Tag Archives: Spain

Education, Plants

Close Encounters

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Students in Spain bring the biodiversity of the tree canopy down to the ground.

By Zach Mortice

Designed and built by IAAC students, the observatory is sited to maximize exposure to different tree species.
Designed and built by IAAC students, the observatory is sited to maximize exposure to different tree species. Image by Forest Lab for Observational Research and Analysis (FLORA) © IAAC.

In 2022, a group of 18 students at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) had the rare experience of designing and building their own school’s research facility. Rising 30 feet above a hillside site amid the dense forest canopy of Barcelona’s Collserola Natural Park, the Forest Lab for Observational Research and Analysis (FLORA) is a mass timber observation tower that will allow students to observe and catalog the park’s biodiversity, specifically the organisms that make their home in the forest canopy. Continue reading Close Encounters →