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# Theory

Design Beyond the Project: Reframing Practice Through Scalable Digital Services


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

A conversation with Jesper Wallgren Introduction In recent years, computational design and BIM workflows have become common tools in architectural practice. However, most of these tools remain confined to individual projects, often developed as internal scripts or one-off automation solutions to solve immediate design problems. While effective in improving efficiency within a project, these tools … Read more

Automated Scan-to-BIM workflows through artificial intelligence: A Conversation with Václav Nežerka


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

From Point Clouds to Digital Twins: Inside the Cloud2BIM Workflow The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is currently undergoing a major technological shift. We are witnessing a definitive transition from manual, labor-intensive site measurements to AI-driven scan-to-BIM workflows. The goal is clear: to unlock the digital potential of existing buildings by creating high-fidelity records … Read more

Bridging the Gap: What Two Computational Industrial Designers Taught Me About Getting In


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

Computational design can feel like a field you need permission to enter, a space guarded by complex software, specialized knowledge, and a career path that isn’t clearly written anywhere. But after sitting down separately with Aaron Porterfield, developer of the open-source Grasshopper plugin Crystallon, and Aman Agrawal, founder of Cademy and computational design specialist at … Read more

Community Connections


MAA 2025-2026 by
MAA 2025-2026

Trinitat Nova and Trinitat Vella Scavenger Hunt   Moving between the neighborhoods of Trinitat Nova and Trinitat Vella in Barcelona, and reaching natural landscapes nearby, like the Collserola hillside or the Besòs River, can already feel a bit like a scavenger hunt. Large highway infrastructures carve through the area, creating barriers that make simple trips … Read more

Business Entrepreneurship


MAEBB 2025-2026 by
MAEBB 2025-2026

Atticus Cummings MAEBB02 2025/2026 Professor Davide Rovera A startup is a temporary tool for gaining an understanding of a market and business model. In the IAAC business Entrepreneurship Seminar we learned about how to explore a potential startup idea, validate the problem, engage and validate customers, quantify a market opportunity, evaluate competition, fund a startup, … Read more

Repositioning Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence and Decision-Making in AEC


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

MACAD 25-26 Theory Seminar Reflection This essay reflects on my evolving understanding of the purpose of Artificial Intelligence in architecture, engineering, and construction following the Theory seminar at MACAD. Rather than attempting a comprehensive overview, it centres on a specific experience that crystallised broader implications about how these tools are restructuring design practice. My initial … Read more

Make the Vulnerable, Less Vulnerable


MaCT-01 2025-2026 by
MaCT-01 2025-2026

Brazil Vulnerability Cartography Brazil, a vast and vibrant country, is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes from rolling highlands to expansive savannas. It’s known for iconic beaches and bustling urban centers where a dynamic blend of cultures and ethnicities come together. Its cities hum with energy, music, and art. Together, these diverse landscapes and rich social … Read more

From Design to Construction: A Conversation With Oriol Carrasco


MRAC-01 2025-2026 by
MRAC-01 2025-2026

Oriol Carrasco – Anomaly.Build Oriol Carrasco is a PhD architect from Barcelona. He is a senior fabrication expert at IAAC with extensive expertise in composite manufacturing. Oriol currently teaches in MAA and 3DpA programs. He has been co-leading the Design with Nature research line since 2013, teaching now in the metabolic introductory studio.  He has … Read more

Cities on the Edge


MaCT-01 2025-2026 by
MaCT-01 2025-2026

How borders shape frontiers of urban life? I. Introduction Borders are often perceived as abstract lines on maps, yet they deeply shape how cities grow, connect, and fragment. Cities located along international borders experience unique spatial, social, and political conditions that distinguish them from inland urban areas. This project investigates borders not as static lines, … Read more

URBAN-Ai: AI based forecasting platform that predicts evolution of urban density and land-use.


MaAI-01 2025-2026 by
MaAI-01 2025-2026

The growth of cities on an urban level has been very random and often scattered due to several reasons, like; UNDPREDICTABLE URBAN GROWTH, DYNAMIC ZONING TRENDS and SHIFTING DEMANDS. This has led to the cities being have to be planned reactively rather than proactively. This has led to a problem of cities being inefficient, rising … Read more

Theory & Context＿Circular Matter


MRAC-01 2025-2026 by
MRAC-01 2025-2026

In her lecture titled Circular Matter, Areti Markopoulou examined the urgent transition from a linear to a circular paradigm within the built environment. She began by outlining the structural problems embedded in today’s construction industry, which relies heavily on resource-intensive, difficult-to-recover materials. As cities continue to expand, this linear “extract–manufacture–use–discard” model has become environmentally unsustainable. Markopoulou … Read more

Beyond Efficiency


MaCAD 2025-2026 by
MaCAD 2025-2026

The Purpose of AI in the Age of Resource Scarcity Introduction: Redefining the Question The question “What is the purpose of AI in AEC?” often elicits a predictable response focused on speed. For years the industry has viewed Artificial Intelligence primarily as a mechanism for automation. It is seen as a faster way to produce … Read more