PROJECT: SOS House emergency Kit Self-Fab House 2nd Advanced Architecture Contest.
STATUS: Competition, selected proposal (2007) Published (2009)
TEAM: Maria Anton

ANTÓN BARCO, María. “SOS House emergency Kit” En Cappelli, Lucas; Guallart, Vicente (eds) Self-Fab House 2nd Advanced Architecture. Barcelona: Actar, 2009. pp. 62-65

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia investigates global projects for sustainable development on the cutting edge of self-sufficient housing, addressing environmental, economic and social needs. The projects investigate construction techniques and processes to build houses with local means, from the intelligent application of traditional techniques to advanced digital processes and fabrication.This book is a fascinating compilation of the most innovative projects for single dwellings and residential buildings, proposing the most creative designs and construction through the use of new materials and energy systems, and the integration of architecture into the landscape.

Based in Barcelona, the IAAC is an international centre of architectural research in territorial analysis, urban development, digital fabrications and informational environments for improving cultural, economic and social conditions.

Reviewed in: Places Journal

«But all conceptual problematics and editorial glitches aside, the intention of the organizers is to be commended, and the abundance of optimistic proposals is noteworthy. And many of the projects are admirable, either for formal elegance (i.e., Maria Anton Barco’s “S.O.S. House: Emergency Kit,” which proposes a “bioclimatic” building in which vegetation eventually covers the plastic skin), or for conceptual or procedural propositions (i.e., “deBox,” by Boehm Architecture, which transforms abandoned big-box stores into communal settlements), or for the rigor of the research informing the proposal (i.e., the “Biodegradable Vacuum Formed Modularized Shelter,” discussed below, among the competition winners).«