INTRODUCTION

IAAC’s Master in City & Technology (1 or 2-year program) is a unique program oriented towards redefining the analysis, planning, and design of twenty-first-century cities and beyond. The program offers expertise in the design of digitally enhanced, ecological and human-centered urban environments by intersecting the disciplines of urbanism and data science. Taking place in Barcelona, the capital of urbanism, the Master in City & Technology is training the professionals that city administrations, governments, industries, and communities need, to transform the urban environment in the era of big data.

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Master in City & Technology (1-year Program)
Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project (2-year Program)
Degree The Master in City & Technology is accredited by the School of Professional and Executive Development at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – European Higher Education Area (EHEA) The Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project is accredited by the School of Professional and Executive Development at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
Edition 8th edition 5th edition
Credits 75 ECTS 120 ECTS
Duration 9 Months – From October 2023 to June 2024 // Full time 18 Months – From October 2023 to June 2025 – Thesis Final Submission: September 2025 // Full time
Language English English
Tuition Fee Non-EU: 19.875€
EU: 16.500€
Spanish: 9.938€
Non-EU: 31.800€
EU: 26.400€
Spanish: 15.900€
Admission Architects, Urbanists, Designers, Computer Scientists, Engineers, Data Scientists, Entrepreneurs, Economists. Architects, Urbanists, Designers, Computer Scientists, Engineers, Data Scientists, Entrepreneurs, Economists.

TOOLS & SOFTWARE

Students of the Master in City & Technology are introduced to a large variety of technological tools and software that are imperative for the multi-scalar representation and understanding of the urban environment. During the programme students are trained on the latest tools for computational design, urban simulations, and spatial data science by attending seminars on programming, dynamic mapping, big data analytics and visualization, as well as parametric urban design. Seminars on the following tools and software are conducted:

STUDENT PROJECTS

ACADEMIC STRUCTURE

The Master in City & Technology’s academic structure is based on IAAC’s innovative, learn-by-doing and design-through-research methodology which focuses on the development of interdisciplinary skills. During the Master in City & Technology students will have the opportunity to be part of a highly international group, including faculty members, researchers, and lecturers, in which they are encouraged to develop collective decision-making processes and materialize their project ideas. In this way, IAAC has put together an experimental learning environment which equips professionals with both the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to face the increasing complexity of the contemporary urban environment and to define the future of urbanism.

MASTER IN CITY & TECHNOLOGY (1-Year Program)

The Master in City and Technology comprises the following elements:

  1. Research & Design Studios
  2. Technology Seminars
  3. Strategic Planning Seminars
  4. Urban Design Seminars and Workshops
  5. Theory Seminars and Master Classes
  6. IAAC Lecture Series

DESIGN STUDIO AND SEMINARS

The Internet of Cities Term focuses on the development of strategies, analytics, and planning proposals for urban regeneration, new urban metabolisms, future mobility, and ecological transformation. It is structured by a Research & Design Studio and obligatory complementary seminars. Students will be introduced to the principles of strategic planning, urban design, and theory of cities, as well as new tools for coding, cartography, urban analytics, and computational design.

TERM 1 COURSES:

  • Research & Design Studio – Internet of Cities – New Urban Metabolisms (9 ECTS)
  • Technology Seminar – Digital Tools & Big Data I (3 ECTS)
  • Technology Seminar – Computational Urban Design I (3 ECTS)
  • Strategic Planning Seminar – Conceptual Mapping (2 ECTS)
  • Urban Design Seminar – Future Mobility (3 ECTS)
  • Theory Seminar – Sustainable Urban Economies (3 ECTS)

NOTE: Design Studio and Seminars of Term 1 are obligatory.

DESIGN STUDIOS AND SEMINARS

The Internet of People Term is structured by one Research & Design Studio and five complementary obligatory Seminars. Students will continue developing technical skills in data analytics and computational design while introducing decentralised resource management tools such as blockchain. Novel processes for citizen participation in the development of sustainable, open, and user-driven urban environments will be introduced for human-centered planning.

TERM 2 COURSES:

  • Research & Design Studio – Internet of People – Human-Centered Dynamic Design (9 ECTS)
  • Technology Seminar – Digital Tools & Big Data II (3 ECTS)
  • Technology Seminar – Computational Urban Design II (3 ECTS)
  • Strategic Planning Seminar – Blockchain 4 Cities (3 ECTS)
  • Urban Design Seminar – Data-Driven Resilient Urban Design (3 ECTS)
  • Theory Seminar – Participatory Design (3 ECTS)

NOTE: Design Studio and Seminars of Term 2 are obligatory.

DESIGN STUDIO AND SEMINARS

The Internet of Buildings Term is focused on developing hyperconnected building typologies for new urban infrastructure, including urban sensing methodologies for data-driven environments. It is structured by a Research & Design Studio and four complementary obligatory Seminars. Students will continue developing technical skills in data analytics, urban simulations, and computational design, as well as being introduced to new projects for designing intelligent buildings, services infrastructure, user interaction, and information technologies.

TERM 3 COURSES:

  • Research & Design Studio – Internet of Buildings (12 ECTS)
  • Technology Seminar – Digital Tools & Big Data III (3 ECTS)
  • Technology Seminar – Computational Urban Design III (3 ECTS)
  • Strategic Planning Seminar – Urban Sensing (3 ECTS)
  • Urban Design Seminar – Integrated Urban Design (3 ECTS)

NOTE: Design Studio and Seminars of Term 3 are obligatory

Throughout all three terms, the Master in City & Technology students will attend transversal theoretical courses, which aim to bring them in direct contact with the front running professionals of this multidisciplinary field. Through masterclasses and lectures, they will be presented the challenges and learnings of professionally engaging with real case applications. All classes throughout all the terms are mandatory.

  • Theory Master Classes – Theory of Cities (2 ECTS)
  • IAAC Lecture Series (2 ECTS)

MASTER IN CITY & TECHNOLOGY + THESIS PROJECT (2-Year Program)

Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project – FIRST YEAR

The first year of the Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project is the same for both programmes and has a structure of 3 terms of 3 months each.

Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project – SECOND YEAR

During the Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project, students have the unique opportunity to work for an additional time of 9 months on an Individual Thesis Project, focused on the development of one research or pilot project based on the student’s interest. IAAC supports the student in selecting their Thesis Project topic in order to better orient them according to their future career interests and opportunities. Each student is assigned one or more Thesis Advisors that follow the development of the work throughout the year. 

In parallel to the development of the Thesis Project Studio, the second year of the Master in City & Technology offers a series of seminars enhancing both the theoretical, practical and computational skills of the students.

The Second Academic year of the Master in City & Technology comprises the following elements:

  • Thesis Project Studio
  • Digital Tools Seminars and Master Classes
  • Urban Design Workshops
  • Theory Seminars and Master Classes
  • Cross-Reviews

The programme is organized into three terms.

Throughout all three terms, the Master in City & Technology + Thesis Project students will attend transversal sessions which bring them in direct contact with their thesis advisor(s) as well as front running professionals in the fields of research and development, innovation, strategic planning, economics, and sustainability. All classes throughout all the terms are mandatory.

  • Thesis Project Studio – Advanced Urbanism (30 ECTS)
  • Theory Seminar – Research & Methods (3 ECTS)

In parallel to the Thesis Project Studio sessions and the Theory Seminars, the first term consists of two complementary obligatory Seminars and one workshop. Students will be introduced to strategic urban design principles, as well as new tools for urban analytics, programming, and computational design.

TERM 1 COURSES:

  • Digital Tools Seminar – Design for Interaction & Fabrication (3 ECTS)
  • Workshop – Landscapes in Transition (1 ECTS)

In parallel to the Thesis Project Studio sessions and the Theory Seminars, the second term consists of two complementary obligatory Seminars and one workshop. Students will attend advanced classes of computational design and will be introduced to systemic urban design principles, as well as to the theory and initial applications of artificial intelligence into urban environments.

TERM 2 COURSES:

  • Digital Tools Seminar– Design for Interaction & Fabrication (3 ECTS)
  • Digital Tools Seminar– Artificial Intelligence in Urbanism I (3 ECTS)
  • Workshop – Urban MR (1 ECTS)
  • Workshop – Business Innovation (1 ECTS)

In parallel to the Thesis Project Studio sessions and the Theory Seminars, the third term consists of one complimentary obligatory Seminar and one workshop. Students will be introduced to digital urban design principles, as well as to advanced applications of artificial intelligence in urban planning and urban design.

TERM 3 COURSES:

  • Digital Tools Seminar – Artificial Intelligence in Urbanism II (3 ECTS)
  • Workshop – Impact & Economics (1 ECTS)
  • Workshop Circular Economy (1 ECTS)

STUDENT PROFILE

The Master in City and Technology is a programme for architects, urbanists, designers, computer scientists, engineers, data scientists and entrepreneurs that want to become urban technologists and lead the future of urban environments.  If you are passionate about combining design and data science in order to lead the positive transformation of cities and you are willing to work together with multidisciplinary experts, industries and city administrations on real case studies for the acceleration of urban innovation and intelligent design, then the Master in City & Technology is made for you.

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Master in City & Technology structure links our students to an interconnected network of professionals, companies, as well as academic and research centers. Through this network, they directly have the opportunity to be professionally integrated into both the public and private sectors in fields related to urban design & planning, urban intelligence, and urban analytics. Furthermore, with the support of IAAC, students have the possibility to create their own practices in the above-mentioned fields.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Our scholarship competition has now finished and we’re unable to accept any more scholarship applications for this year. If you would like to find out when the competition is reopening, please subscribe to our newsletter where we will make the announcement.

 

PROJECT  PROPOSAL: “BIG DATA URBANISM”

The theme of the scholarship offered by the Master in City and Technology programme is focused on Big Data Urbanism: Big data has become an essential tool for the understanding of the urban environment and the generation of accurate decision-making processes for their transformation.

Participants are asked to use Big Data as a tool which informs an urban planning and/or urban design proposal for a city of their choice. In their proposals, they are asked to showcase how through the use of big data they can:

1. Visualize a city’s layers (i.e mobility & transportation, vegetation, road network, waste management infrastructure, energy consumption/generation, housing, tourism, economic activities etc.) through the use of maps and charts.

2. Create a strategy which informs an urban planning/design proposal for the transformation of a city.

REQUIRED MATERIAL

  • A pdf file, A3 format, 3 pages max (max 8MB) containing: a short description in English of the project and the strategy/rationale behind the proposal; images, plans or diagrams of the designed elements.

COMPETITION DEADLINES

Start and end dates to be released soon.

PROGRAMME DIRECTOR & FACULTY

Dr. Areti Markopoulou is a Greek architect, researcher and urban technologist working at the intersection between architecture and digital technologies. She is the Academic Director at IAAC in Barcelona, where she also leads the Advanced Architecture Group, a multidisciplinary research group exploring how design and science can positively impact and transform the present and future of our built spaces, the way we live and interact. Her research and practice focus on redefining the architecture of cities through an ecological and technological spectrum combining design with biotechnologies, new materials, digital fabrication and big data.

Areti is the founder and principal of the multidisciplinary practice Design Dynamics Studio, and co-editor of Urban Next, a global network focused on rethinking architecture through the contemporary urban milieu. She is the project coordinator of a number of European Research funded Projects on topics including urban regeneration through technologies and multidisciplinary educational models in the digital age.

Sebastián Sallent – Academic Coordination Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)

Winy Maas – MVRDV & The Why Factory

Master in City & Technology Interview
with Dr. Areti Markopoulou

Carlo Ratti – Carlo Ratti Associati & MIT Senseable City Lab

Master in City & Technology Interview
with Dr. Areti Markopoulou

Coordinator:
Adriana Aguirre Such

Studio Faculty:
Dr. Areti Markopoulou – Design Research Studio Leader – Responsive Cities
Dr. Mathilde Marengo – Design Research Studio Leader – Architecture & Urbanism
Eduardo Rico – Design Research Studio Leader – Digital Landscapes (Space Syntax UCL & Architectural Association)
Luis Falcon – Design Research Studio Leader – Big Data Analytics (InAtlas)

Seminar Faculty:

André Resende – Data Science and Cartography (InAtlas)
Eugenio Bettucchi – Parametric Urban Design (Noumena)
Iacopo NeriUrbanism and Data Science
Milad Showkatbakhsh – Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization (Wallacei)
Alex Mademochoritis – Urban Design and Theory
Prof. Manuel Gausa – Urbanism and Theory
Oana Taut – Computational Urban Design
Bruno Moser – Urban Planning and Design (Foster + Partners)
Dr. Laura Narvaez Zertuche – Urban Planning and Design (Foster + Partners)
Federico Parolotto – Future Mobility (MIC-HUB)
Francesca Arcuri
– Mobility and Transportation (MIC-HUB)
Federico Marcantognini – Sustainable Mobility & Mobility on Demand (MIC-HUB)
Angelos Chronis – Artificial Intelligence in Urbanism (City Intelligence Lab – AIT)
Serjoscha DueringArtificial Intelligence in Urbanism (City Intelligence Lab – AIT)
Dr. Lluisa Marsal – Blockchain Technologies (Catalan Institute of Energy, Government of Catalonia)
Ramón Gras – Urban Innovation (Aretian)
Felipe Vera – Dynamic Urban Development (Inter-American Development Bank)
Jan Bunge – Entrepeneurship & Business innovation (Squint/Opera)
Jonas Schorr – Smart Cities and Urban Tech Startups (Urban Impact Agency)
Nico Schouten – Circular Economy & Urban systems (Metabolic)
Ilaria Vigo – Environmental Economics (Barcelona Supercomputing Center)
Shyam Zonca – Digital Fabrication
Cristian Rizzuti – Physical Computing
Leyla Saadi – Urbanist (Urban Col.labs)
Daniil Koshelyuk – Mixed Reality Expert & Computational Designer

Guest Faculty:
Winy MaasMVRDV & The Why Factory
Carlo RattiCarlo Ratti Associati & MIT Senseable City Lab
Andy BowFoster+Partners

Guest Faculty – Theory:
Albert CanigueralGeneralitat de Catalunya

COLLABORATIVE ENTITIES

Every year the Master in City & Technology collaborates with a network of professionals from the worlds of industry, research and academia and the European Community. Through this network and a solid collaboration with the city council of Barcelona, students have a unique opportunity to study with professionals coming from the fields of architecture, urban planning, urban design, urban technologies, mobility and transportation, data science, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, urban innovation and economics.

INDUSTRY

RESEARCH & ACADEMIA

EUROPEAN PROJECTS