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.
Science Fiction is a literary genre known for creating future worlds that emerge as the consequence of today’s cultural and technological realities. It is in this worldbuilding -where societies, their functioning, and the dynamics that govern them are imagined- where Sci-Fi shows similarities to the disciplines of design and architecture. To explore the design possibilities … Read more
Finding stories in an ‘altered’ normal of a digitally blended reality. IIn “Ready Player One,” directed by Steven Spielberg, the OASIS Corporation controls a vast virtual reality universe that serves as the film’s central setting. This digital utopia offers an escape from a dystopian reality predominated by the prevalence of the emergent over stacking of … Read more
Sterling, B (2015) imagined four fictitious scenarios of how future skyscrapers might be, differentially equalizing the state of technology and the economic-political climate: Future skyscraper 1: Huge, lopsided pyramid Future skyscraper 2: No-nonsense, mil-spec fortress Future skyscraper 3: Colossal, awkward tower Future skyscraper 4: Postindustrial, digitized monster In our last scenario, the Smart City has … Read more
Skyscrapers are human achievements that require innovation in the extraction of land to tower over its neighbors. The third skyscraper future reflects the past imaginary of Fritz Lang’s, Metropolis. This visualization aims to highlight the economic disparities and labor oppression depicted in the film, contrasting them with the modern logics of rentism as embodied by … Read more
In the realm of speculative urban design, the fusion of cyborg skyscrapers and utopian visions offers a captivating journey into the convergence of reality and imagination. Inspired by Fritz Lang’s timeless sci-fi masterpiece ‘Metropolis,’ I embark on a deep dive into the intricate relationship between design, urbanization, and speculative fiction. Metropolis, Fritz Lang (1927) “Metropolis” … Read more
“Blade Runner 2049” is a good example of how urban landscapes will be shaped differently in response to environmental collapse and societal stress. Designed by communities dominated by fear of losing their stability under an authoritarian social logic, the film features Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Reimagined as part of Bruce Sterling’s, What skyscrapers might … Read more
Where is Lahore? Lahore, the capital city of the Punjab province in Pakistan, is a historic urban center known for its rich culture, vibrant life, and significant economic contributions. Situated near the eastern border with India, Lahore stands as a testament to centuries of evolution, from a small walled city to a sprawling metropolis. As … Read more
Introduction: Shorter & Sharper Events Imagine the persistent drumming of rain against your window. Not the comforting tapping of a spring shower, but a relentless torrent that seems to prolong for days. This isn’t science fiction, but a glimpse into the potential future of many Latin American cities. A staggering 40% of the region is … Read more
URBAN RESILIENCE : A dynamic governance framework for the Anthropocene, urban resilience combines ecological strategies with infrastructure safeguarding, embracing diverse, site-specific approaches to ensure cities withstand and adapt to crises, thereby maintaining their core identity and functions. URBAN FUTURES: Reimagining sustainable cities in the climate crisis era, grounded in today’s social realities and informed by … Read more
The seminar involved analyzing texts to extract and interpret a key term, then creatively visualizing this concept through the blending of urban textures and landscapes, crafting surreal cityscapes that reflect the nuanced meanings of these terms. The texts explored the themes of: Urban Resilience Definition: The capacity of urban areas to adapt to crises, focusing … Read more
Islandisation a strategy, that seeks disengagement from interconnected networks. With contextual roots in historical urbanization, islandisation signifies a new era of Anthropocene coastal adaptation, divergent from traditional resilience strategies. It serves as a protective shield, selectively severing detrimental ties while upholding others. Resilience is a concept mobilized in urban studies,shaped by sociopolitical forces, and harnessed … Read more
In the realm of urban theory, navigating through dense academic papers and theoretical frameworks can often feel like traversing uncharted territory. The intricacies of language and abstract concepts can obscure the underlying essence, leaving many grappling for clarity. However, in the age of artificial intelligence, I have embarked on a groundbreaking journey to decode the … Read more
Based on the theoretical frameworks of diverse urban theorists, this project explored multiple dynamics between the metropolis, design, and technology within the context of the Anthropocene epoch and the rise of technology. The following lexicon was developed and graphically illustrated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence, creating images that aim to cause a cognitive effect … Read more
Black Holes | Black holes accumulate mass with such force that light cannot escape. The invisible hand drove technological innovation resulting in economies of scale to production. This allowed for flexibility in the accumulation of capital and its products, compressing relative time and space, giving way to increasingly accessible and ephemeral consumption of goods, services, … Read more
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Introduction The contemporary postcard city of Barcelona is supported by a world wide web of hidden urbanization. One of the closest and most prominent hidden pieces of urbanization of Barcelona is found in the Besós Valley. When going on site, we encountered a fragmented urban landscape of logistical infrastructure, urban wasteland, scattered agriculture and haphazard … Read more
“The women argued it was not a bad thing to be able to know instantly by scanning who one is dealing with. Someone remembered a proposal that democracy might best be served by opening up the data banks to everyone rather than trying to do without them or, even worse, pretending they did not exist. … Read more
The image was created to depict an exaggeration of a Lagos market scene. In Lagos Nigeria, there is an obsession by the state to build “ultra-modern“ shopping facilities to house commercial activities. However, due to the high cost of rent of these facilities as well as the culture of traditional markets in Nigeria, traders and … Read more
