many architecture editorials. Valldaura Labs, Through The Lens of Adria Goula, is a tribute to IAAC and the Institute’s ethos of innovation and design for the future; presenting the school and the Valldaura Labs Campus to a broader audience.

About the Exhibition Curation
True to Valldaura Labs’ platform of self-sufficiency and traceability, the exhibition is curated with wood sourced from the Valldaura Labs campus. The wood in this exhibition is Oak and Pine, and each piece comes with a birth certificate and geo-location.

All printed photography and drawings related to the Master were printed by MAEB Sponsor ARTYPLAN. Large scale 3D Printing of model elements was partially sponsored by Noumena. The inauguration of the exhibition was attended by Andreu Mas Colell, former Minister of Universities of Catalonia.

Check out more MAEBB projects at the IAACBLOG website.