Modular Matrices

Defining modular frameworks for utilizing forgotten spaces

Architecture

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Urbanism

ROLE

Architectural Designer

TIMELINE

3 weeks

TEAM

Individual Work

TECH STACK

Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, Photoshop, D5 Render

CONTEXT

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.

GOALS

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.

OUTCOMES

Designed a modular system for rooftop space revival.
Selected materials and flora to ensure proper environmental performance for Mediterranean climates.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.