Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

The Voxel by Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

The Voxel by Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

Crafted by a group of students at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), the Voxel offers an eco-friendly space that is equipped for 14 days of self-confinement.

Tucked away in the Spain’s Parc de Collserola, a secluded nature area just outside of Barcelona, a striking wood-and-glass structure known as the Voxel is made of materials primarily culled from its site. The small-but-functional space was recently completed by a team of students and researchers at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia’s (IAAC) Valldaura Labs, as part of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities (MAEBB) program.



The Voxel sits in Spain’s Collserola natural park near the Valldaura Labs research campus, where IAAC students focus on designing and building self-sufficient structures.

Under the direction of Daniel Ibáñez and Vicente Guallart, the 2019–2020 MAEBB class designed and built the 130-square-foot "quarantine cabin," which they executed in just five months as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The students worked with an array of experts to transform local timber into "structural and thermal material" for the project using sustainable forest management practices. The result is a fully equipped, eco-friendly living space where a single occupant can self-isolate for up to 14 days.



The cabin’s exterior is mounted with rain-screen panels, which the students created using waste materials from the CLT-production process.

At the start of the project, the students harvested 40 pine trees near the site to be used for the construction. After allowing the wood to dry for three months, they moved the raw material to the Valldaura campus to be processed into thin layers, or lamellas, which the students then pressed to create cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels for the cabin.



The cabin receives electricity from an independent battery storage that can power the lighting and devices for a single resident for up to 14 days.



Large windows bring ample natural light inside the 130-square-foot structure. While the toilet is positioned inside the cabin, the shower is located on the exterior and is hidden from view.

Every lamella of every panel was tracked and traced," notes the team. The students took this measure to ensure that each wooden element of the house could be tied back to the site of the tree where it came from.



The long table underneath the window can also serve as additional sleeping area.



The Voxel’s wood-clad interior blends into its natural setting.

In order to use less metal for the construction, the team relied on lap joints and wooden dowels to hold the panels together. After wrapping the cabin with a layer of cork insulation, the students used the Japanese shou sugi ban technique to create "a burnt wooden skin" for the exterior, which is intended to help protect the building from rain, the team explains.



The rooftop garden planters were developed using computer software that eliminated the need for screws or glue. They hold an array of local plants and also funnel rainwater into a collection tank below.

On one side of the cabin, an exterior ladder leads to the roof, which features a series of garden boxes, three solar panels, and a funnel for rainwater. A self-contained biogas system facilitates graywater recycling and blackwater treatment while also generating cooking and heating fuel, as well as sanitary fertilizer.

In addition to the energy provided by the cabin’s solar panels, the space is also equipped with a battery storage system that’s specifically designed to accommodate a single resident for up to 14 days.



In the lofted sleeping quarter, a passive solar window box frames picturesque views of the surrounding natural park.

Inside, the Voxel presents a minimal, wood-clad aesthetic. The same local material is used to create all of the furniture, which includes a platform bed, desk, dining table, and kitchenette.

The innovative design of this off-grid cabin is characterized by a focus on hyperlocal materials and industrialized building techniques. Fittingly, the IAAC students describe the Voxel as "visceral proof of a forthcoming ecological architectural paradigm."



From April to August 2020, the group of 17 master’s students worked with expert volunteers to develop the 130-square-foot cabin, which features a bed, desk, dining area, and small kitchen, as well as a toilet, outdoor shower, and garden rooftop.



To weatherproof the Voxel’s exterior, the students relied on an ancient Japanese technique known as shou sugi ban (or yakisugi), which involves charring wood to make it repel water.



The MAEBB 2019–2020 master’s class utilized local timber and avoided carbon-intensive materials, such as nails and screws.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×