Urban Sciences Lab
ABOUT
The Urban Sciences Laboratory at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (USLab @ IAAC), is a research laboratory created in 2015 dedicated to producing theoretical and applied knowledge to help understand and solve the urban issues of our contemporary society (R+D).
The USLab, founded by the IAAC Co-founder Willy Müller, is based on the premise that only an integrated approach will solve the urgent and complex problems affecting our cities. This conglomerate of disciplines includes Habitat, Technology, Economy, Society, and Ecology. Together, these disciplines are engaged in formulating new models, tools and methodologies to train the professionals of the future cities.
Based on 10 paradigms associated to our contemporary urban culture, ranging from the growth and expansion of urban areas, climate change challenges, the rapid implementation of communication and technology devices, the appearance of new forms of mobility, new channels for social participation and governance, etc., the USLab aims to be positioned as a prominent international research and educational center with students, faculty, and partner institutions worldwide.
The USLab is structured around several initiatives, including: an Academic programme (a máster in Spanish focused on exploring the challenges of contemporary cities, the “Maestría Online en Ciudades: El Urbanismo Próximo”); Diffusion initiatives (online lectures, debates and events on a platform called “Redes” – Networks, where discussions around cities in the Ibero-American context are promoted); Scientific research (publications and research projects around the urban subject); while also providing professional expertise for urban projects worldwide.
IAAC’s Urban Sciences Lab collaborates with different research centers on technology and urbanism, such as Fab Lab Barcelona and the Fab City initiative, and CUSP in New York, as well as several Latin American institutions, both public and private.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME
The Online Master in Cities (MOeC) is a 1-year online master’s degree in Spanish, designed for working professionals seeking to obtain additional accreditations in the field of Urban Planning and Design. It focuses on issues that represent the great contemporary challenges surrounding the city as the most complex dynamic system of exchange and interaction invented by humankind.
ONLINE PLATFORM
An open-source online project that organizes a thematic series of conferences, symposiums, and dialogues, with professionals of excellence within the broad cultural geography of Spanish and Portuguese languages. The Redes/Network forum was created to promote debates on the contemporary thinking around cities, a crossroad of voices and ideas from the Ibero-American context.
PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCH
A book that aims to begin constructing a necessary up-to-date and committed agenda for cities tailored to new generations seeking to participate in the construction of their future.
A report of the research developed in the Advanced Urban Design Studio of years 2018-2019, which investigated the hypothesis of a new conceptual space defined as Extreme Urbanism.
An event that marked our first step towards a research on the advanced experiences in territorial sustainability that are being applied at El Hierro, in the Canary Islands.
