IAAC – Advanced Architecture Barcelona welcomes João Albuquerque, Partner at BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, for a new session within the IAAC Lecture Series 2025/26.
Titled From IAAC to BIG: A Career Built on Advanced Architecture, the lecture will take place on Thursday, May 8 at 19:00 at IAAC in Barcelona and will be open to students, alumni and invited guests.
From IAAC to BIG: A Career Built on Advanced Architecture
In this lecture, João Albuquerque will reflect on the professional trajectory that took him from his Master in Advanced Architecture at IAAC to leading one of the most internationally recognised architecture offices in the world – and what advanced architecture made possible along the way.
From his thesis project at IAAC, exhibited at the 2011 Beijing Architecture Biennale, to joining BIG Copenhagen in 2008, establishing BIG’s Barcelona office in 2019 and becoming Partner in 2021, João’s career traces a path built on computational thinking, design rigour and the conviction that architecture can challenge and transform how we inhabit cities. Through projects across Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean and South America, his work at BIG explores how architecture can push typological boundaries while remaining grounded in sustainability and real impact.
This lecture is an honest conversation about creative decision-making, international practice and what it means to build a career on the foundations of advanced architecture – told by someone who started here.
About Joao Alburquerque
João Albuquerque is Partner at BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, where he leads the Barcelona office. He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Coimbra and a Master in Advanced Architecture from IAAC. His work has been exhibited at the Beijing Architecture Biennale and the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona.
The IAAC Lecture Series brings together leading architects, researchers and practitioners to discuss critical questions shaping the future of architecture and the built environment. If you would like to attend the lecture, please register using the form below.
If you would like to attend the lecture, please register using the form below.