Every two years, IAAC becomes a point of return. Alumni come back to Barcelona from practices, research centres and studios across the world, bringing with them what they have built and the paths they have taken since leaving the school.
The Alumni Meeting brings these trajectories together. A moment to reconnect, share experiences openly, and reflect on how IAAC continues to shape practice over time.
Day One: Alumni Talks + Special Alumni Lecture – Friday 8 May
The first day begins at Apocapoc BCN (Carrer dels Almogàvers 138, Barcelona), a space that reflects the spirit of the gathering. The Alumni Talks Programme brings together seven IAAC graduates for a curated series of presentations on their professional journeys, research contributions and emerging practices.
Schedule
10:00 — Alumni Talks begin
11:00 — Coffee break
11:30 — Talks resume
13:00 — Morning session closes
In the evening, the programme continues at IAAC with a special alumni keynote lecture.
At 19:00, João Albuquerque, Partner at BIG — Bjarke Ingels Group and IAAC alumnus, will deliver a keynote reflecting on his professional trajectory and the role of architecture within large-scale international practice.
Schedule subject to confirmation.
Meet the Speakers
Ami Nigam – Non-Traditional Paths by Design
Master in Advanced Architecture, 2016–2018
Ami Nigam leads AI and design technology at Benoy, a global design firm, where he has built capabilities spanning computational design, BIM infrastructure and enterprise AI systems. His career has taken him from 3D printing in Beijing to computational design at IAAC, and onto senior technology roles at UNStudio and leading practices in Hong Kong and London.
His talk reflects on a career path that consistently resisted easy categorisation — and why that resistance was the point. From architect to Design Technology Specialist to Head of Technology, each move meant redefining the role before taking it. A candid account of agency, ambiguity and building at the intersections before anyone formalised what “there” was.
Irene Rodríguez – Beyond the Object
Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities
Irene Rodríguez is an architect and partner at Estudi Biga, a Barcelona-based cooperative practice exploring architecture’s relationship with community and place. Her work is built on a conviction that architecture is as much about coordination, care and collective structure as it is about drawings or buildings.
Her talk unfolds in three acts — learning to build collectively, structuring the collective, and exploring personal territories — drawing on her experience at IAAC, experimental construction projects and the cooperative practice she has helped build at Estudi Biga. A reflection on the invisible dimensions that make projects possible, and what happens when you design with that in mind from the start.
Mahsa Nikoufar – Embracing a Portfolio After IAAC
Master in Advanced Urban Planning and Data Analytics
Mahsa Nikoufar’s trajectory spans research, academia and the startup world. From her PhD research on urban digital twin governance to her current work at the intersection of AI, product development and public value, her career is a testament to the lasting relevance of IAAC’s multidisciplinary approach.
Her talk explores how the mindset developed at IAAC continues to inform her entrepreneurial journey — and what it means to build a portfolio career in a field that keeps expanding its own boundaries.
Lena Dagouli – Rethinking Architectural Practice
Master in AI for Architecture and Business Innovation, 2024–2025
Lena Dagouli is an architect and designer based in Athens, Greece, currently working at LINK Arkitektur. She chose her master’s programme as a leap without a predefined route — one that reshaped how she thinks about design through evidence, workflows and experimentation.
At LINK Arkitektur, she translated a need for spatial analysis into a practical, architect-friendly tool that supports early-stage decision-making and gives teams the freedom to explore design options grounded in confirmed facts. Her talk is about what happens when you bring a research mindset into professional practice – and what architects can build when they stop treating data as a constraint.
Kunaljit Chadha – Lab to Launch
Master in Advanced Architecture, 2014–2016
Kunaljit Chadha holds a doctorate from ETH Zurich’s Gramazio Kohler Research group, where he spent four years exploring robotic manufacturing using excavated earth. He began his career as a robotic fabrication expert at IAAC and is now co-founder of Impact Build, an ETH spin-off transforming locally excavated materials into low-carbon construction solutions.
His talk traces the path from architectural education to entrepreneurship – and makes the case for why architects are well positioned to become founders. A frank look at what it takes to turn research into a viable venture, and why the IAAC community continues to matter long after graduation.
Luis Arturo Pacheco – Animaquina: An Interactive Development Environment for Robotic Fabrication
Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction, 2018–2019
Luis Arturo Pacheco is an Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University and Director of the Interactive Machines Lab. His work focuses on procedural robot control, XR interfaces and modular hardware for creative robotics.
His talk presents Animaquina, a Blender add-on that evolved from research into a tool used across academia and industry. By treating the robot as a digital twin within a 3D environment, it allows designers to control motion through familiar interfaces. A reflection on tool-making as a design practice.
Vicky Simitopoulou – Designing the In-Between
Master in Design for Emergent Futures, 2019
Vicky Simitopoulou is a Futures Scenarios and Strategies Designer working at the intersection of architecture, sociology, psychology and neuroscience. An active IAAC Alumni Ambassador, her work focuses on care, inclusion and adaptive futures through speculative design and participatory storytelling.
Her talk centres on Dive Into the In-Betweens — an immersive installation that explores migration not as a single event, but as a prolonged condition of in-betweenness. Developed through Echo Academy Europe, the installation uses spatial design, sound, light and interaction to invite visitors to physically and emotionally experience what it means to exist between past and present, belonging and displacement. An argument for a different role of design: one that creates conditions for understanding rather than persuasion.
Day Two: Lunch at Valldaura – Saturday 9 May
The second day begins with a visit to IAAC’s building at Pujades 102, open to all attendees. Around 13:00, a bus departs to Valldaura Campus, IAAC’s forest campus, for a private alumni lunch.
Valldaura is where IAAC explores sustainable construction, living systems and the relationship between architecture and the natural environment. It provides the right setting to reflect on the evolution of the IAAC community and its future direction.
Join Us
The 5th Global Alumni Meeting is open to the IAAC community and to anyone interested in learning from the trajectories of its alumni.
Friday 8 May
- Alumni Talks at Apocapoc BCN · 10:00h
Attendance is open with limited capacity. If you would like to attend, please contact [email protected] to request a place. - Keynote Lecture at IAAC · 19:00h
The keynote lecture by João Albuquerque is open to the public.
Saturday 9 May
- Visit to IAAC Building
The morning visit is open to all attendees. - Valldaura Campus Lunch
The lunch at Valldaura is a private gathering reserved for IAAC alumni.