The Radicant Machine: a thermodynamic architecture proposed for Barcelona’s historically industrial Sant Adrià de Besòs neighborhood. Designed to subvert the conventional practice of mitigating environmental variations with respect to time and orientation, the structure instead intentionally augments naturally occurring climatic disparities, thus generating extreme differentials in temperature, humidity and air pressure. By harnessing the full force of the coastal mediterranean sun and wind as potential energy, circulatory flows are passively powered which condition and ventilate the interior volume.
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_solar-vectors_radicant-machine-copy-730x516.jpg)
Site-Specific Solar Vectors Generated Using Ladybug
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_wind-roses_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Site-Specific Wind Roses Generated Using Climate Consultant
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_psychrometric-charts_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Site-Specific Psychrometric Charts Generated Using Climate Consultant
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_solar-dish_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Industrial Case Study Optimized for Solar Radiation
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_street_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Regional Vernacular Case Studies Optimized for Wind
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_dehumidifier_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Mechanical Case Study Optimized for Dehumidification
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_thermodynamic-variations_radicant-machine-730x842.jpg)
Morphological Iterations Evaluated For Climatic Performance Using Ladybug + Autodesk Flow
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_solar-steps_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Morphological Sequence Evaluated for Solar Radiation Using Ladybug
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_wind-steps_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Morphological Sequence Evaluated for Wind Velocity & Pressure Using Autodesk Flow
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_source-sink-steps_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Morphological Sequence Evaluated for Thermal Sources & Sinks
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_elevation_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Final Conceptual Massing Evaluated for Solar Radiation, Wind Velocty & Wind Pressure Using Ladybug + Autodesk Flow
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_first-prototype_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Preliminary Architectural Prototype
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_final-form_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Preliminary Architectural Prototype Rationalized into Final Form
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_final-solar_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Final Form for Solar Radiation Using Ladybug
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_final-wind_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Final Form Evaluated for Wind Velocity & Pressure Using Autodesk Flow
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_summer-day_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Thermodynamic Performance During Summer Day
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_summer-night_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Thermodynamic Performance During Summer Night
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_winter-day_radicant-macine-730x516.jpg)
Thermodynamic Performance During Winter Day
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_winter-night_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Thermodynamic Performance During Winter Night
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_plan_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Building Plan
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_section_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Building Section
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_hydrophilic-surface_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Hydrophobic & Hydrophilic Materiality Research Regarding Humidity Extraction
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_fog-net_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Net Materiality Research Regarding Humidity Extraction
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_materialty_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Conceptual Materiality Proposal
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_render_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Exterior Rendering
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_interior-1_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Interior Rendering 1
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_interior-2_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Interior Rendering 2
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_process-models_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Process & Final Physical Models
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/iaac_final-model_radicant-machine-730x516.jpg)
Final Physical Model
The Radicant Machine is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at the Master of Advanced Ecological Buildings in 2018 by:
Students: Nour El Kamali, Pablo Corrotto Pradillo & Michael Salka
Faculty: Javier García-Germán