UIC Barcelona School of Architecture professor Alberto T. Estévez recently published a chapter entitled “Arquitectura Biodigital y Genética / Biodigital Architecture & Genetics” in the book Arquitectura Vegetal: estrategias materiales / Plant Architecture: Material Strategies, published in a bilingual edition by Ediciones Asimétricas (Madrid, 2018). 

The publication examines the theoretical and technical implications of the role of plants in defining living spaces. In the book, readers will learn about building traditions from around the globe that 21st-century architects have recovered with a view to reducing the environmental footprints of buildings and increasing their functionality. Cited examples include the vernacular lessons of the Swedish stugas or Asturian teitos applied by Renzo Piano in the California Academy of Sciences building, or the Iraqi or Peruvian cane enclosures that provided the German firm Arup inspiration for its SolarLeaf project (Hamburg).

The book, which is now available in book stores and online sales platforms, features other renowned national and international architects, such as Marta García Carbonero, Ferdinand Ludwig, Ignacio Borrego and Santiago de Molina.