IAAC GLOBAL SUMMER SCHOOL 2025

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) opens the doors to a new edition of the Global Summer School (GSS), blending both online and onsite workshops and creating a common platform for students all over the world with IAAC network of experts and renowned lecturers in the main educational experience of summer 2025.

For over 15 years, IAAC’s faculties and students have collaborated both in person & online, with the aim of fostering knowledge sharing and expertise exchange within a global learning community comprising architects, engineers, designers, and innovators.

This summer, IAAC proposes a modular workshop model for GSS, aiming to enhance hands-on experiences at IAAC Barcelona while maintaining digital accessibility through an agile online format. GSS25 offers participants the opportunity to engage in four workshops focusing on the latest digital tools and software, covering topics such as computation and digital fabrication, advanced computational design, digital data & urban analytics and artificial intelligence in architecture.

Throughout the years, GSS workshops have represented a celebration of forward-looking education, inviting participants to envision a new paradigm of Advanced Architecture across various scales. The learning objectives of GSS encourage exploration of new design solutions, architectures, and tools, empowering participants to become change-makers in the evolving world and society.

Thanks to its intensive and dynamic format, GSS participants have the flexibility to tailor their own learning journey, either through a two-week onsite workshop at IAAC or by selecting one or more online modules offered throughout July 2025. Led by IAAC faculties and alumni, the GSS workshops ensure immersive workflows and individual project exploration and development.

Furthermore, GSS participants will have the opportunity to apply to the GSS onsite workshop in Barcelona, or join the GSS experience in any of the IAAC GSS Nodes located around the world. After 4 years, the GSS Nodes are back! 

Join the IAAC GSS programme this summer, and choose one or more workshops to become part of the GSS community!

GSS25 WORKSHOPS OVERVIEW

GSS25 ON SITE

Key topics: Advanced Architecture, Design, Prototyping, Digital Fabrication, Urbanism
Location: IAAC Barcelona
Modality: In person workshop 

SYLLABUS

APPLY HERE

Eligibility: The GSS25 In-person workshop is open to creative and innovative people who are interested in fields such as advanced architecture, urban planning, digital fabrication, design, arts searching for a multidisciplinary experience in an international environment. No previous skills are required, although CAD design, programming and digital fabrication skills are welcome. The official language of the course is English.

Certification: Upon completing the course, participants will acquire both theoretical and practical expertise in contemporary design, fabrication, and urban innovation strategies. They will gain proficiency in parametric software, data visualization, and digital fabrication tools. At the conclusion of the workshop, each participant will be awarded a Global Summer School Diploma certificate.

GSS25 In-person workshop fee is 1000€ for early bird offer within 31st May 2025, including all material costs needed for the course. The final application deadline is 30th June. After that fee will be 1200€. No additional registration fee is required. Flight tickets, accommodation and food are not included in the fee. Each participant should bring his/her/their own computer with the software installed. Further details about the software will be given to the participants closer to the workshop’s beginning.

Visa: Each participant is responsible to fr their visa process and should follow embassy guidelines to prepare the required documents for visa with timely manner.  IAAC can provide an invitation letter regarding the attendance of the course, and will assist the visa process, wherever possible. You can refer to [email protected] for any further questions.

Accommodation in Barcelona will not be included. IAAC will support and advise participants looking for accommodation. Upon arrival each participant will receive welcome kit and access card to IAAC facilities. Transportation between IAAC facilities will be taken care by IAAC on necessary occasion.

ADVANCED STEREOTOMIC   
Computational descriptive geometries

“Stereotomy” is the art and science of cutting three-dimensional solids into particular shapes. Formulated in the 16th–17th century, stereotomy is valuable in contemporary architecture, and research about it continues today in various centers around the world. The reason for this is a sense of constructive rationalisation inherent to the discipline of stereotomy which permits the optimization of structural form through the knowledge of geometry and cutting techniques and to simplify it using advanced technologies and techniques for design and production of building elements.  

The course will focus on the design of shell structures with discretised building blocks for 3d printing technology. With the help of computational design workflows and optimization processes, we will deal with form finding exploration with live physics simulations, FEM analysis and stereotomic subdivision for the production of rationalised interlocking structural elements that can self-support structural loads. 

Learning objectives

  • Understand fundamentals of computational design
  • Be introduced to logical algorithm thinking 
  • Have knowledge of basic concepts of generative design
  • Be capable of generating parameterised processes
  • Learn how to create dynamic modelling and fabrication workflows
  • Learn basic concepts of funicular structures and basic structural analysis methods
  • Learn about  Stereotomic subdivision and voussoirs generation

FACULTY: Rodrigo Aguirre // IAAC Computational Design Expert
FACULTY ASSISTANT: Ashkan Foroughi // IAAC Computational Designer

Full Syllabus & Schedule 

GSS25 ONLINE

Key topics: Generative AI, Sustainable design, Regenerative Design, AI-driven workflows, Simulation, Generative design

Modality: Online (Synchronous & Asynchronous format)

SYLLABUS

APPLY HERE

Workshop calendar type: each participant will choose to join the workshop following the Synchronous or Asynchronous format. You find more information on the Synchronous and Asynchronous connection time within the course syllabus.
Schedule: Monday to Friday, including the closing Diploma ceremony. Participants will join live lectures, mentoring and practice with exercises and reviews.
Eligibility. The Generative AI for Architecture workshop is open to all applicants with a bachelor degree (also in progress) in any field related to Architecture, Design, Arts and Engineering. The participants do not need any prior coding or parametric design knowledge. Getting familiar with Rhino Grasshopper ahead of the workshop will make progress easier. CV and portfolio are not required to take part in the workshop.

DESIGN FOR ROBOTICS 
Fabrication through remote controlled robots

Although reusing reclaimed material can significantly reduce the environmental impact in building construction, current design processes are not set up for this shift in thinking. Contrary to conventional practices, designing within the constraints of available material means that geometry and topology cannot be fully pre-determined. What if an industrial robotic arm had to perform different tasks in unknown environments? 

In order to challenge the conventional conceptual framework posed by notational systems, this workshop will focus on the design and fabrication of 2D no-standardised elements, offering the opportunity to develop experience on working with robotic sensor data and integrate the data into the computational design. The students will explore different design intentions through the definition of performance criteria parameters, which are constantly evaluated and adjusted in real-time.  The application generated at the end of the workshop will be the assembly of a mosaic using recycled leftover pieces where the closed-loop system will guide the robotic arm to choose the right piece in each step of the process. Participants will have the unique opportunity to remote control robots in IAAC and will learn about the necessary technology to execute the project while having the possibility to design and make their own assembly processes.

Learning objectives

  • Be introduced to integrated computational design and robotic fabrication
  • Be introduced to robotic fabrication
  • Learn the concepts of sensor feedback and machine vision
  • Learn how to perform online robotic control methods

FACULTY: Soroush Garivani // IAAC Robotic Fabrication Expert
FACULTY: Seyed Mobin Moussavi // TWE and EDEK Robotic Fabrication Expert

Full Syllabus & Schedule 

GSS25 ONLINE

Key topics: Complex Geometry, Rationalization, Environmental Analysis, Machine Learning, Geometry Analysis, Generative Design, Facade Engineering

Modality: Online (Synchronous & Asynchronous format)

SYLLABUS 

APPLY HERE

Workshop calendar type: each participant will choose to join the workshop following the Synchronous or Asynchronous format. You will find more information on the Synchronous and Asynchronous connection time within the course syllabus.
Schedule: Monday to Friday, including the closing Diploma ceremony. Participants will join live lectures, mentoring and practice with exercises and reviews.
Eligibility: The Advanced Computation for Design workshop is open to all applicants with a bachelor degree (or in progress) in any field related to Architecture, Design, Social Sciences, Arts and Engineering. Any skills and understanding of parametric tools (Grasshopper) is welcome. CV and portfolio are not required to take part in the workshop.

URBAN ANALYTICS
Understanding cities through big data mapping

Data is everything, and is everywhere. From our social interactions to the way we work, there is not a single moment of our days that isn’t propelled nor generating some sort of data. These bits of information have saturated our cities radically transforming their productive sectors, and are now food for training models and AI, which are promising to drastically alter our perception of society. It became clear that quantity does not stand quality and data ownership, interoperability, scalability, and – more important – objectivity are key topics around which the future is currently being debated. 

These challenges call for designers and creative thinkers to reconsider our interactions with data. They demand innovative solutions that hack the current status quo and switch the paradigm from a mere bits-to-product extraction to a real citizen empowerment. Participants will be introduced to geospatial data analytics with a specific focus on the understanding and representation of urban patterns, following the question of what is the nature of the city through the lens of its services and urban fabric. 

Main tools: Rhinoceros, Grasshopper 3D.

Learning objectives

  • Manipulate and combine data from different data source and data typologies
  • Set up a flexible protocol to analyse different urban contexts in the world
  • Learn the fundamentals of APIs
  • Learn how to creatively represent geospatial data and how to create a web map

FACULTY: Iacopo Neri // IAAC Computational Urban Design Expert
FACULTY: Eugenio Bettucchi // IAAC Engineer & Computational Design Expert

Full Syllabus & Schedule

GSS25 ONLINE

Key topics: Digital Innovation, Data Analytics, Co-design, Inclusive Cities, Urban Data.

Modality: Online (Synchronous & Asynchronous format)

SYLLABUS

APPLY HERE

Workshop calendar type: Each participant will choose to join the workshop following the Synchronous or Asynchronous format. You can find more information on the Synchronous and Asynchronous connection time within the course syllabus.
Schedule: Monday to Friday, including the closing Diploma ceremony. Participants will join live lectures, mentoring and practice with exercises and reviews.
Eligibility: The Urban Analytics for Data Driven & People Centred Cities workshop is open to all applicants with a bachelor degree (or in progress) in any field related to Architecture, Design, Arts, Engineering and understanding of any parametric tools. Any skills and understanding of QGIS tools is welcome. CV and portfolio are not required to take part in the workshop.

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN   
Computational modelling and simulations

Over the last years, sustainability has become a key topic in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Professionals involved in AEC have the opportunity to impact change within the environment, and thus the responsibility to do so from a standpoint of knowledge and diligent evaluation. Aligned with the necessity for performance-aware design, a growing suite of environmental analysis and simulation tools are developed and readily available within mainstream CAD frameworks. Literacy around environmental data analysis and the ability to use environmental simulation as drivers of the design process is key to the toolset of the emergent architects, urban planners, and decision-makers. This workshop aims to take students through the complete workflow of evidence-based environmental design supported by a generative optimization framework to enable the exploration of vast design spaces.

Starting from the analysis of an existing unused plot or a site selected for rehabilitation, students will formulate the design problem, develop an optimization hypothesis, parametrically explore the wide solution space and propose an optimal solution supported by data. This hands-on investigation will enable students to apply state of the art analytical techniques to complex problems in real context.

Learning objectives

  • Learn key concepts of environmental analysis using parametric tools
  • Understand concepts of multi-objective optimization
  • Understand how to define sustainability goals as measurable design parameters
  • Learn to setup a generative optimization process
  • Be capable to perform multi objective optimization on a parametric model
  • Be able to set out an optimization strategy on a given problem

FACULY: Oana Taut // IAAC Computational Design Expert
FACULY ASSISTANT: Ivan Marchuk // IAAC Computational Designer

Full Syllabus & Schedule

GSS BARCELONA NODE & ONLINE WORKSHOPS FACULTY TEAM

HOW TO APPLY

Are you looking for summer courses focussing on advanced architecture, digital fabrication, computational and environmental design, urban analytics and AI?

You can register to one or more GSS courses by filling the GSS application form, filling out personal details and your choice of workshop(s).

The deadlines for the applications are:

 Advanced Architecture, Design & Urbanism workshop: 30th June, 2025 at 16:00 (CEST)
Generative AI for Architecture workshop: 4th July, 2025 at 11:00 (CEST)
Advanced Computation for Design workshop: 11th July, 2025 at 11:00 (CEST)
Urban Analytics for Data Driven & People Centred Cities workshop: 18th July, 2025 at 11:00 (CEST)

ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN & URBANISM

Date: Monday 7th of July to Friday 18th of July, 2025

Apply now 

ADVANCED COMPUTATION FOR DESIGN

Date: Monday 14th July to Friday 18th July, 2025

Apply now 

Generative AI for Architecture

Date: Monday 7th July – Friday 11th July, 2025

Apply now

URBAN ANALYTICS FOR DATA DRIVEN & PEOPLE CENTRED CITIES

Date: Monday 21st July to Friday 25th July, 2025

Apply now

Requirements: No previous extensive knowledge is required. Participants will be introduced to the workshops topics, softwares and tools through lectures and reviews.

WORKSHOP FEES

GSS25 Applications are open!

Applicants have diverse possibilities to participate in the GSS25 courses, applying to the on site workshop, either choosing the on site workshop combined with any online workshops, or being remote applying to one or more online workshops. Applications early birds fees deadlines is 31st May.

  • ON SITE WORKSHOP

  • 1000€
    EURO
  • 1200€
  • APPLY

  • 1 ONLINE WORKSHOP

  • 310€
    EURO
  • 380€
  • APPLY

  • 2 ONLINE WORKSHOPS

  • 520€
    EURO
  • 620€
  • APPLY

  • 3 ONLINE WORKSHOPS

  • 670€
    EURO
  • 800€
  • APPLY

Applications will be valid until the maximum number of students is reached and once the online application form and payment has been submitted. The GSS fee is a non-refundable payment. 

GSS NODES NETWORK

The GSS Nodes are back! IAAC has an active Alumni community distributed around the world, allowing a decentralized expansion of IAAC expertise and knowledge.

Thanks to the Alumni collaborations, IAAC empowers the bonds with the community members placing them in strategic countries to allow the GSS program global extension in different Nodes-cities globally, such us: Barcelona, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Bali, Tehran, Melbourne, Beirut, Istanbul, Colorado, Los Angeles, Qingdao, Dubai and more.

Counting on this network, the GSS participants can therefore choose the node to which apply to between the ones present in the IAAC GSS nodes network.
Explore IAAC GSS nodes and APPLY to one of them from the list below! Nodes information will be open soon!

IAAC GSS NETWORK

IAAC has an active Alumni community distributed around the world, allowing a decentralized expansion of IAAC expertise and knowledge.

Thanks to the Alumni collaborations, IAAC empowers the bonds with the community members placing them in strategic countries to allow the GSS program global extension in different Nodes-cities around the world, such us: Barcelona, New York City, Hong Kong, Pune, Manila, Tehran, Melbourne, Beirut, Budapest, Shanghai, Quito and more.

Counting on this network, the GSS participants can therefore choose the node to which apply to between the ones present in the IAAC GSS nodes network.
Explore our GSS nodes and APPLY to one of them from the list below! Coming soon nodes will open soon.

GLOBAL TEAM

IAAC Global Summer School 2020 dates are from the 29th June to the 11th July 2020. You can submit your application until the 31st of May 2020 // seats are limited.

Applications will be accepted until the maximum number of students is reached and considered valid once all required documents mentioned in the online application form of each node, including the receipt of the fee payment, have been submitted. Find detailed information about the fee payment and requirements within each node’s webpage.

FAQ

  1. Can I apply to the GSS courses?
    GSS courses are tailored for participants willing to improve their skills in one or any tools proposed in the GSS workshops.
    Participants can therefore choose to apply for one GSS  course or more than one (see EARLY BIRD OFFER > APPLY section).
  2. Does each GSS course provide a certificate?
    Yes, it does. After the completion of any GSS workshop, each GSS participant will receive the GSS Diploma certificate issued by IAAC.
  3. How can i get the full GSS certificate?
    By applying and attending to the full set of GSS online courses, the GSS participant will receive a full GSS diploma stating all the courses attended during the program.
  4. There will be any in person classes with instructors?
    The GSS on site workshop will be taking place at IAAC Barcelona.
    During the GSS online courses, participants will attend classes, lectures and final presentations connected into a unique online platform with IAAC faculties and international keynote speakers.
  5. How can I interact with other participants?
    For the GSS on site workshop, daily in person interaction will happen in Barcelona, at IAAC. The GSS online courses will be on ZOOM video meeting & conferencing platform, a very powerful tool which allows participants to interact during the classes with faculties and invited lecturers. A specific Slack channel will be available for chat support for the students during each workshop.

CONTACTS

Pujades 102 baixos, Poble Nou, 08005 Barcelona

Direct phone:
(+34) 93 320 95 20

IAAC GSS info at:
[email protected]