Circular Bioeconomy & Natural Materials Innovation

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...

COACT is an environmental technology accelerator and innovation hub, supporting the development of early-stage solutions to the world‘s most pressing ecological and climate-related challenges. COACT was founded by a group of climate technology enthusiasts, makers and successful entrepreneurs sharing a vision for technology that serves a purpose beyond profit. COACT focuses on innovative technologies in...

To date, quantifying the amount of carbon or energy embodied in an architectural project has been a complex procedure. This was by necessity, as obtaining accurate figures requires thorough tracing of each constituent component through every transformation from raw material to finished product throughout its entire respective life cycle. So-called life-cycle analysis/assessment (LCA) methodologies are...

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...

The Valldaura estate comprises 135 hectares of forest within the 1300 hectare Collserola Natural Park. Looking at the stark contrast between this dense green mass and the surrounding urbanization of the Barcelona metropolitan area with an untrained eye, one would be forgiven for thinking the park represents an natural oasis unchanged since its primeval origins....

To enable restaurants and bars to remain open during COVID-19 while respecting social distancing requirements, the city of Barcelona authorized more than 2.600 terraces to occupy what was formerly street or parking space. Though these reclamations represent an encouragingly widespread step toward further pedestrianization of the city, the unfortunate reality is they still feel very...

Valldaura Labs values how, when and where materials and products used on the campus are sourced. The campus is not only active in the generation of energy, food and materials used for consumption, but in understanding how the processes for production and harvesting can be optimized and refined. As a result, Valldaura Labs actively traces...