Construindo com Fibras: Três Abordagens - 14ᵃ Bienal Internacional de Arquitetura de São Paulo

Oca Pavilion | 1st floor | Live Lab

The lecture "Building with Fibers: Three Approaches" invites the audience to explore the potential of fibers as a building material through three main approaches: matter, geometry, and fabrication. It's a journey that connects research, practice, and experimentation, revealing how fibers can play a central role in contemporary architecture.

The journey begins with matter, exploring the intrinsic properties of fibers and their potential for transformation into hybrid composites. This dimension involves understanding fiber not only as a natural resource, but also as a construction material with its own performance, capable of responding to structural and environmental challenges. The second approach is geometry, which investigates how different organizational patterns influence the structural performance, aesthetics, and materiality of architectural objects. When fibers are arranged in different directions, densities, and layers, they generate distinct results, expanding the repertoire of architectural solutions and demonstrating how the logic of the material can guide the design process. The third dimension is fabrication, where theory and design meet practice. Through digital and robotic processes, the research demonstrates how fabrication can enhance the expressiveness and efficiency of fibers, enabling the creation of complex yet lightweight structures. This approach directly connects academic experimentation with architectural applications, highlighting how computational and robotic workflows open new frontiers for construction. Throughout the lecture, different projects are presented as concrete examples of these three approaches, demonstrating how the combination of materiality, geometry, and fabrication results in innovative architectural explorations with low environmental impact and high performance. The focus is on the use of natural fibers, which present themselves as promising biomaterials for sustainable and regenerative construction, capable of uniting tradition, innovation, and environmental responsibility.

Rebeca Duque Estrada is a Brazilian architect based in Stuttgart and a researcher at the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD). With a Master's degree in Open Design from the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Buenos Aires, and a Master's degree in Architecture from the ITECH program at the University of Stuttgart, her research explores the intersection of computational design, robotic fabrication, and materials innovation. Focusing on hybrid systems of natural fibers and wood, she investigates ultralight and sustainable architecture. Rebeca teaches and advises master's thesis projects in the ITECH program and has contributed to several award-winning architectural prototypes. She is a TEDx speaker and former Autodesk Build Space resident, having presented her work in various academic and professional contexts.

Free

Participate in the program of debates, workshops and associated activities!

TODAY (10.10)

2:30 pm – table Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm – table Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 pm – table Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

9am – Drawing Workshop: Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge

IN THE NEXT DAYS (11 to 14.10)

ATTENTION the table Palmas: For 36 years, the ecological capital of Tocantins which would be held on 10/11 | 7pm was canceled.

11.10 and 12.10 | 9am – workshop Inventa(rio) Fronteiras: Playing for Multispecies Cities

11.10 | 10am – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 11am – table Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

11.10 | 2pm – table Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

11.10 | 3pm – table Culture and Public Architecture

11.10 – 15h – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 4pm – table Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

11.10 | 5pm – table Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

12.10 | 10am – table Experience: Climate Refuges and Naturalized Public Spaces, with Eco-Neighborhood

12.10 | 10:30 am – table Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

12.10 | 10:30 am – Windsock Workshop with the Floating Collective

12.10 | 3pm – table Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition with Esteban Benavides from Al Borde office

12.10 | 4:30 pm – table Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future

12.10 | 5:45 pm – table French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

13.10 – activity Pantanal Action at IABsp

10/14 | 10am – table Urgent Panorama! Space as an act of permanence

14.10 | 6pm – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

JOIN! IT'S ALL FREE!

And there's much more until October 19th!

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.

Building with Fiber: Three Approaches

Rebeca Duque Estrada, ICD (University of Stuttgart)