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.
Urban Complexity: Rethinking Space & Knowledge
01 Reading as Urban InsightIn a rapidly urbanizing world, the ability to read critically across diverse mediums—both digital and print—serves as an indispensable tool for interpreting the complexities of urban theory. Techniques like HYPERREADING, which facilitates navigation through vast digital information, and CLOSE READING, which emphasizes deep textual analysis, are crucial for decoding the nuanced … Read more
Fields at Play
Fields at Play identifies the value of gender inequality in Olympic infrastructure and proposes to leverage the derived $12.6B Olympic gender gap in sports facilities to fund the revitalization and ongoing program of reliable, safe, and comfortable spaces for women at risk of gender-based violence. Understanding the purpose and outcomes of Olympic infrastructure strategies in … Read more
Guidebook on Urban Degrowth
The Case of Tourism in Barcelona The “Guidebook on Urban Degrowth” explores applying degrowth principles in urban planning to promote social well-being and ecological equity in cities. This thesis develops guidelines to shift from high-consumption economic models to those that emphasize environmental balance and social equity. Focusing on Barcelona, it addresses the challenges of over-tourism, … Read more
Forms of Inadequacy in Dakar
Abstract Dakar is Senegal’s capital city and rapidly urbanizing economic center. Today, Dakar’s urban area is home to 3.54M people, half of Senegal’s population, and generates 55% of the Country’s GDP. This growth is artificially constrained by an urban growth boundary, where new homes are informally built, and due to the city’s topography, a peninsula … Read more
MetaGrid
Metagrid represents a new way to explore urbanism, tailored for the context and its stakeholders. This project redefines ‘Agriculture’ to encompass not only the process of production but also broader elements like programs, solicitations, patterns, matters, behaviors, and networks, enabling innovative, open strategic approaches. Metagrid aims to reactivate Parc Agrari in Llobregat through Land Art, … Read more
Thirst For Change
Abstract Latin America finds itself at a crossroads, facing a tightening grip from a seemingly paradoxical situation: a growing scarcity of water amidst regions prone to both droughts and floods. This foundational story explores the current and future drought conditions gripping the continent, highlighting the environmental, social, and economic challenges at play. Introduction Understanding the … Read more
Rising Waters
The year is 2100. Latin America is sinking. Due to global warming the polar icecaps have almost melted completely. In addition the increased temperature has caused the global water mass to expand by almost 1%. As a consequence sea levels are rising at unprecedented levels globally. The coastline in South America is hard-hit by these … Read more
Empowering Vulnerable People with Adaptive Infrastructure
Every individual, regardless of age or economic status, can play a crucial role in shaping a sustainable future. In Viladecans, a gamified co-design process is recommended to turn this vision into reality. Challenges of an aging population, energy poor buildings, and coastal climate change vulnerability may be aligned with public program priorities to adapt Viladecans’ … Read more
Agent Simulation_Measuring Intervention Impact
Visualizing an urban simulation of free-agents affected by a specific intervention The Objective The objective of the project was to simulate the movement of people within a specific neighborhood in the city of Viladecans, Spain, and visualize the difference the movement patterns of the free agents would take prior to the intervention vs post intervention. … Read more
Hyperenergetic Viladecans
By 2100, the global temperature is forecasted to increase from 2 to 4 degrees Celsius due the effects of Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Human Activities. The City of Viladecans has developed a Vision by 2030 which expects the city to become EMISSIONS NEUTRAL, and EMISSIONS NEGATIVE by 2050. For approaching this goal, HYPENERGETIC VILADECANS establishes … Read more
45 Years of Piracy: Strengthening Global Maritime Security through Non-Military Approaches
Our project embarked on a mission to tackle global shipping piracy without resorting to military action. We faced a major challenge: finding and using publicly available information to craft a proposal that countries and international organizations would support. 1. WHY SHIPPING PIRACY? Within the context of Networked Flows, our directive was to pinpoint potential disruptions … Read more
Trencadís
Abstract Trencadís transforms a transitory sidewalk to resident alcoves through the implementation of trencadís, a dynamic mosaic art form that responds to the distinctive needs and material preferences of its creators. The design approach is centered on understanding and reacting to resident preferences to resolve site challenges. Non-descript materiality is replaced with a parametric, pervious … Read more
Slo-Mo-Go: Tourism in Slow Motion
A digital tool proposed to re-boost the economy of Ciutat Vella, Barcelona Overview Ciutat Vella being the oldest district of the city of Barcelona was founded in the 1500 BC. The Ciutat Vella district was a very important economic hub for Barcelona. But in the recent times, the district faces problems that are characterised by … Read more
La Zona Franca, Barcelona. A new centrality?
The Zona Franca in Barcelona is an area that receives thousands of workers everyday and, having The Port, is one of the main points of contact of the city with the rest of the world. Through a quick analysis based on an understanding of the site, questions and issues within Barcelona’s ‘Free-Trade’ zone are tackled … Read more
Routing Accessibility
Background Public transportation plays a crucial role in urban planning globally. Extensive research indicates that bus transit has become a highly favored mass mobility system. This preference stems from its cost-effective infrastructure, flexible planning, and discrete architecture that supports incremental growth. Bus transit systems exhibit lower infrastructure costs compared to rail or subway networks, making … Read more
Environmental Asset Resilience
The Environmental Asset Resilience (EAR) Tool is a response to the pressing global challenge of environmental instability, particularly in urban areas. These areas face substantial costs associated with environmental problems and climate change. However, decision-making in addressing these issues is complicated by conflicting priorities, limited resources, and a lack of expertise. The EAR Project aims … Read more
ONE MUMBAI CITIZEN TOOL
INTRODUCTION Urbanization poses escalating threats to ecological systems, necessitating the creation of urban ecological commons. This exercise focuses on Mumbai’s metro network, comprising 357 kilometres, 16 lines, and 38 interchanges, as a context for enhancing neighbourhood biodiversity through strategic environment plugins. By leveraging NDVI mapping from Google Earth Engine, areas with high ecological threats and … Read more
Urban mining in the city of pre-cast concrete
Singapore, a quickly developing city-state is running out of land and linear expansion with new housing will soon no longer be an option. The project strategically targets public housing as a place of densification and a source of urban mining, aiming to solve the problem of upcoming precast concrete waste. Therefore a circular micro-district design … Read more
Housing for the Urban Poor
Considering the imminent demolition and in-situ rehabilitation of highly dense slum settlements, how might the application of generative algorithms facilitate the maximization and optimization of housing units within the existing spatial constraints? The slums and the unauthorized colonies are located across Delhi to identify which zones needs in-situ slum rehabilitation, there are over 700 slum … Read more
