Mass is More: Barcelona Pavillion

Mass is More was a two-week exhibition that explored the use of regenerative and decarbonizing architectural materials, exposing the multi-layered material processes entailed (and impacts incurred) in the production of buildings.  Through the application of emerging principles of the circular bio-economy, the biocity model promotes new design approaches, construction techniques, and urban management methods that can create and reinforce a mutually beneficial relationship between cities and forests. Co-developed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Bauhaus Earth, this exhibition explores the potential of advanced wood building technology as a means to store atmospheric carbon in the built environment. The exhibit is hosted at the Barcelona Pavilion, the quintessential icon of the modernist era designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lily Reich almost a century ago. It reaffirms a pivotal Spanish-German architectural collaboration and ushers in a new era of ecological construction.   

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. The exhibition incorporated an interactive digital application was developed together with Bestiario. Filmmaker Jaume Cebolla Mass was responsible for the Mass is More Documentary. The exhibition was part 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.

The Mass is More pavillion also served as the location for the presentation of the Barcelona Protocoll, a European action plan by Bauhaus Earth and its partners.