The Integrative Technologies & Architectural Design Research M.Sc. Program is an interdisciplinary, research-oriented, experiment-based program shaped around contemporary aspects of the built environment and practice.
The goal of the ITECH program is to prepare a new generation of students from different disciplines for the continuing advancement of technological and computational processes in development of the built environment through merging the fields of architecture, engineering, construction and natural sciences. Combining an intensive, critical and analytical approach to computational design, simulation and fabrication processes, the ITECH program is focusing on challenging the design space boundaries of current contemporary architectural and engineering practice. It seeks to provoke a re-examination of techniques, methods and theories of design in relation to the fields of engineering, robotics, digital manufacturing, computer science, material science, and biology.
Technological progress has always been a catalyst for design innovation in architecture and construction. Today, technological advancements across multiple disciplines suggest a profound transformation of the way the future built environment is conceived, designed and materialized. New alliances are being forged between the fields of design, engineering and natural sciences, leading to novel interdisciplinary and multifaceted design cultures. Design plays a critical role in this transformation: Here, the notion of design is extended beyond the design of space, surface and structure to the design of processes, systems and reciprocities.
The ITECH program investigates the realm of integrative technological advancements as novel potentials in architecture and construction. It seeks to prepare students for the complex contemporary conditions found in the building industry, which is facing stringent environmental and economic challenges while experiencing the emergence of new technical opportunities at an unprecedented speed. Thus, the master’s program is inquiry-oriented, experiment-based and shaped around contemporary aspects of design research. Students will engage in cutting-edge computational architectural design techniques, structural and climate engineering and advanced fabrication and construction technologies. The interrelation of such topics will be exposed both as a technical and an intellectual venture.
The program offers the opportunity to study with one of the leading teams for technological and computational design research. As a team, the partner institutes strive to present students with a cutting-edge educational experience that fosters the development of one’s individual interests in architectural design, structures, technology and computation.
The program is open to students with a recognized bachelor’s degree in architecture (or architectural science), civil / structural engineering, urban planning, computer science, biology or biomimetics, environmental engineering or similar engineering or natural science degrees.
All program courses are instructed in English. The modules of the core ITECH program are taught by researchers at ICD and ITKE with oversight of Professor Menges and Professor Knippers and input from visiting researchers and scientists.
The program is structured as a 2 year professional master’s degree for students with a 3 year bachelor’s degree. However, students with a suitable 4 years bachelor’s degree or students who already hold a master’s degree may apply for advanced standing after enrolment– subject to the review by the university. Such applicants will be considered for placement in the third semester of the program.
If you are an architect, engineer, materials scientist, biologist, or other with a deep interest in how the design and fabrication of our built environment will develop alongside increasingly powerful computation and fabrication technology, the ITECH M.Sc. Program is for you. The course considers how known and experimental computational systems, materials and fabrication techniques might be applied within the context of architecture and the wider AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) industry. The program seeks to foster collaboration between students, researchers and industry professionals from multiple compatible fields within this area.