Mass is More
Mass Is More was a project by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Bauhaus Earth at the Barcelona Pavilion. The two-week exhibition explored the use of regenerative and carbon-negative architectural materials, exposing the multi-layered processes behind the construction of the built environment.
The mass timber CLT panels composing all elements of the installation, sustainably sourced from Spanish forests, are used in a way that gracefully demonstrates the performative, structural, and tactile capacities of this material. While creating a respectful dialogue with Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich’s original pavilion, the installation proposes a radical material departure from modernism—concrete and steel— in favour of renewable, carbon-storing, and regionally and sustainably sourced biomaterials.
Through a series of interventions, the installation showcases the potential of mass timber construction and proposes a future of radical decarbonization supported by bioregionalism and material circularity that fosters upcycling and reuse.
This space served as the venue for the launching of Mass Madera, a Spanish mass timber building network promoted by Built by Nature. The installation was produced by Finsa and Xilonor, a Galician timber company, and incorporates a visual environmental representation developed together with Bestiario. Mass Is More is part of the events of the European Forest City 2022 taking place in Barcelona, organized by the European Forest Institute, with the support of the Metropolitan Area and the Barcelona City Council.
Image credits: ©Adria Goula
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> READ: “Mass is More installation reimagines Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion”, Dezeen
> READ: “Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona – but Made of Wood, Please”, Detail Magazine