Cooperation agreement signed whereby the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), together with the Harbin Institute of Technology of China (HIT), and the Municipality of Shenzhen will create a school of design in Shenzhen, China.

Dr. Thomas D. Meier – president of Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK); Wu Yihuan – Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen; Ding Xuemei – Vice President of HIT Shenzhen; Areti Markopoulou – IAAC Academic Director, shaking on the agreement

THE NEW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DESIGN, SHENZHEN

Shenzhen is a city of 15 million people located to the north of Hong Kong. It is growing as fast as Shanghai and has the highest per capita income in China. The city is situated in a special economic zone known for the high density of production facilities. UNESCO declared Shenzhen the first City of Design in China in 2008. On account of its growth, Shenzhen has a great need for educational institutions and wants to extend its offer into the fields of design and architecture. An International Graduate School of Design is now to be built, funded by the city of Shenzhen. The three partners, ZHdK, HIT Shenzhen, the 9th university in a ranking of 3.000 Chinese universities, and IAAC, will develop this school together on behalf of the city and ensure the quality of its programmes in the long term.

IAAC Academic Director Areti Markopoulou accepting a gift from Mayor of the city of Shenzhen Xu Qing

The design school is to offer places for about 1,200 masters and doctorate students with an emphasis on the three subject areas Architecture, Infrastructures & Urbanism, Products, Spaces & Urban Cultures, and Identity, Communication & Media. Lecturers and other staff will have the opportunity to acquire experience, both directly from IAAC in fields of architecture, urbanism and technology, and in a major international project, cooperating with one of the largest universities in China (HIT) and one of the world’s leading design schools (ZHdK), while benefiting from the strong practical focus provided by the involvement of local companies and institutions. Exchanges will give lecturers and students the opportunity to carry out teaching, learning and research within an extremely dynamic cultural and economic environment. The project also facilitates access to other agreements between Barcelona and Shenzhen.

IAAC Academic Director Areti Markopoulou sharing words on behalf of IAAC 

On July 28th 2015, the cooperation agreement for the Shenzhen International Graduate School of Design was formally signed by Thomas D. Meier, president of Zurich University of the Arts, Wu Yihuan, Vice Mayor of the City of Shenzhen, Ding Xuemei, Vice President of Harbin Institute of Technology and Areti Markopoulou, Academic Director of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. The signing ceremony was attended by Spanish Consul in Canton and Swiss deputy Consul, as well as by Xu Qing, Mayor of the City of Shenzhen, who in his speech thanked for the attention and support of Party Secretary Hu Chunhua and Governor Zhu Xiaodan from Guangdong Province, and Shenzhen’s Party Secretary Ma Xingrui. The ceremony was also attended by the other members of the IAAC delegation in China: Lucas Cappelli, Executive Board member, and Silvia Brandi, Academic Coordinator.
The next stage will be to draft the service contracts that will enable the actual work to start.

Cooperation agreement ceremony for the Shenzhen International Graduate School of Design.
After the Cooperation Agreement Ceremony, to mark the importance of this collaboration between the City of Shenzhen and Barcelona the historic Barça ball, used when Camp Nou was inaugurated in Barcelona, was signed by the members of the Cooperation Agreement as a physical token of the 2 city’s intentions to join forces and work together, starting today, and towards the future.

Cooperation agreement members signing the Barça ball, given as a token by the IAAC delegation to the Consortium.