IAAC Barcelona
IAAC Barcelona

Fab Lab Barcelona

A think and make laboratory enabling communities globally to harness design and technology for collective transformation.

Established in 2007, Fab Lab Barcelona (FLB) is the first of it’s kind in the European Union, positioning itself as a leader within a global network of over 1,800 Fab Labs across more than 100 countries. As an integral player in shaping the future, FLB advances digital fabrication’s role in solving the industry’s most pressing challenges through innovation.

At the intersection of technology and design, Fab Lab Barcelona is an innovation hub driving education and research in digital fabrication. It serves as the global headquarters for the Fab Academy, in collaboration with MIT’s, Centre for Bits and Atoms, and plays a central role in coordinating the global Fab Lab network. FLB operates at the human scale, focusing on everyday experiences to shape solutions for the future, while anticipating emerging trends in seven strategic areas of expertise.

Fab Lab Barcelona’s portfolio extends across diverse sectors, providing consultancy services to companies seeking advanced technological solutions, developing new educational models, and advising governments on creating cities of tomorrow. Its mission: to empower industries, citizens, and policymakers to prototype the future.

Areas of Expertise Civic Ecology

Empowering citizens to engage with ecological systems and biodiversity through open food, energy, and biological explorations.

IAAC Barcelona
Areas of Expertise Distributed Design

Revolutionising design by leveraging global connectivity to move data rather than products, fostering a more adaptive and sustainable production landscape.

IAAC Barcelona
Areas of Expertise Emergent Futures

Challenging the status quo by identifying emerging socio-political contexts and offering disruptive strategies to shape tomorrow’s society.

IAAC Barcelona
Areas of Expertise Future Learning

Delivering radical educational experiences that immerse students in emergent technologies, business models, and digital fabrication.

IAAC Barcelona
Areas of Expertise Materials and Textiles

Pioneering resilient materials and textiles while reimagining production and distribution methodologies for the next era of urban life.

IAAC Barcelona
Areas of Expertise Productive Cities

Designing urban spaces for multi species diversity by integrating food, energy, and materials to build self-sufficient ecosystems.

IAAC Barcelona
Areas of Expertise Sense Making

Developing cutting-edge tools and technologies to transform urban data into actionable insights, shaping responsive and adaptive cityscapes.

IAAC Barcelona
Team
Faculty Name Position
Luciana Asinari FLB Educational Programs Lead (she/her)

Luciana Asinari is the Educational Programs Lead at Fab Lab Barcelona, where she oversees the formal educational offerings, including the Master in Design for Emergent Futures, the Fab Academy, the Textile Tech Incubator, and Fabricademy. Since 2014, she has also coordinated the global Fab Academy Diploma.

Luciana’s primary interest lies in the impact of digital fabrication tools on education and the implementation of distributed educational models within the Fab Lab Network. This model connects students, mentors, and faculty globally for content sharing while allowing local prototyping to impact their immediate communities.
Luciana holds degrees in Social Sciences and Fine Arts.

Santiago Fuentemilla FLB Future Learning Lead (he/him)

Santiago Fuentemilla holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of La Salle (Universitat Ramon Llull) and graduated from the Fab Academy at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms in 2012. He is currently pursuing a PhD in digital manufacturing at UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya).

With over 10 years of experience in international architectural projects, Santiago joined Fab Lab Barcelona in 2013, where he leads the Future Learning research area, focusing on innovative educational models to tackle future challenges. He directs the global Fab Academy and Fabricademy programs at the Barcelona node and has been a professor of the Master in Design for Emergent Futures (MDEF) since 2017.

Santiago also contributes to various EU-funded research projects, including TEC-LA (STEAM education), DO IT (entrepreneurship and social innovation for youth), PHALABS 4.0 (photonics research), POP-MACHINA (maker movement and circular economy), and SHEMAKES (empowering sustainable fashion innovators).

Xavier Domínguez FLB Strategic Projects Lead (he/him)

Xavier Domínguez is a multimedia engineer, action researcher at Fab Lab Barcelona, and lecturer in the Master in Design for Emerging Futures at IAAC-Elisava. He is also a global instructor in the Fab Academy program led by Neil Gershenfeld at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA).

Since 2017, Xavier has dedicated his career to researching methods and tools that foster creativity and innovation in developing competencies and skills for life, guided by principles of circularity, sustainability, and equity.

He participates in several private and EU-funded research projects, including TEC-LA (measuring the impact of maker project-based learning on STEAM education), DO IT (entrepreneurship and social innovation for youth), PHALABS 4.0 (photonics research and its Fab Lab applications), POP-MACHINA (the maker movement and circular economy), and SHEMAKES (empowering sustainable fashion innovators).

Alessandra Schmidt FLB Action Research Lead (she/her)

Alessandra Schmidt is an administrator and researcher with a critical approach to social development and management sciences. She holds a degree in Business Administration from the Federal University of Parana State and specialized in Social Entrepreneurship at INSEAD (France). Alessandra completed her first Master’s in Social Development Practice (MSc) at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London (UK), and her second Master’s in Management Sciences (MRes) from ESADE, where she is currently pursuing a PhD.

Before moving to the UK/EU, Alessandra co-founded We.Flow, a social enterprise focused on consulting and training for social impact, where she continues to serve on the Advisory Board. We.Flow is based in Brazil, her home country.

At Fab Lab Barcelona, Alessandra is a researcher involved in several EU-funded projects, including Distributed Design Platform, Make Works, Pop-Machina, Reflow, FoodSHIFT, and FOSTER.

Noel Criado FLB Strategic Partnerships Lead (he/him)

Noel Criado is an economist and consultant specialising in business development and strategic relations. He studied at the University of Barcelona (Spain) and the University of Maastricht (The Netherlands). Since 2005, he has helped educational institutions develop strategic partnerships and monetize knowledge through applied innovation processes.

Previously, Noel served as Head of Marketing and Communication, and Head of Corporate and Institutional Relations at Elisava. He also held roles in multinational companies, including Product Manager at Esselte and Market Research Analyst at Naturgy Energy Group.

Julia Leirado FLB Future Learning Expert (she/her)

Julia Leirado is an architect based in Barcelona with a focus on educational innovation and how new technologies and digital fabrication tools can enhance traditional curricula and improve the learning experience. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (ETSAB), a Master’s in Project Management from EAE, and a Fab Academy diploma in digital fabrication from the Fab Lab Network.

Josep Martí Elias Fabrication Expert (he/him)

Josep Martí Elias is an Industrial Engineer from Barcelona. He began his career as a BI consultant before shifting paths and graduating from Fab Academy in 2019. Since then, Josep has taught digital fabrication, design, and electronics at the Fab Lab, contributing to the Future Learning Unit by teaching in Fab Academy, Fabricademy, and the Master in Design for Emergent Futures.

He recently started his research journey in Erasmus+ projects. Josep holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology Engineering and a Master’s in Industrial Engineering, specialising in Automatic Control, both from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), as well as a Fab Academy diploma. He has a deep interest in Maker culture and is always eager to learn and create new things.

Marion Real Systematic Design Expert
Óscar Gonzalez Sense Making Lead

Óscar González is an Industrial Engineer based in Barcelona with expertise in data analysis, testing and calibration through his experience in automotive and sensor development. Óscar is the Sense Making Lead at Fab Lab Barcelona team doing research and development within the Smart Citizen project and is an instructor at the Fabacademy programme.

Jessica Guy Distributed Design Expert
Olga Trevisan EU Creative Action Researcher
Petra Garajová Materials and Textiles Expert

Petra is a Slovak designer with a background in architecture, exploring the boundaries of material innovation, digital fabrication and textiles. Currently, she is working as a Fabricademy Local Instructor and Researcher between Beta Biolab and several European projects.

Petra holds a Master’s degree in Arts and Architecture at the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague. After her architectural studies, she graduated from Fabricademy – Textile and Technology Academy in Fab Lab Barcelona IAAC. During her studies, she was part of Shemakes.eu European project as an Ambassador between Fab Lab Barcelona and TextileLab Iceland working on the Lab to Lab project – Rethinking Wool. Moreover, her Fabricademy final project was awarded the Young Scientist Award 2022 at the Fiber Global Congress in Dornbirn for the most innovative use of bio-based fibers. Currently, she is still working on the application of protein fibers under the scope of new technologies and biobased materials.

Milena Juarez Communities Expert

Milena Juarez is a Brazilian sanitary and environmental engineer with a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability and a specialisation in Urban and Industrial Ecology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. With extensive research experience, Milena has actively participated in several interdisciplinary projects in circular economy, resilient cities, co-creation and sustainable food. At Fab Lab Barcelona, she currently coordinates the local pilot of the CENTRINNO project. She has been involved as an action researcher in REFLOW, SISCODE, FoodShift, and European-funded projects. As a community engagement lead at Fab Lab Barcelona, Milena supports local activities at Fab City Hub Barcelona, a distributed hub, to co-design strategies for a more circular, productive and inclusive city model. —

Chiara Dall’Olio Programs Coordinator
Adai Surinach Digital Fabrication Expert

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