The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is proud to invite you to the Alumni Talks session in the framework of the 4th Global Alumni Meeting, which will take place next Friday 28th and Saturday 29th of April 2023 in Barcelona. 

The Alumni Talks will take place on Friday 28th of April from 15:30h to 17:30h at Escenario ENTRE-ESPECIES (Rooftop Parking Ona in Glories). The selection of the six Alumni presenting their latest works is the result of the Call for Speakers that has been launched at the beginning of this year. Their professional background span from ecological, biological and robotic design, to urban micro-mobility investigations and social inclusion policy.

The Alumni Talks, included in the collateral events of the MODEL Festival 2023 programme, will be followed by the Lecture Series of Marziah Zad, Alumna of the Master in Advanced Architecture. Meet the six speakers of the Alumni Talks below!

Land as Archive: Scaling Social Impact through Embodied Land Acknowledgments

Jean-Luc Pierite (Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana) is the founder of InDigiFab, president of the North American Indian Center of Boston, and an Indigenous activist and designer with areas of focus in: supporting distributed networks for education; public policy advocacy for racial, economic, and climate justice; and supporting philanthropic foundations committed to diversity and inclusion. Jean-Luc Pierite is an Alumnus of the Master in Design for Emergent Futures 2020/21.

Algae as a Client and Fungi as a Partner: The New World of Biodesign

Jessica Dias is a researcher and designer working with biomaterials. She co-founded ‘Biobabes‘ a multidisciplinary collective that works with living organisms and recently co-founded S-BIOTICA, a biodesign & material research hub in Barcelona. Jessica’s main focus is myco-materials and is currently working on a mushroom based surfboard. Jessica Dias is an Alumna of the Master in Advanced Architecture 2015/17.

On the Origin of Buildings, or the Promotion of Favoured Value Chains in the Struggle for Life

Michael Salka is a multi-disciplinary creator who has built projects based on his commitment to addressing the challenges of a globalised, majority-urban, and climatically unstable world using the potential of big data and digital technologies. Michael is Co-Director of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) and Technical Director of Valldaura Self-Sufficient Labs at IAAC, as well as a Gates Cambridge PhD Scholar (2021-2025). Michael Salka is an Alumnus of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities 2018/19.

Design+Robotics Cybercrafting Microfactories

Sebastian Voigt is a product designer, robotic fabrication specialist, and cybercrafter. He owns Design+Robotics, specialised in service for novel robotic fabrication techniques for customised regional production. He is also research fellow and lecturer at the CyberCraft Kolleg at the OTH Regensburg. Sebastian Voigt is an Alumnus of the Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction 2018/19.

Buro Happold’s Micromobility Street Design Manual

Camilla Franchini is an architect and urban planner. Working at Buro Happold as transport & mobility planner, she integrates the engineering knowledge to her design and planning skills, working on several international projects of different scales and scopes and contributing to the development of research papers focused on the future of mobility. Camilla Franchini is an Alumna of the Master in Advanced Architecture 2016/18.

Technopolis Auditorium: an acoustic device

Ioulietta Zindrou is a Greek born registered Architect Engineer. She holds a Master in Advanced Architecture (2006) from the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Cataluña in Barcelona and a Master in Photography and Design (2010) from Elisava School of Design, University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Ioulietta has worked among others, for ACTAR Architecture and Guallart architects in Barcelona and Kava Massih Architects in San Francisco. She is currently living in Athens, leading Ahylo Studio since 2016. Ahylo is an awarded architectural design practice, that operates in every stage of the design process, from concept to construction. Ioulietta Zindrou is an Alumna of the Master in Advanced Architecture 2005/06.