Daily insights for city builders, delivered every morning at 6 AM ET. I’m Brandon Donnelly — a Toronto-based real estate developer and founder of Globizen. I’ve been writing here since 2013.

Standard elements in non-standard ways

A few people have now sent me this TED talk by architect Débora Mesa Molina. But I watched it for the first time today. I guess my personal brand is pretty closely associated with architecture and design.

In it, she talks about her firm’s approach to using overlooked and/or standard building materials in unconventional ways. For example, here, she used stacked precast beams to assemble a house in Madrid (c.2008). The entire structure came together in only 7 days.

My first reaction is that I like the idea and approach — which is really quite interesting — more than the final designs. I am also curious if there were any cost savings as a result of using “standard” materials. What are your thoughts?

2 responses to “Standard elements in non-standard ways”

  1. Brett Walsh Avatar
    Brett Walsh

    Thank you Brandon, really enjoyed the TED Talk by Deborah Mesa Molina. One of the homes (with the reclaimed concrete beams encapsulating the outdoor pools) discussed in her talk is also featured in the Netlflix series ‘The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes’ and I fell in love with it on that show.
    I am on an extended trip to Pittsburgh and enjoying seeing some reclamation opportunities here.

    1. Brandon Graham Donnelly Avatar

      hey brett – glad you enjoyed!

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