IAAC Alumni Dialogues: How a Master’s Journey Becomes a Life Path
What happens after IAAC? In the latest IAAC Alumni Dialogues, five graduates reflect on their journey and how it continues to shape their future
This was the question behind our latest edition of IAAC Alumni Dialogues, a live online event hosted by the Institute. As a result, five former students came together to share how their journeys evolved beyond the master’s experience.
More than a showcase of professional success, the conversation revealed how IAAC continues to shape the way alumni think, create and contribute. In particular, the discussion offered a collective reflection on identity, experimentation and the power of choosing an unconventional path.
Moderated by IAAC Alumni Officer Alex Mademochoritis, the event felt like a dialogue between curious minds. Each voice built on the last, weaving together ideas across disciplines and experiences.
Rethinking the role of the designer
“I decided to leave the architect title behind and describe myself as a designer,” said Vicky Simitopoulou (MDEF 2019), now working on inclusive learning and development programmes in Greece.
IAAC, she explained, gave her not just skills, but a lens—“a prism”—through which she could connect architecture to psychology, politics, and the everyday lives of people often left out of design conversations.
This sense of expanded purpose echoed throughout the event. Ocean Jangda (MaCT 2022), who is now continuing his studies at MIT, spoke about IAAC as an institution that dares to ask, “What might the next 50 years look like?”
It’s not about following trends, he added, but “reconnecting ideas across disciplines”—something he now applies to real estate development, urban planning, and technological innovation.
From experimentation to real-world impact
For Hritik Thumar (MRAC 2024), the journey started with clay 3D printing and ended with training machine learning models to predict fabrication deformations.
“At IAAC, I moved from seeing architecture as a fixed object to seeing it as a living system,” he said.
Now working as a robotic expert at LaMáquina in Barcelona, he’s building advanced workflows for architectural-scale 3D printing.
Amanda Gioia (MaCAD 2022), based in the US, shared how her thesis—an AI tool for daylight prediction—is now being adapted into real workflows within her firm.
“I’m not doing the same projects I did at IAAC,” she noted, “but the mindset, the way I now approach problems—that stayed with me.”
Freedom to explore. Tools to build. A network to grow with.
Perhaps the most recurring theme was how open-ended and exploratory the IAAC experience felt.
Yerwant Megurditchian (MAA 2023) described the freedom to pursue his interests—complex forms, environmental analysis, computational design—supported by both hands-on prototyping and advanced digital tools.
Today he leads Atopos, a cross-disciplinary practice working across architecture, art, and ecology.
“You come in with one idea of who you are,” he said, “and you leave with ten new ones.”
More than a Master’s
Throughout the dialogue, one thing became clear: IAAC is not just a place to gain skills—it’s a place to question the status quo, expand your point of view, and build your own definition of what it means to be a designer, architect, or technologist today.
Whether you’re drawn by robotics, computation, ecological thinking, or social transformation, IAAC’s alumni community is proof that innovation doesn’t follow a single path.
If you’re curious to join a learning community that prioritises experimentation, resilience and global impact, discover more about our Master’s programmes at IAAC.
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Alex Mademochoritis, is a Greek-French urbanist with a degree in Interior Architecture and Design from the University of West Attica and a Master’s in City & Technology (MaCT) from IAAC.
From 2017 to 2022, he coordinated IAAC’s MaCT program and taught in the Advanced Architecture Group. In 2022-2023, he served as IAAC’s Admissions Manager while continuing his teaching. Since 2023, Alex has led IAAC’s Alumni Relations and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban and Spatial Planning at the University Gustave Eiffel in Paris.
Graduated: 2023
Degree: Master in Advanced Architecture, Two-Year Programme
Country: USA
Yerwant is an architect with a diverse background in both practice and education. He holds a Master’s degree from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) and a Postgraduate Master’s from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). With over a decade of experience, Yerwant has contributed to projects worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, the United States, and Europe.
His work spans residential, cultural, hospitality, and commercial sectors, as well as smaller-scale artistic, experiential, and object-oriented design projects. He has collaborated with leading studios, including External Reference Architecture Bureau and IAAC’s Advanced Architecture Group, focusing on data-driven algorithmic design, design-to-production workflows, digital fabrication, environmental optimization, and generative AI. His approach emphasizes sustainability and nature-based design solutions.
Currently, Yerwant leads Atopos, his own cross-disciplinary design practice, where he explores the intersections of architecture, art, technology, and ecology, blurring the boundaries between disciplines.
Graduated: 2024
Degree Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction, Two-Year Programme
Country: India
Hritik Thumar is an architect with a Master’s in Robotics and Advanced Construction from IAAC in Barcelona. His journey spans designing Tropical Modernist projects in Vietnam to exploring computational design, AI, and machine learning during his time at Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna. Currently, he works as a robotics expert with the engineering and production team at La Máquina in Barcelona, focusing on advanced fabrication technologies in architecture. Proficient in tools like Grasshopper, machine learning, and hardware programming, he is passionate about fostering innovation in architectural and digital fabrication processes, shaping a future where architecture transcends traditional boundaries through technology and creativity.
Graduated: 2019
Degree: Master in Design for Emergent Futures, One-Year Programme
Country: Greece
Vasiliki (Vicky) Simitopoulou. Vicky is a Futures Scenarios & Strategies Designer with a background in architectural engineering (DUTh) and a Master in Design for Emergent Futures (IAAC). She combines architecture with sociology, psychology, and politics, has worked with FabLab Barcelona, and has been active in academia since 2014, presenting at international conferences. An award-winning designer, she currently works with Ploes on EU-funded projects, focusing on strategic planning and storytelling for inclusive, sustainable futures.
Graduated: 2022
Degree: Master in City & Technology, One-Year Programme
Country: USA
Ocean works at the intersection of real estate development, urban technology, and business strategy. He focuses on innovation in the built environment by connecting ideas across disciplines and markets. He holds a Bachelor of Science from RIT, a Master of City & Technology from IAAC, and a Master of Science in Real Estate development from MIT.
Graduated: 2022
Degree: Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture & Design
Country: Canada
Amanda Gioia is an Associate Practice Technology Leader at HED, specializing in computational design and the strategic implementation of BIM and innovative technologies across Workplace, Housing, and Mixed-Use projects. A licensed architect with experience in Canada and the USA, she is passionate about integrating machine learning and generative design into architectural workflows. An experienced leader, mentor, and educator, Amanda is also a frequent speaker in the field of computational design.
Alex Mademochoritis, is a Greek-French urbanist with a degree in Interior Architecture and Design from the University of West Attica and a Master’s in City & Technology (MaCT) from IAAC.
From 2017 to 2022, he coordinated IAAC’s MaCT program and taught in the Advanced Architecture Group. In 2022-2023, he served as IAAC’s Admissions Manager while continuing his teaching. Since 2023, Alex has led IAAC’s Alumni Relations and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban and Spatial Planning at the University Gustave Eiffel in Paris.
Graduated: 2023
Degree: Master in Advanced Architecture, Two-Year Programme
Country: USA
Yerwant is an architect with a diverse background in both practice and education. He holds a Master’s degree from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) and a Postgraduate Master’s from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). With over a decade of experience, Yerwant has contributed to projects worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, the United States, and Europe.
His work spans residential, cultural, hospitality, and commercial sectors, as well as smaller-scale artistic, experiential, and object-oriented design projects. He has collaborated with leading studios, including External Reference Architecture Bureau and IAAC’s Advanced Architecture Group, focusing on data-driven algorithmic design, design-to-production workflows, digital fabrication, environmental optimization, and generative AI. His approach emphasizes sustainability and nature-based design solutions.
Currently, Yerwant leads Atopos, his own cross-disciplinary design practice, where he explores the intersections of architecture, art, technology, and ecology, blurring the boundaries between disciplines.
Graduated: 2024
Degree Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction, Two-Year Programme
Country: India
Hritik Thumar is an architect with a Master’s in Robotics and Advanced Construction from IAAC in Barcelona. His journey spans designing Tropical Modernist projects in Vietnam to exploring computational design, AI, and machine learning during his time at Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna. Currently, he works as a robotics expert with the engineering and production team at La Máquina in Barcelona, focusing on advanced fabrication technologies in architecture. Proficient in tools like Grasshopper, machine learning, and hardware programming, he is passionate about fostering innovation in architectural and digital fabrication processes, shaping a future where architecture transcends traditional boundaries through technology and creativity.
Graduated: 2019
Degree: Master in Design for Emergent Futures, One-Year Programme
Country: Greece
Vasiliki (Vicky) Simitopoulou. Vicky is a Futures Scenarios & Strategies Designer with a background in architectural engineering (DUTh) and a Master in Design for Emergent Futures (IAAC). She combines architecture with sociology, psychology, and politics, has worked with FabLab Barcelona, and has been active in academia since 2014, presenting at international conferences. An award-winning designer, she currently works with Ploes on EU-funded projects, focusing on strategic planning and storytelling for inclusive, sustainable futures.
Graduated: 2022
Degree: Master in City & Technology, One-Year Programme
Country: USA
Ocean works at the intersection of real estate development, urban technology, and business strategy. He focuses on innovation in the built environment by connecting ideas across disciplines and markets. He holds a Bachelor of Science from RIT, a Master of City & Technology from IAAC, and a Master of Science in Real Estate development from MIT.
Graduated: 2022
Degree: Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture & Design
Country: Canada
Amanda Gioia is an Associate Practice Technology Leader at HED, specializing in computational design and the strategic implementation of BIM and innovative technologies across Workplace, Housing, and Mixed-Use projects. A licensed architect with experience in Canada and the USA, she is passionate about integrating machine learning and generative design into architectural workflows. An experienced leader, mentor, and educator, Amanda is also a frequent speaker in the field of computational design.