zero kilometer structural wood builds 'voxel' quarantine cabin by IAAC in barcelona

within the natural park of collserola in barcelona, the institute for advanced architecture of catalonia (IAAC) built the ‘voxel’ ‘quarantine cabin prototype using natural zero kilometer wood only. emerging as an advanced ecological building constructed with industrialized techniques, the project proposes a space for confinement as an architectural solution to the COVID-19 pandemic.

all images courtesy of adrià goula

produced by a team of students, professionals, and experts from the master in advanced ecological buildings and biocities (MAEBB) of IAAC, the project is designed as a 12 sqm quarantine cabin, accommodating one occupant. the ‘voxel’, or ‘volumetric pixel’, takes shape as a cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure made of aleppo pine (pinus halepensis) that was milled, dried, processed, and pressed on-site at valldaura labs, the campus created by IAAC, focused on research and education on self-sufficient habitat. all timber used in the cabin’s construction was harvested within a radius of less than 1 kilometer from the location.

the project researches the ecological transformation of wood as a structural, thermal, and constructive material from sustainable forest management, because of its capacity to store CO2 in buildings. to supply the raw materials of the project, 40 pine trees were harvested, cut into 3cm boards, and stacked to dry for three months. after they reached the proper humidity level, each board was taken into the valldaura labs carpentry to be processed into hundreds of pine lamellas. each lamella was then encoded into a specific sequence, tagged, and pressed into more than 30 structural CLT panels which were assembled into a 3.6 x 3.6m cube.

the panels were held together metal-free with lap joints and wooden dowels, inspired by a commitment to use less carbon-intensive materials. the structure was then wrapped in a layer of cork insulation and mounted with a series of rain-screen panels made from waste material that was created during the CLT production process. while processing raw pine boards to get perfectly rectangular lamella, the organic edge of the board usually goes to waste. here, by reimagining the cycle of material selection and disposal into a more circular form, these off-cuts were turned into a facade that showcases the organic complexity of the tree, which is usually hidden in most wooden constructions.

by advancing the design a step further, each off-cut was parametrically organized into a gradient that corresponds to the functions within the cabin. certain sections of the skin also extrude away from the cabin, corresponding to metabolic components like water tanks and an outdoor shower. the roof of the cabin features a series of garden boxes with elaborate joints milled with computer-numerical-control (CNC) machinery (no screws, no glue), which holds a variety of local plants and funnel rainwater into a collection tank below. cork insulation was placed over the wooden panels, and a burnt wooden skin was placed over it, using the japanese shou sugi ban technique, which protects the building from the rain.

project info: 

name: voxel / volumetric pixel
architects: the institute for advanced architecture of catalonia (IAAC)
project led by: MAEBB directors daniel ibáñez and vicente uallart
location: natural park of collserola, barcelona, spain