The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (; ) also known as IAAC, is an educational and research centre. Based in the

22@ 22@ (read in ), also known as 22@Barcelona and Districte de la innovació (''Innovation District'') is the corporative name given to an urban renewal area in Barcelona's formerly industrial area of Poblenou, in the district of Sant Martí, ni ...

district of Barcelona, one of the world’s capitals of architecture and urbanism, IAAC is a platform for the exchange of knowledge with faculty and students from over 40 countries, including United States, China, India,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Italy, Norway, Mexico and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. Students work simultaneously on multiple scales (city, building, manufacturing) and in different areas of expertise (ecology, energy, digital manufacturing, new technologies), pursuing their own lines of enquiry on the way to developing an integrated set of skills with which to act effectively in their home country or globally. IAAC has carried out research projects in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In 2008 it was chosen to take part in the official section of the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

with the project Hyperhabitat and in 2010 it presented a 1:1 scale house at the

Solar Decathlon Europe The Solar Decathlon Europe (SDE) is an international student-based Competition that challenges collegiate Teams to design, build and operate highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winner of the Competition is t ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

where it won the Peoples Choice Award has the most advanced digital production laboratory of any educational institution in southern Europe, with laser cutters, 3D printers, milling machines and a platform for manufacturing chips. IAAC also designed the first 3D printed bridge in the world in collaboration with

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

, which was built in

Alcobendas Alcobendas () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. It forms an urban continuum with the neighbouring municipality of San Sebastián de los Reyes. The affluent residential area of La Moraleja lies within the municipal l ...

(Spain) in 2016. IAAC offers a wide range of educational programmes in the field of advanced architecture, ecological buildings, city and technology, robotics and advanced construction, and design for emergent futures which are accredited by the UPC Polytechnic University. The Institute includes in its organization the research centre for self-sufficiency Valldaura Labs and the digital fabrication laboratory Fab Lab Barcelona, which is part of the global network of Fab Labs affiliated to MIT’s Center for Bit and Atoms.

Objectives

The main objective of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia is to stimulate, promote and develop research on the diverse areas of advanced architecture promoting the development of knowledge in architecture and its interaction with other disciplines. {{Authority control Technical universities and colleges Universities in Catalonia Catalan architecture International schools in Barcelona