Ankur Moolky - Portfolio

MODULAR MATRICES

ARCHITECTURE

URBANISM

Barcelona, Spain | Individual Work

This project was designed as an entry for the Reusing Rooftops competition.

Tech stack: Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, Photoshop, D5 Render

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THE BRIEF

Barcelona’s rooftops, terraces, and courtyards represent an underused urban layer within one of Europe’s densest city fabrics. As the climate crisis intensifies across the Mediterranean region, these overlooked spaces offer an opportunity to rethink how cities can adapt from above—transforming rooftops into productive, social, and ecological infrastructure. Rather than remaining residual surfaces, they can become spaces for recreation, nature, biodiversity, rainwater management, thermal insulation, and collective life.

This framework imagines the reuse of Barcelona’s rooftops as a scalable model for urban sustainability and climate adaptation. The framework must:

Propose innovative strategies for transforming unused rooftops, terraces, and courtyards into active living spaces;
Support environmental performance through improved air quality, reduced urban heat, rainwater management, energy savings, and biodiversity protection;
Establish a replicable model for dense cities facing similar climate, spatial, and social challenges.

CONCEPT

“Modular Matrices” imagines a modular, mass-timber aggregation of cozy spaces for work, leisure, exercise, community, and commerce. The design features a simple scalable unit built with locally sourced radiata pine wood that arrays to span an entire rooftop for multiple levels. Carefully chosen species of greenery inhabit the in-between spaces of the modules, creating a natural, immersive experience that reduces the urban heat island effect while also offering a safe space for animals to inhabit.

Matrix unit typologies & variations

PROJECT DRAWINGS

A global system of rainwater collection and solar energy generation harmonizes the individual mechanisms of each unit to maximize sustainable resource utilization. Solar and rainwater systems are contained within their own ‘blocks’, allowing for ease of phased, modular construction and creating localized ‘grids’ of natural resources. This eliminates the necessity for large-scale infrastructural connectivity while maintaining equitable access to resources. Excess electricity is stored in solar batteries for use at night, while excess rainwater is stored for non-potable use.

A simple massing strategy alternates between two scales of units to create a seamless matrix of spaces. The circulation scheme allows for smooth travel between the four sides of the building, interchanging between linear promenades and wider courtyards.

Flora were carefully selected to foster a variety of environmental benefits for both humans and fauna

Aerial perspective, Modular Matrices in construction

VIGNETTES

A selection of moments from the project's systematic, yet unique, atmosphere

A public walking path and social hub at dusk

A nice coffee spot and viewpoint during the day

POSTSCRIPT

This competition proposal was rendered from concept to final drawings in less than a month, meaning that quick and decisive design choices had to be made. The project focus was on developing a simple modular system rather than an extremely site-specific solution, allowing the proposal to be implemented in other regions with similar opportunities for rooftop development.

Bridging the Divide

Hip-Hop Housing

CONTENTS