MAA

INTRODUCTION

IAAC’s Master in Advanced Architecture (1 or 2-year program) is a programme to revolutionize current architectural approaches and methods training professionals to become changemakers in the arena of architecture and the built environment. Based on a “Learning by Doing” and a “Design by Research” methodology the programme trains professionals capable to critically think out of the box and materialize novel architectural solutions for the current and future challenges related to the environment, society and to the linear and homogeneous approach in design and building.

Following a multidisciplinary and multiscalar approach, the programme presents an academic structure, unique in the world, where students can create their own customized study agenda according to their interests and their future career aspirations.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN – DEADLINE JAN 31st, 2021

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	MAA01	MAA02
Degree	Master in Advanced Architecture accredited by School of Professional and Executive Development at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – European Higher Education Area (EHEA)	Master in Advanced Architecture accredited by School of Professional and Executive Development at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
Edition	20th edition	11th edition
Credits	75 ECTS	130 ECTS
Duration	9 Months – From October 2021 to June 2022 // Full Time	18 Months – From October 2021 to June 2023 – Thesis Final Submission: September 2023 // Full Time
Language	English	English
Tuition Fee	Non-EU: 18.750€ EU: 15.000€	Non-EU: 30.400€ EU: 24.350€
Admission	Architecture degree, Bachelor or higher degree from other related professions.	Architecture degree, Bachelor or higher degree from other related professions.

ACADEMIC STRUCTURE

The Master in Advanced Architecture is articulated in three different programmes: MAA01, MAA01+OTF and MAA02. During the first year (October 2020 – June 2021) the students enrolled in the programmes will work together in a common educational platform, with a common organisation and academic structure. After the completion of MAA01, students enrolled in MAA01+OTF or MAA02 will follow two different organisations and academic structures.

MAA02 combines the first year Master with a second year of investigation to develop a Thesis Project. During the second year of the Master in Advanced Architecture, students have the opportunity of working hand in hand with a series of renowned experts in various fields, to develop an in-depth individual research agenda. Students propose a thesis project, to be developed throughout the year, and are allocated with an Individual Thesis Advisor who specialized in relation to the topic proposed.

MAA+OTF combines MAA01 with the Postgraduate Programme in 3D Printing Architecture (OTF), which is a 6-month long intensive programme in the field of additive manufacturing of sustainable architecture.

Master in Advanced Architecture – MAA01 (1-year Program)

Within the current global context of rapid change, integrated with the potentials of digital technologies, IAAC’s Master in Advanced Architecture (MAA) is committed to the generation of new ideas and applications for Urban Design, Self Sufficiency, Digital Manufacturing Techniques and Advanced Interaction.

In this context IAAC works with a multidisciplinary approach, facing the challenges posed by our environment and the future development of cities, architecture and buildings, through a virtuous combination of technology, biology, computational design, digital and robotic fabrication, pushing innovation beyond the boundaries of a more traditional architectural approach.

Term 1 // Duration 3 months: from October to December

FIRST TERM

The 10-week introductory term provides a common grounding of knowledge and skills to incoming MAA students. It is a formative platform structured with an Introductory Design Studio aiming to offer the necessary skills for the ideation, development and application of novel research projects.

Additionally, there are four complementary seminars focusing on enhancing intellectual and technical skills in critical thinking, parametric design, digital fabrication and physical computing.

The first term serves as a base, anticipating challenges and ideas that will appear during the programme, in relation to self sufficiency, design complexity, innovative forms of planning and contemporary culture. A toolbox of both theoretical and practical skills for further research work.

Introductory Studio (8 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar | Programming and Physical Computing (3 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar | Advanced Architecture Concepts & Theory (3 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar | Digital Fabrication (3 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar | Computational Design (3 ECTS credits)

Term 2 // Duration 3 months: from January to March

SECOND TERM

The second term format is an Open Educational Structure where students can customise their curriculum, according to their specific academic interests and future career aspirations, choosing:
– one out of four Research Studios,
– one out of three two-term seminars,
– one out of four one-term seminars.
Additionally, all students follow one mandatory seminar in computational design in order to continue developing their parametric design skills.

RS | Research Design Studio (I-III) (10 ECTS credits)
Mandatory seminar | Computational Design II (3ECTS)
Elective Seminar | Two-term Seminar // Chosen out of 2 Options (3 ECTS credits)
Elective Seminar | One-term Seminar // Chosen out of 3 Options (4 ECTS credits)

Please note: The distribution of students for the Research Studios and Seminars of Term 2 is done according to several criteria listed in IAAC terms and conditions.

Term 3 // Duration 3 months: from April to June

THIRD TERM
The third term is structured similarly as the second term. During the term, students continue with their chosen Research Studio, as well as the two-term seminar. Additionally, they choose one out of four one-term seminars, which offer diverse skills with respect to those in the second term. Also in this term, all students follow one mandatory seminar in computational design in order to continue developing their parametric design skills.

Research Design Studio | Chosen out of 4 Options (10 ECTS credits)
Mandatory seminar | Computational Design II (3ECTS)
Elective Seminar | Two-term Seminar // Chosen out of 3 Options (3 ECTS credits)
Elective Seminar | One-term Seminar // Chosen out of 4 Options (3 ECTS credits)

Please note: The distribution of students for the Seminars of the Third Term is done according to several listed in IAAC terms and conditions.

Final Project

FINAL PROJECT

The fourth phase focuses on the necessary production of final drawings, prototypes and audiovisual material for the completion of the Development Studio Project of Term 3 (13 ECTS credits). During this period, students are developing the final prototypes, as well as a final written document, related to the Research and Development Studio that have been developed in the previous two terms.

All Terms

IAAC is organising Lecture Series along the academic year, counting on international invited experts on the fields of Design, Architecture and Technology. The Lecture Series is transversal to the IAAC educational programmes and students participation is mandatory as it is a transversal platform for widening knowledge, generate debates and network with other students and experts around the world.
Lecture Series is credited with 2 ECTS

COURSES DESCRIPTION

Introductory Studios and Mandatory Seminars

INTRODUCTORY STUDIO
First Term
Lead by: Carmelo Zapulla, Marco Poletto, Claudia Pasquero, Javier Peña and Oriol Carrasco
Students will be assigned to one of the three Studios: Future Urban Living, Anthropocene Landscapes, Metabolic Ecologies.
Following a learning by doing methodology, the Introductory Studio gives students the opportunity to fully explore and apply the various tools and techniques assimilated during their 1st term at IAAC. From the examination of space, understood as layers of activities and their interaction, to the design and simulation of behaviors, animated through performative models; or the profound understanding of mechanisms of local energy, food and bio-material production in dense urban environments, contributing to the urban morphogenesis of contemporary cities; all developed with the support of digital fabrication and parametric design.

COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN
First, Second, Third Terms
Lead by: Rodrigo Aguirre
In computer science, algorithms are habitually defined as fixed and often finite procedures of step-by-step instructions understood to produce something other than themselves. These logic structures interface with data, sourced from any computable phenomena, becoming the basis for a new array of
design strategies. The Computational Design Seminar focuses on emergent design strategies based on algorithmic design logics. From the physical spaces of our built environment to the networked spaces of digital culture, algorithmic and computational strategies are reshaping not only design strategies, but the entire perception of Architecture and its boundaries

DIGITAL FABRICATION
First Term
Lead by: Alexandre Dubor
The Digital Fabrication seminar explores different scales of production for architecture, using Digital and Robotic Fabrication techniques such as: CNC cutting (laser) & milling, 3D printing, molding, casting, as well as composite design and fabrication. One of the goals is to introduce thinking around production as a workflow, by following the evolution of the design through process iterations.

ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE CONCEPTS & THEORY
First Term
Led by: Manuel Gausa,Jordi Vivaldi
Based on the term “Advanced Architecture”, coined in 2003 in the Metapolis Dictionary of Advanced Architecture, this course aims to establish some theoretical principles around 3 Conceptual Perspectives: [1] Transversal Logics: information – cities, [2] Relational Logics: cities – nature, [3] Digital Logics: nature – information.
The seminar explores relevant architectural references, in order to construct a critical body of knowledge that serves as a basis (both theoretical and practical), in particular related to the emergent paradigm around advanced architecture.

PROGRAMMING AND PHYSICAL COMPUTING
First Term
Led by: Ángel Muñoz, Cristian Rizzuti
The Programming and Physical Computing Seminar provides students with an essential introduction to the world of open-source programming languages and physical computing, in order to create a synchronous and meaningful interaction between the physical and digital realms.
After gaining the necessary hardware and software knowledge, students are able to integrate interfaces, visualizing methods, data sensing, and actuation, to conduct more advanced research and architectural proposals with embedded technology.

NOTE: The above information refers to the Master in Advanced Architecture 2019-2020 edition. Calendar of 2020-2021 may be subject to slight variations

Research Studios

X-URBAN DESIGN
Led by: Willy Müller
X-Urban Design Studio works beyond the conventional scales of territorial design, town planning, building or fabrication in designing a multi-scalar habitat. As in the design of ecosystems, each level has its own rules of interaction and relation, and at the same time must comply with certain parameters that pertain to the system as a whole. The Studio focuses on projects that range in scale from the territory to the neighborhood.

The idea of X-Urban Design is related to two issues: on one hand, the understanding of countries and cities around the world with emerging economies and cultures that, by virtue of their regional or economic position, can contribute value to the planet as a whole. In this sense the studio seeks to identify the particular urban and territorial values of these places in order to construct more intelligent territories anywhere in the world, moving on from the western idea that there is a single model of city (be it European or from the United States) to work on the basis of more complex and more open values. The other issue related to X-Urban Design has to do with their creation as intelligent territories that function in a multiscalar way, emphasizing the relationship between nature, networks and nodes and promoting the ‘emergence’ of an urban intelligence through research on the application of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in different aspects of the urban infrastructure and public space.

SELF-SUFFICIENT BUILDING
Led by: Edouard Cabay, Peter Geelmuyden Magnus
Self-sufficiency is about consuming the resources you are able to produce, annulling our ecological footprint. This scenario is close to the statements that we need to achieve for the 2020 agenda. During the Research Studio self-sufficiency will be a wider concept, not only we will apply this term when speaking about energy, but also speaking about other issues like water, food, economy and society among others.

As architects, our role in this new concept of ecology goes beyond buildings, materials, light, space or shape. Our approach to this new way of thinking must be holistic, emphasizing the importance of the whole, and the interdependence of its parts. Therefore, for us, architecture is about this complex combination of elements and their relations. We will read and learn from the people that are already talking about this holistic way of thinking (Rifkin, Braunghart, Mc Donnough, Latour…).

In order to face this approach to thinking, architects cannot be alone, they must learn to work inside multidisciplinary teams. A starting point will be the scenario of the studio, in which we will work on our projects together with physicists, biologists, economists and designers. Inside the topic of self-sufficiency, in the past years IAAC has developed projects around the ideas of Factory of the Future, Urban Retrofitting, Factory of Knowledge, and many more.

DIGITAL MATTER
Led by: Dr. Areti Markopoulou, David Andres León
Today, we are facing a change in paradigm in the field of Architecture. Information Era Technologies and their impacts on architecture are drastically changing, and their relationship calls for new or adapted concepts, where physical space seamlessly intertwines with digital content, and where the language of electronic connections tie in with that of physical connections.

We are consequently moving towards a different form of “habitats”, where architecture is not merely inhabited, but becomes technologically integrated, interactive and evolutionary. If computers were once the size of buildings, buildings are now becoming computers, both in a performative sense, on I/O Communication protocols, and in a programmable sense, at material molecule nanoscale; even becoming operational thanks to self-learning genetic algorithms.

The key, thus, to 21st century challenges generated by global urbanization, economic instability and particularly the increasing awareness related to the environmental crisis will be the development of high efficient “products’ with increasing levels of functionality. Architecture following every stage of life will have to address and respond to both challenges and advancements. Our buildings and cities will need new interfaces to communicate with the environment and embedded systems of performance that do not rely on existing urban infrastructures. Active and bio-materials will play a critical role in this development, forcing architects to get free from mechanical actuators or computing devices and integrate into their designs the inherited functions that “smart materials” present on a molecular scale.

ADVANCED INTERACTION
Lead by: Luis Fraguada and Elizabeth Bigger
Today we communicate and interact with smart devices, physical and virtual environments, the Internet of Things. User-generated content mixes with professional contributions. In our Age of Participation, mostly driven by social media and gaming but also by interactive arts and performances, passive recipients turn into active participants, becoming creative players. Interactive environments go beyond the passive reception by creating an immersive, communicative and social experience. All fields of study and practice require the skills to make meaningful use of available and forthcoming technologies. This is mainly due to the increased adoption of technology in our daily lives. Data and Information now encompass a sort of Metadata Layer, which crosses all aspects of our existence.

The Advanced Interaction Research Studio is dealing with the core technologies across merging disciplines of all creative expressions, which will form future means of interacting. Creating dialogues between the natural environment and new digital frontiers. It questions the limits of these contemporary technological phenomena and prepares candidates to be the key actors capable of making connections between disciplines where none were possible or even considered before. The programme will empower you to create the interfaces for connecting all kinds of data and understand how to transform it into meaningful social and emotional communication.

NOTE: The above information refers to the Master in Advanced Architecture 2019-2020 edition. Calendar of 2020-2021 may be subject to slight variations

Elective Seminars

EXPERIMENTAL STRUCTURES
Experimental Structures focuses on performative data informed structures for extreme contexts. Being a twoterm seminar, it links structural design and fabrication techniques, by means of feedback between digital and physical. While using structural engineering plugins for Rhino and Grasshopper, students gain knowledge on how to design based on concepts and typologies of structural optimisation. This culminates in off-site construction methodologies, testing 1:1 connections or/and assembly methods.

INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS
We are surrounded by natural forces in complex and wonderful ways. We spend our lives interacting with and understanding our environment. Interactive Environments focuses on researching and exploring the motion produced by natural forces such as water, wind or gravity, and playing with them to create digital and physical installations, with the help of physical computing and programming, where these forces become the lead actors for interaction within the framework of architecture.

BIO DESIGN & NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS
Living systems have the potential to provide cities with multiple ecosystem services, such as food, materials, energy production, climate control, water purification, or pollination. How can digital technologies help us integrate living systems into urban environments? Can we build the future of cities through a nature-based approach? Students generate new visions and applications for the future of our cities, using computation and digital manufacturing to develop projects, and 1:1 scale functioning prototypes of urban elements, integrating living systems into the urban environment.

ROBOTIC FABRICATION
This seminar explores a series of methodologies, that incorporate advanced design thinking, generative algorithms and mass customized fabrication in existing industrial processes. This development is accompanied with novel interfaces for robotic programming and large-scale automated construction.

MIXED REALITY FOR ARCHITECTURE
Today, Artificial Realities are emerging through devices, such as Hololens, which are enabling new ways to transmit, quantify, redefine, share or access new ways of communication and visualized information. Mixed Reality for Architecture introduces the current trends, exploring their main capabilities in software and hardware development. Students get in touch with the basics of coding in c# and java, and learn the necessary knowledge for developing AR/MR applications within the Unity development platform.

COMPLEX FORMING
Complex Forming studies lightweight, low-mass and self supporting convoluted structures, linking computational design and algorithmic methods, with advanced manufacturing protocols and assembly processes. It explores the development of digital tectonics into structures that unify envelope, structure, form, and experience into a unique system.

COMPUTING GAUDI’S LOGICS
Learning from the unfinished Colònia Güell chapel (1898- 1914), Antoni Gaudí wanted the structure for the Sagrada Família Basilica (1882 – ongoing) to be ‘equilibrated’, and calculated accordingly. By equilibrated we mean that the gravity forces for the whole basilica are directed axially through the columns: each column is therefore aligned to meet these forces as efficiently as possible through their axes. The seminar investigates two challenges: the description and representation of columns, and the creation of a potentially underlying geometrical guide, and to branch columns and join them elegantly to the trunk. Students develop both design computation through parametric design software, and physical outputs materialising the production of branching columns with their hands.

PERFORMANCE & ECOLOGY
Affairs such as the beginning of Anthropocene or Climate Change are changing our vision towards Nature. Here we concentrate attention on a “natural” location that is going through an environmental collapse due to a multiplicity of factors, most of them caused by human actions. Starting with the first stage, students reveal all the agents and relationships that have taken this place to ecological disaster to then design a device that is capable of interacting with that environment, contributing to creating a healthier and a more balanced ecosystem.

AI IN ARCHITECTURE
Digital tools have changed architectural design strategies over the last decades. Artificial intelligence today empowers them with adaptability, awareness and autonomy, fostering interaction and responsiveness in architecture. AI in Architecture explores novel computational design strategies, training students in the development of self-learning and evolutionary design processes in architecture.

ADVANCED ALGORITHMIC DESIGN
Advanced algorithmic design explores the dual geometrical/topological computing nature of spatial systems, from basic iterative logics explored through Grasshopper and the Anemone plug-in, to more sophisticated networkbased and topology-based stigmergic strategies, using both standard and bespoke components. This seminar focuses on assembly/growth processes, investigated through iterative algorithmic strategies, and applied to an urban-block size architecture starting from elementary spatial building blocks.

DIGITAL WOODCRAFT
The seminar focuses on the unique merge of digitalisation, material performance and craft. Through processes of material manipulation, Digital Woodcraft explores the possibilities of (robotic) fabrication of wood structures. The aim is to analyse and materialize the potential of wood-work within a framework of computation and fabrication towards sustainable design solutions.

NOTE: The above information refers to the Master in Advanced Architecture 2019-2020 edition. Calendar of 2020-2021 may be subject to slight variations

Master in Advanced Architecture + Thesis Project (2-year Program)

Master in Advanced Architecture + Thesis Project (MAA02) – FIRST YEAR

The first year of the Master in Advanced Architecture + Thesis Project (MAA02) is the same of the MAA01 programme.
During the first year (October 2020 – June 2021) the students will work together in a common educational platform, with a common organisation and academic structure.

Master in Advanced Architecture + Thesis Project (MAA02) – SECOND YEAR

The second year of the MAA is centred around the development of an Individual Thesis Project, which will be supervised by a Thesis Advisor. In order to support the thesis project development and strengthen the professional and academic profile, students have the opportunity to follow several seminars and workshops. These courses will explore new topics or will broaden student’s knowledge in the fields of Theory and methods, Advanced Computational and Fabrication tools, Interaction and Prototyping.

Term 1 // Duration 3 months - from October 2021 to December 2021

FIRST TERM of the Second Year

During the first phase of the second year, students start the initial steps of their Individual Thesis project’s research development, including research contextualisation, analysis, as well as first design iterations and prototypes. Additionally, the first term has four complementary courses, focused on research methodology, theory, economics and sustainability, advanced computation and fabrication tools. All classes in this term are mandatory.

Thesis Studio | Define Thesis Topic (10 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar: Theory (3 ECTS credits)
- Mod 1. Research and Methods I
- Mod 2. Economics and Sustainability
- Mod 3. Theory and Knowledge I
Mandatory Seminar: Interaction and Prototyping: Llum Festival Concept
Mandatory Seminar: Advanced Computational Tools: Python

Term 2 // Duration: 3 months - from January 2022 to March 2022

SECOND TERM of the Second Year

This period dives into research through design and learning by doing principles and actuation, where students go deeper into scientific exploration and further prototyping for their Individual Thesis. Within this term, students continue with the methodological, theoretical, computational and fabricational seminars in a close relationship to their research. All classes in this term are mandatory.

Thesis Studio | Continue with the development of the Thesis Project (10 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar: Theory (3 ECTS credits)
- Mod 1. Research and Methods II
- Mod 2. Economics and Sustainability II
- Mod 3. Theory and Knowledge II
Mandatory Seminar: Interaction and Prototyping: Llum Festival Concept (2 ECTS)
Mandatory Seminar: Advanced Computational Tools: Machine Learning (3 ECTS)
Elective Seminar: Chosen out of 3 Options (2 ECTS credits)

Term 3 // Duration 3 months: from April 2022 to June 2022

THIRD TERM of the Second Year

This term is structured around the development of the final design proposals, drawings and prototypes related to a student’s thesis project. Furthermore, students work on systemic design principles that could extrapolate the logic of their projects in a variety of contexts, scales and case studies. The final presentation and defence of the master thesis, takes place before a jury panel in the month of June. All classes in this term are mandatory.

Thesis Studio | Continue with the development of the Thesis Project (10 ECTS credits)
Mandatory Seminar: Theory (3 ECTS credits)
- Mod 1. Research and Methods III
- Mod 2. Economics and Sustainability III
- Mod 3. Theory and Knowledge III
Mandatory Seminar: Advanced Computational Tools: BIM (3 ECTS)

Master Thesis Book // from July to September 2022

This phase (summer period) does not include presential classes, and is dedicated to the development of the complete written document/book of the Individual Thesis Project. The final submission includes 2 printed copies of the book and can also include the publication of a scientific paper.

COURSES DESCRIPTION

Master Thesis Project

The second year of the MAA is centred around the development of an Individual Thesis Project, which will be supervised by a Thesis Advisor.
More information can be found in the MAA Booklet, download it now!

NOVEL MATERIALS, BIOLOGY & ARCHITECTURE
Thesis Advisors, including: Dr. Marcos Cruz, Dr. Areti Markopoulou, Kunaljit Chadha, Dr.Nuria Conde Pueyo
This topic of Thesis Projects focuses on developing new bio and environmentally integrated designs strategies. Students explore advanced computational models and simulations that are applied to building prototypes made of new material composites that are either bio-inspired or bio-integrated. Many of the proposed objects and components aim to stimulate natural growth of biological organisms and the integration of these species in buildings. In a time in which more people are living in cities, the ultimate aim of the Thesis projects in this topic is to develop a radically new sensibility of understanding of architecture where climate and nature, as well as new sense of materiality is the driving motif for design.

ADVANCED ALGORITHMS & ARCHITECTURE
Thesis Advisors, including: David Andrés León, Dr. Alessio Erioli, Rodrigo Aguirre, Aldo Sollazzo
This topic of Thesis Projects focuses on developing advanced computation and algorithmic design for the creation of artificially intelligent architecture. Students work with the collection and process of vast amounts of data in order to create predictive models that could enhance architectural design, which in its turn could emerge as an organism showcasing autonomous behavior. The thesis projects developed in this topic create advanced computational processes that could be applied in both design and construction of architectural process as well as during the performance of the built space and environment. Parametric design as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning processes are explored as tools to enhance architectural behavior and performance.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING & ARCHITECTURE
Thesis Advisors, including: Alexandre Dubor, Raimund Krenmüller, Edouard Cabay
This topic of Thesis Projects focuses on developing and applying advanced manufacturing technologies in the architectural construction. Robotic Fabrication, additive manufacturing (3d printing) or feedback loops among material performance and construction machines are the main topics students work on for the development of their thesis. Taking into consideration that the construction sector has been a slow sector integrating technological innovation, the Thesis projects developed in this topic merge expertise from industry and manufacturing with creative design processes and computation.

METABOLIC DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE
Thesis Advisors, including: Dr. Mathilde Marengo, Willy Müller, Dr. Chiara Farinea, Dr. Diego Pajarito
With buildings being responsible for 40% of energy consumption, 36% of CO2 emissions, and the building industry being one of the heaviest waste generators globally, it is indispensable for architecture to respond, moving away from the current prevailing models-both intensely resources-consuming and contaminating. This topic of Thesis Projects focuses on developing design strategies and solutions based on “non-linear” and circular systems aiming to close or limit material and resource loss, while minimizing waste, using this as a resource in itself. Students work on applications and implications of circular economy for the creation of new urban and building metabolisms which are productive and regenerating

BUILDING PHYSICS, ECOLOGY & ARCHITECTURE
Thesis Advisors, including: Enric Ruiz Geli, Dr. Josep Perello, Javier Peña, Dr.Manuel Gausa
Global warming is a priority goal in all of our agendas and it is starting to change way of living. We measure global warming with particles, and we might have to fight global warming with particles too. Science, technology and the techniques to alter nature and our bodies both physical and social, have become indispensable to face this new scenario. This topic of Thesis Projects focuses on developing ecological solutions to restore nature and environment through the understanding of building physics. Students research and simulate atmospheric and environmental data in order to create new architectural operations that could revert environmental change through a positive impact. Buildings physics and the study impact on earth and society are used in order to visualize information and propose design and strategic actions for the built environment.

NOTE: The above information refers to the Master in Advanced Architecture 2019-2020 edition. Calendar of 2020-2021 may be subject to slight variations

Seminars & Workshops

In order to support the thesis project development and strengthen the professional and academic profile, students have the opportunity to follow several seminars and workshops
More information can be found in the MAA Booklet, download it now!

Theory seminar: RESEARCH AND METHODS
The Research & Methods course is a platform oriented to the development of specific scientific skills, acquired through practice, in-line with the learning by doing methodology applied at IAAC, allowing the students to critical thinking and research competencies, to be applied in a personal and independent way to their specific research agenda. This includes all phases of the research, from designing the thesis itself, the program of study, to practical information on localizing sources and databases, defining key research objectives, selecting a methodology, designing and developing experiments, determining a related and selected bibliography, and compiling the thesis delivery in itself, all focused on understanding and prioritizing information.

Theory seminar: ECONOMICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Urban and architectural design often lack an in depth acknowledgment of both macroeconomic and microeconomic variables. Lost in translation, both disciplines are doomed to contribute to marked trends of unsustainable production and consumption. This seminar provides an opportunity for the students to look at their Individual Thesis from a completely different perspective. It provides the knowledge and understanding of the role of economic analysis and economic incentives in assessing the outcomes of their projects and in shaping the environment in which architectural and design decisions are made. Moreover, the seminar encourages students to start considering sustainability and resilience, and factor in economic elements to their design development.

Theory seminar: THEORY AND KNOWLEDGE
The last few decades have confirmed the evidence of a spectacular change of paradigms in the definition of our spaces of relation, interaction and sociability. These transformations have to do with the current and accelerated growth of the technological capacity to process information, increase communication and multiply the differential definitions of our environment(s). The seminar investigates theoretical frameworks of this change of paradigms associated with a new Advanced Knowledge. It is based on a multidisciplinary approach to different key notions that are crucial in order to understand the potentials of Advanced Architecture from a theoretical point of view. Taking a critical approach to key-words such as “matter”, “aesthetics”, “city”, “nature” as a base, the seminar constructs a cross-linked thinking, related with the complex processing of information, and its evolutionary and dynamic projection. Additionally, during the two-term seminar, students have an opportunity to learn how to produce a reflection of one particular aspect of their thesis project in the format of an academic paper.

INTERACTION AND PROTOTYPING
One and a half term Seminar explores the possibilities of Visual programming and physical computing, finally applying those in a project – a fully developed interactive installation of an innovative and pioneering installation for Barcelona’s Light Festival LLUM. Moreover, during the seminar students gain experience in dealing with real scale project logistics, taking care of the budget, searching for sponsors hips and facing regulations of an ephemeral installation’s building process.

PYTHON FOR GRASSHOPPER
Python extends Grasshopper’s functionality, allowing students to create custom scripts and perform more complex workflows. The Seminar introduces the Python programming language to the students allowing them to deepen their Individual Thesis’ computational side.

ADVANCED SENSING WORKSHOP
Interactive elements have more commonly found expressions in contemporary architecture. Further, integration of interaction into the Architecture in order to modulate daylight, shading and/or ventilation have taken the climate responsive design to the next level. Applications of kinetic façades allow the building envelope to adapt and interact with human and environmental conditions. This workshop looks at an expanding overlap between interactive design, architecture and media arts, to explore how the ideas and methods of interactive design can be applied in larger environments and spaces.

ADVANCED ROBOTICS WORKSHOP
The workshop deals with implementation of real time feedback from a six electro-mechanically driven axes robot through industrial communication protocols. During the workshop, students learn how to establish a relation between the robot and its environment using Online control. Through the workshop, students develop a virtual environment placing the robot in the center to interact with the virtual objects to produce physical data. The trajectory of the robot is decided through a sequential interface incorporating the virtual entities to generate live results

BIM
Building Information Management for architectural and building design (BIM) is rapidly becoming a highly requested tool to join architects, clients, builders and engineers in a single intelligent and shared process. Students learn how to combine BIM softwares with parametric design processes, strengthening their design and management skills

NOTE: The above information refers to the Master in Advanced Architecture 2019-2020 edition. Calendar of 2020-2021 may be subject to slight variations

STUDENT PROFILE

Candidates for the Master in Advanced Architecture are architects, engineers and designers from all over the world curious about how the world is changing and committed to driving this change.

Therefore the programme is oriented at graduates who wish to commit and develop their design research skills in the context of new forms of practice within architecture and urbanism, ranging from large-scale environments to tectonic details and material properties.

Once successfully finished the master, IAAC students will join the IAAC Alumni Community. This is today is an active and dynamic network of visionary professionals distributed around the world, promoting principles and applications of Advanced Architecture, exploring new academic and research initiatives, leading award-winning practices or working for internationally acclaimed firms and institutions.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Our scholarship competition has now finished and we’re unable to accept any more scholarship applications for this year. If you would like to find out when the competition is reopening, please subscribe to our newsletter where we will make the announcement.

PROJECT PROPOSAL: “DIGITAL SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE”

The theme of the scholarship offered by the MAA programme is focused on reflecting about the potentials of Computation and Digital Fabrication tools, which are embedded into the architecture design process: from concept to construction. In the contemporary context, in which the “unsustainable” is a great human problem:

1. What kind of computational and digital fabrication is possible to imagine for environmental, cultural, social and economic sustainability in architecture?

2. How can these tools be used not only as digital parametric plugins but rather as a new anthropocentric paradigm?

REQUIRED MATERIAL

The documents to be submitted are:

A pdf file, A3 format, 3 pages max (max 8MB) containing: a short description in English of the project and the strategy/rationale behind the proposal; images, plans or diagrams of the designed elements.

To apply the candidates should fill up the Scholarship Application Form at this link and upload their projects in there.

COMPETITION DEADLINES

Start and end dates to be released soon.