Within the current global context of rapid change, integrated with the potentials of digital technologies, IAAC’s Master in Advanced Architecture (MAA) is committed to the generation of new ideas and applications for Urban Design, Self Sufficiency, Digital Manufacturing Techniques and Advanced Interaction.
In this context IAAC works with a multidisciplinary approach, facing the challenges posed by our environment and the future development of cities, architecture and buildings, through a virtuous combination of technology, biology, computational design, digital and robotic fabrication, pushing innovation beyond the boundaries of a more traditional architectural approach.
Contexto During much of the 20th century, the Besòs River was transformed by industrialization and urban growth into a highly engineered system. Its new rigid structure, designed to control flooding, disconnected the river from its natural processes, accelerated water flow, and reduced ecological habitats Today, these structural modifications continue to generate major problems. Difficulties in … Read more
“Planetarity” is a philosophical concept that examines how the ways we visualize the Earth shape how we interact with it. Coined by Gayatri Spivak in her 2003 book Death of a Discipline, the term challenges us to move away from viewing the Earth as a controllable resource. Instead, Spivak argues that we must think beyond … Read more
Design Ethos This project seeks to explore how issues of stagnation and obsolescence can be tackled whilst still enabling socio-economic and technological developments of our urban spaces. It will explore how they can be applied within architecture to evaluate how we can more effectively address issues of erasure whilst still permitting modern interventions and advancements … Read more
A dynamic forest pavilion. Plaça del Pi, Barcelona, Spain Design Concept Form Finding Psuedo Code The script relies on the organic undulation of sine and catenary curves to reflect the organic nature of our inspiration as well as provide a real-life simulation of the suspended fabric forming the canopy reacting to gravitational logic in both … Read more
Problem Tersa is a public company that runs a waste incineration plant in Sant Adrià del Besòs, serving much of the Barcelona metropolitan area. Over the years, local associations and residents have raised concerns that the plant may exceed emissions limits of toxic substances and caused pollution. Despite all the concerns, the investigating judge archived … Read more
Introduction to Programming and Physical Computing Seminar This project focuses on developing a smart air quality monitoring system using a Seeed Lotus microcontroller, an MQ-135 air quality sensor, a 0.96” OLED display, a buzzer, a small motor or fan, and a panel with three LEDs to indicate air quality levels. The system continuously measures CO₂ … Read more
Rainwater Harvester The project proposes a regenerative infrastructure for runoff water collection, treatment, and reuse within the built environment. Conceived as a responsive system embedded in architecture, it seeks to transform excess rainwater often perceived as waste into an active resource within a closed ecological loop. During episodes of heavy rainfall, the system captures surface … Read more
Carbon Envelopes Toward Carbon-Sequestering Architectural Systems through Biochar-Concrete and Hybrid Fabrication The construction industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change.We’re facing a paradox: The materials we use and how the construction industry works today are destroying our chance of having a future. Besides the emissions, there are other problems that we need to … Read more
Introduction This project explores a double landscape approach, bridging a student accommodation in the city with an ecological extraction site in the Collserola foothills. It establishes a material and climatic dialogue between the two contexts: one as a site of inhabitation, the other as a site of making. At its core is a breathing terracotta … Read more
Vernacular architecture has steadily lost relevance in contemporary practice. Industrialized construction methods, aesthetic shifts, and the pursuit of perceived reliability in materials like concrete and steel have overshadowed traditional techniques. However, these modern materials often come at a high environmental cost. Among the overlooked methods is quincha, a construction technique common in Latin America. It … Read more
A story of water, resistance, and the quiet uprising of chlorides and carex Water Pollution in Barcelona The water waits. It holds its breath Its beauty hides a slow-built threat. The rain forgets to fall for months, Then crashes down in angry stunts. No roots to catch it, drains too tight It pulls the metals … Read more
Project by Saad Khan , Sai Mohan Satwik and Baran Koc INTRODUCTION Our group was assigned to study the TMDC building, focusing on its material composition, spatial qualities, and potential for on-site material reuse. The goal is to explore how the existing structure can become a source for recycled construction materials, which we would then … Read more
a BIOCHAR BASED concrete WITH A negative carbon footprint BARA is an opportunity to build negative carbon constructionsystems by rethinking concrete and methods used in the buildingindustry. Using on-site 3D printing and casting, entire buildings can beconstructed with reduced cement while storing and capturing carbon. The focus is on optimizing and improvingstructural performance, enhancing carbon … Read more
Generating the Optimal Pavilion Design through Sunlight-Driven Evolutionary AlgorithmsLocation: Poblenou, Barcelona This project explores a generative design workflow applied to pavilion architecture in Poblenou, Barcelona, where sunlight is a critical environmental factor. Using evolutionary algorithms, we generate an optimized pavilion form that responds to solar exposure, ventilation, and material efficiency. Inspired by the natural selection principle from John Holland’s genetic … Read more
