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Tesi en modalitat de compendi de publicacions, (English) Due to the fact that construction, maintenance, and operation of buildings consume almost 40% of global energy today, architects play a major role in the reduction of world energy consumption. Building’s façades can have a significant and measurable impact on the economic, environmental, and social performances by edifices, and their retrofit is seen as a key solution to the problem of today’s aging building stock. Concerning overheating and the potential loss of internal heat, transparent parts of the building façade have a large effect on the building’s energy consumption. Within this context, the use of intelligent systems on architecture envelopes can fulfill contemporary demands as promising solutions regarding energy efficiency, emissions, or the degree of visual contact in building environments. In Spain, boom periods of construction combined with typical building styles of each period, have resulted in a large stock of aging educational buildings at risk of structural vacancy and obsolescence. Despite their lack of insulation, high air infiltration, and solar gain, many such edifices from the 1970s-1980s are still in use today. Moreover, the majority of today's buildings will still be in use in 2050 based on the Spanish edifices' annual replacement rate of 3% according to the European Commission. The main objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to analyze, develop and promote intelligent services to existing façades to optimize these buildings' economic, environmental, and social sustainability performances through a holistic and innovative sustainability assessment model. To do so, the first phases of this thesis, the author carried out a deep documental investigation on more than 800 research articles regarding intelligent façade systems, advancements in material engineering, user demands, automations, and their sustainability performance following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses reporting standards. Based on the, (Català) La construcció, el manteniment i funcionament de edificis consumeixen quasi el 40% de l'energia actual, així que els arquitectes tenen un paper fonamental en la reducció del consum energètic. Les façanes poden tenir un impacte significatiu i mesurable en el rendiment econòmic, mediambiental i social dels edificis, i la rehabilitació es considera una solució clau per al problema de l'envelliment del parc immobiliari actual. Pel que fa al sobreescalfament i possible pèrdua de calor interna, les parts transparents de les façanes tenen un gran efecte en el consum energètic de l'edifici. Així, es poden satisfer les demandes actuals amb l'ús de sistemes intel·ligents a envolupants arquitectòniques, com ara solucions prometedores en eficiència energètica, emissions o grau de contacte visual en entorns construïts. A Espanya, els períodes d'apogeu de la construcció han donat lloc a nombrosos edificis educatius envellits que corren el risc de quedar obsolets. Tot i la manca d'aïllament, problemes d'infiltracions d'aire i guany solar, molts d'aquests edificis dels anys 70-80 segueixen en ús avui dia. A més a més, la majoria d'aquests edificis continuaran en ús el 2050, si es té en compte que la taxa de substitució anual dels edificis espanyols és del 3%, segons la Comissió Europea. “L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi doctoral és analitzar, desenvolupar i promoure serveis intel·ligents per a façanes existents per optimitzar les prestacions de sostenibilitat econòmica, mediambiental i social dels seus edificis mitjançant un model holístic i innovador d'avaluació de la sostenibilitat”. Per això, les primeres fases d'aquesta tesi, van investigar en profunditat més de 800 articles científics sobre sistemes de façanes intel·ligents, avenços en l'enginyeria de materials, demandes dels usuaris, automatitzacions i el seu rendiment global en matèria de sostenibilitat, seguint els ítems preferits per a la presentació d'informes de revisions sistemàtiques i metaanàlisi. Consider, Postprint (published version)

The research study presented in this paper focused on the potential of scissor-like deployable structures with straight bars to create compact, light and cost-effective solutions for temporary shelters and emergency architecture. The design and construction process included parametric design; various scale model prototypes and a final 1:1 scale prototype. The ‘Vertex’ structure is comprised of three triangles made up of 27 scissor-like straight bars. When unfolded the triangles scissor-like bars deploy to create three arches. The arches are joined to each other at ground level and secured in place using three bases. Finally, the arches’ stability is secured at the upper level by the tension force of the textile membrane. The fabrication process included both conventional fabrication and assembly of materials as well as the use of 3D printing and laser cutting technology. The assembly of the 1:1 prototype was carried out in one hour. Each triangle weights 9 kg, and the entire structure including the bases and the textile is 70kg. The prototype was fabricated and tested by the MArch Architecture students and Lab at Nottingham Trent University, as part of a workshop on deployable structures conducted by the SMiA (Structural Morphology in Architecture) Research Group., Postprint (published version)

In regard to increasing reports toward severe comfort problems and high energy consumption by educational buildings in many countries, a sustainable refurbishment for these edifices is urgently required. Using Intelligent Façade Layers as a protective cover with a variety of possible energy sources would be an innovative rehabilitation alternative, which until now has had outstanding performances in other architectural applications. This research paper, overcoming the lack of comprehensive assessments on Intelligent Façades, develops a new model to quantitatively assess the sustainability of these façades when applied to optimize existing educational architecture. This model combines the multi-criteria decision-making MIVES method with the Delphi technique, relying on literature, real projects and sensitivity analyses. The model considers the main economic, environmental and social aspects in its steps: 1) model boundaries, 2) experts’ qualification, 3) requirements tree, 4) weights assignment, 5) value functions, 6) sustainability indexes and 7) most sustainable alternatives. This model has been applied and validated in five Intelligent Façade Layers alternatives and three case studies at schools in Barcelona, Spain. This new approach proved highly reliable, showing the need for optimizations in both economic and environmental impacts applied to refurbishment scenarios. In this sense, future steps will design optimized alternatives., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Part of the large amounts of waste generated by human activities could have a second use while solving social problems. In this sense, the authors are carrying out a research project involving the participative development of innovative solar control devices integrated into school architecture using household waste. In general, the objectives of this research project are to: (a) optimize pupils’ learning process by improving lighting and thermal comfort levels and (b) reduce the generation of Spanish household waste by reusing part of it and increase the teaching community’s awareness about this waste. This research article reports on the steps taken to achieve these objectives by characterizing the most sustainable types of the waste-based solar control device. In this sense, this research paper defines and applies a new methodology which combines General Morphology Analysis (GMA), a new tool based on The Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment and Focus groups. First, up to 96 different types of solar control devices composed of household waste have been defined using GMA and, second, these 96 types and conventional roller shutters have been assessed using this new tool. Based on these article results, one of the best alternatives has been prototyped during an initial workshop., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

This research paper presents part of a research project that develops the participative design of innovative solar control devices integrated in school architecture using low-cost tensed structures, composed of reused household waste and renewable energy systems. In consequence, these devices are designed to be built during workshops about waste management and sustainability by elementary and high school students and teachers. In general, this project aims to reduce the negative environmental impacts by educational architecture and, at the same time, increase students and teachers´ comfort levels and sustainability awareness. The specific case studies in this project occur in Spanish schools, which have a particular endemic problem in terms of user comfort due to lack of solar control. The main novelty of this project is the aforementioned design of solar control devices composed of household waste to be assembled during workshops by students and teachers. Although there have already been previous workshops in which students learn about school buildings, this project moves a step forward and involves students and teachers in the construction process of a solar control device. This article presents three solar control waste based device prototypes, the main steps followed to design and assess them and the first workshop., Postprint (published version)

This paper discusses a deployable-arch-structure design that is built using articulated bars, commonly called a scissor-system, and is based on the regular polygon geometry. The deployed-arch shape can be determined by inscribing regular polygon geometry in a circle. It is defined by the: a. number of bars required, b. position of the pivots, c. pivot-point distances, d. bar length, and e. open-geometry angle of the arches. The goal is a deployable half dome made up of semi-arches. Traditional arch construction depends on external structures to provide stability until the keystone is set, which then allows the supports to removed. Deployable structures avoid the need for these external supports greatly simplifying the assembly process and deployment time., Postprint (published version)

Primer premi, Postprint (published version)

The purpose of this paper is to share the experience, training and teaching students in non conventional structures area. The research group SMiA Structural Morphology in Architecture performed a practical and theoretical workshop designed to learn unconventional structures in architecture. The main objective was to propose a practical teaching method, the students gain the necessary tools to design lightweight and membrane structures developing an architectural project. Physical and digital tools are utilized, including WinTess3, Sketch Up, Grasshopper, a parametric-geometry-development-and-testing software.Lightweight Construction Course is an elective architecture program at ETSAV School of Architecture of "El Vallès", leading by Professor Dr.-Arch. Ramon Sastre. The main topics that were developed are: Deployable, Tree-Like, Reciprocal Frame, and Tensegrity Structures. In the present article we explain the practical experience in Deployable and Tree-like Structures. The course was offered to students in the last year of career at UPC, international students (Erasmus) and Master students., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

This paper applies tensegrity to create an architectural structure such as those that could be used for sportsarenas or other buildings requiring large, open spaces. This proposal generates an external tensegrity ríng witha central dome, free of any interior support, by formfindíng a diamond-shaped membrane with discontinuous struts in a double layer structure that finds its equilibrium through the pretension of the membrane. The tendons that are used in traditional tensegrity structures are replaced by membranes and thís propasal is the main contríbution of this work. Structural equilibrium was analyzed using the WinTess software and wind-tunnel testing was used to determine the Cp-pressure coefficient., Postprint (published version)

The current prototype’s key contribution to the field of light-weight structures is that it is the first time that a pure tensegrity ring has been used in place of a compression ring. This design features a cladding structure for a sports arena, which consist of a ring-shaped outer section and a central roof structure. The ring-shaped outer section of the stadium consists of a tensegrity structure, which uses textile membranes in a place of conventional tension cables to bear the tensile forces occurring between the pressure elements. The supporting framework and spatial enclosure therefore become one an extension to the tension integrity principle. The central area of the roof is covered over by a Geiger dome, which in turn is a specific version of the tensegrity principle., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The purpose of this document is to study the application of Tensegrity principles on tensile textile constructions, which is one of points of the PhD Thesis that the author is writing under the tutorship of Prof. Josep Ignasi Llorens and Prof. Ramon Sastre, professors at the Polytechnic University of Catalunia. This work studies the basic concept of Tensegrity unit, its classification according a previous researcher (Anthony Pugh) and the author’s contribution, focused on new generations of forms. Through the geometry and computer software, another typology and a constructive simple method is developed, bearing in mind, some aspects as important as system pretension to find its balance. The objective principal is to contribute in a particular way to the application of the tensegrity in architectural spaces, in this case sports spaces through a new proposal that generates an external ring in tensegrity with a central dome, free of any interior support, by formfinding a diamond membrane pattern with discontinuous struts in a double layer that find their equilibrium through the tension of the membrane. In the following examples one can observe that traditional tensegrity tendons are replaced by membranes Fig 1, which is the main contribution of this work that finds geometry and its constructive method of the different prototypes with the help of software like AutoCAD and WinTess (a software development by Ramon Sastre), which verifies the structural equilibrium., Postprint (published version)