Ingrid Noronha Vaz: From Brazil to Digital Timber Fabrication in Miami

Ingrid graduated in architecture in Brazil in 2018, the same year she first discovered IAAC through a video about the institute. She wanted to connect design and technology in real practice, with a focus on materials, construction and making. Unable to move to Barcelona at that time, she founded Innovaa, a studio for interior and architectural projects, and during the pandemic launched Cabin, a practice designing cabins and modular structures that reconnect people with nature.

In 2022 Ingrid applied to the master, was admitted and moved to Barcelona in September. Within the programme she followed the research line on self-sufficient buildings and focused on wood craft and digital fabrication. She arrived using Revit; at IAAC she learned Rhino, which is now her main working tool.

“It wasn’t only about computational design. It was about mindset, learning by doing and trusting the process, collaborating across cultures and understanding architecture as a system that connects design, technology, nature and society,” she said.

After graduating, Ingrid moved to Miami, then returned to Brazil to restart Innovaa. In 2024 a contact she had made in Miami bought a CNC machine and asked for her help. She began developing digital fabrication projects and generating CNC files remotely, working in depth on wood joints, grain direction and machine precision.

When the workload grew, she turned to the IAAC community and brought a computational design specialist, into the team. Together they developed a design and fabrication system that allowed the company to scale, improve the quality of its products and optimise material use in production and installation. Today Ingrid leads design and digital fabrication for the Miami company and works as a digital nomad between Europe, Turkey, Miami, Guatemala and Brazil.

“Don’t come to IAAC to just learn the tools. Of course, learn the tools as well, but come ready to question how you want to collaborate, to live, to work in the world,” said Ingrid Noronha Vaz. To applicants who worry about software skills, she added: “You are ready. You are going to learn. So go learn.”