Architects: IAAC
Year: 2025
Photographs: IAAC, Adrià Goula
Category: Installations & Structures
Director: Vicente Guallart, Daniel Ibáñez, Michael Salka
Executive Director of Valldaura: Laia Pifarré
Team: Estudiantes del programa Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities (MAEBB), clase del 2023/24: Alexander Tamazov, Toni Javor, Emma Rodriguez Berghmans, Neeshi Doshi, Lamprini Makarona, Diana Ruzanska, Alfred Ziad Aramouni, Anushreya Kondapi, Juan Sebastián Batallas Cueva, Marianna Santos Fujii, Varun Sreenath, André Arruda Navarro, Mustafa Teksoy, Oliver Needham, Alireza Shayan, Alkiviaids Avarkiotis. Maya Shoavi, Sharvari Sharath, Sveta Sathyanadhan, Vanessa Marie Alvarado Barrios, Helen Girma, Karla Velarde Sandoval, Kristina Schüssler
Project Manager: Esin Aydemir
Expert Staff: Bruno Ganem, Marielena Papandreou, Lorenzo Salinas, Viorel Cazacu
Staff: Pilar Fontanals, Laura Sanchez
Consultant: Miquel Rodriguez, Elena Orte, Guillermo Sevillano, Ignasi Caus, David Valldeoriola, Silvia Burés, Toni Arola, Ionut Cosenco, Carles Enrich, Firas Safieddine Arturo de la Maza
Partners: Tallfusta, Alberch; Montpart
Supported By: Parc de Collserola, Ajuntament de Cerdanyola del Vallès
City: Cerdanyola del Vallès
Country: Spain
CORA Installation research facility designed by IAAC at the Valldaura Labs Campus in Collserola Natural Park, Barcelona, adapts an existing 19th-century brick stable into a laboratory for advanced robotic fabrication. The project, realized by MAEBB students, combines digital and traditional construction methods over four months to create a dedicated space for a KUKA industrial robot. CORA Installation preserves the original brick walls, adding a wooden structure defined by seven branching columns and a Voronoi-patterned solid wood roof. The building uses CNC-machined joints and CLT panels produced on site. A green roof with Mediterranean species supports sustainability and biodiversity. Skylights above the robot, a CLT facade with parametric patterns, and integration of advanced services support both robotic operations and human interaction. CORA Installation stands as a laboratory that blends advanced technology, historic architecture, and ecological design for new prototyping and sustainable manufacturing solutions.
The Valldaura Labs Campus of the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is situated in Collserola Natural Park in Barcelona and spans 135 hectares. The campus is recognized for its innovative use of advanced technologies in its projects. In line with this practice, the campus introduced a KUKA industrial robot, which is capable of milling, cutting wood, and performing various precision tasks. As part of the Master in Advanced Architecture and Bioscities (MAEBB), an international student team was tasked with designing and constructing a fully functional laboratory for this robot over a four-month period.
IAAC’s work is not merely inspired but emerges as a critical response to contemporary socio-environmental and technological imperatives. Architecture, in our view, is not an isolated discipline but an integrated, systemic practice that engages with material innovation, ecological intelligence, and computational methodologies.
Interview with Daniel Ibañez of IAAC – Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
The project aimed to create a space dedicated to housing and operating the 6-axis industrial milling robot. The wooden structure, skylights, and refined atmosphere subtly reference cathedral architecture. In tribute to both craftsmanship and technology, the new building was named CORA, which stands for Cathedral of Robotic Artisans.
The challenge of the project was to create a dialogue between the original 19th-century brick structure, once used as a horse stable, and a new wooden structure reflecting 21st-century design. The new volume was planned to include the necessary spaces, services, and infrastructure for both robotic operations and human use.
The design process involved refurbishing an existing structure next to the Green Fab Lab, the campus’s digital research and manufacturing center. The old roof was removed, while the brick walls were preserved, restored, and reinforced to maintain the building’s structural integrity. Wood was selected as the main construction material, integrating with the surrounding landscape and architecture. The project provides both functionality and aesthetic harmony, while presenting a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials.
The project features a wooden framework composed of seven branching columns that resemble tree trunks. These columns support a roof with Voronoi geometry, constructed from solid wood and cross-laminated timber (CLT) joints. The carpentry, crafted with precision using computer numerical control (CNC) machining, enables the structure to span 8.8 by 4.6 meters. The CLT joints were produced at the Valldaura Campus Labs.
Because of the depth limitations of CNC milling, some joints were created from four individually milled layers, which were then glued together to form cohesive elements. This process results in a unified structural mass without visible joints that accommodates workshop facilities and supports a living green roof. Traditional carpentry techniques were combined with digital manufacturing methods to construct the joints of the structural columns (200 x 260 mm) and beams (200 x 400 mm), both made of solid wood. The four sides of the structure were preassembled off-site, hoisted by crane inside the four brick walls, and then securely bolted to the ground.
To install the new structure and meet the structural requirements for the robot, a concrete pedestal was constructed to support the KUKA industrial robot. The facade is composed of CLT panels, milled with a parametric pattern. This approach allows the building to integrate into the surrounding natural and historical landscape while referencing the contemporary structure inside. The inner face of the panels, by contrast, retains the natural texture of the wood.
A key objective of the design was to maximize natural light within the space, particularly through the skylight positioned above the robot.
The Mediterranean green roof begins with a root-resistant waterproof membrane applied with a heat gun onto the wooden roof panels. This is followed by a layer of geotextile fabric, drainage board, and humus to support native Mediterranean plant species. Irrigation tubing was installed to ensure proper hydration. The selected plants for the green roof include common honeysuckle, sweet clematis, creeping sedum, and French lavender, chosen for their adaptability and visual appeal. The Valldaura Labs team currently uses CORA as part of their prototyping work, developing new solutions for sustainable design and advanced manufacturing.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Valldaura Labs (IAAC), BV-1415 Road, Collserola Natural Park, 08290 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
Featured originally on Arquitectura Red and curated for Architecture Lab readers.
