Si tienes una residencia propia, seguramente en más de una ocasión te ha pasado por la mente construir una pérgola, un gazebo o cualquier estructura techada para añadir valor a tu propiedad. Si ya has dado el próximo paso y has hecho el acercamiento a un arquitecto o un contratista, ya debes saber que los costos no son tan bajos como creías, y que el tiempo de construcción puede tardar semanas, sobre todo si vives en un lugar donde escasea la mano de obra en construcción.

La alternativa a pagar sumas extravagantes o tener que esperar meses, es construir la…

Hay un sinnúmero de cosas que han cambiado desde que comenzó la pandemia por el COVID-19; y un sinnúmero de cosas que aún están por cambiar. Virtualmente, ya todas las industrias han visto en mayor o menor grado un cambio. Quizá algunas de estas industrias se vean forzadas a hacer una re-ingeniería total a causa de las nuevas reglas sociales y económicas que vamos a estar enfrentando una vez ceda la pandemia.

Un virus no sabe de procesos, burocracia, tecnologías, estándares ni nada de las cosas de las que depende la construcción de un edificio o estructura nueva.

La industria…

I grew up in a builder’s house. My father was a home builder during most of his lifetime. From seeing him and the things he did, I decided to become an architect. I remember how often my father had to make customers wait due to the amount of projects he had on schedule. He built dozens of houses a year, employing up to a dozen workers per project. Like others, he had plenty of workforce available for construction in Puerto Rico, mostly done with reinforced concrete and concrete blocks, and sometimes light steel frames.

Those times are history. Since 2005…

Replacing cement for structural steel for new developments is a matter of environmental quality and, therefore, necessary for our health. Besides the greenhouse effects generated due to the global production of cement, this industry is among the main causes of air pollution and serious health issues in many cities.

In the past four years, I had the chance to visit many times Mexico, especially the state of Nuevo León. This place stands out for its industrial character, its accelerated urban development, its economic growth, beautiful mountains and foremost, for its poor air quality. In fact, according to Milenio — a…

The last year, I had the opportunity to sat face-to-face with more than 200 experts of the construction industry from Mexico, the United States and Puerto Rico. As the founder of a construction technology startup, I was shocked by the truth that most of the decisions affecting the development of new buildings, from its design through its construction, are not made based on social welfare, safety, or environmental sustainability. In fact, behind every major decision exists powerful economical factors that very often skew or limit the project’s best intentions.

Since then, I think about this every time I visit Monterrey…

Following the first volume of “Laka Perspectives” book, published in January 2018, Laka Foundation presented a new collection of interviews with experts from around the world. Defined by the editor, Damian Przybyła, as a “pocket-sized source of inspiration”, the book showcases ideas from diverse experts including emerging professionals in disciplines such as architecture, urban design, bio-design, computational design, robotics, construction technology and artificial intelligence.

After Zero Damage’s submission to Laka International Competition 2016 was selected as Laka Editor’s Choice, both startup co-founders were invited for being interviewed for this second volume of Laka Perspectives on the startup’s general aspects of the design process, the vision of the company and advice for emerging innovators.

The book also features collaborations by already-well-recognized experts and organizations such as Toyo Ito (Pritzker Prize 2013), Camilla Siggaard (ARUP), and Carlo Ratti (MIT Senseable City Lab) among many others.

Conference: Money-driven Innovation

On Wednesday, November 21th, our manufacturing engineer and startup co-director, Esmeralda Niño-Pérez will be presenting her conference “Money-driven Innovation” at the 5th Congress and 14th Colloquium of Institutional and Entailment Projects at the Faculty of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering of Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico. There, she will speak about our product iteration based on the market needs and economical feasibility.

Puerto Rico No Es Tan Resiliente

Aunque desde hace ya muchos años se viene estudiando el concepto de la resiliencia, no es sino hasta doce meses después del huracán María que este se hizo popular en Puerto Rico. Se utiliza tanto en los medios y por tantas figuras que parece un estribillo más. Sin embargo, el concepto tiene implicaciones sumamente importantes para el futuro, no únicamente de Puerto Rico, sino también para el resto del mundo; pues de la resiliencia ante desastres naturales depende la permanencia de un lugar y la subsistencia de sus ciudadanos.

Para determinar los niveles de resiliencia de un sistema es importante…