About

The BAC is an organization chaired by Miguel Roldán, Principal Architect of Barcelona based  Roldan + Berengue arqts, which offers academic stays in Barcelona to foreign architecture schools. It was created with the aim of developing academic and research collaborations with other universities and higher education institutions across the globe. We are continually building an international network between universities to develop architectural research projects in common. This network includes new partners every year from a variety of geographical areas, as we are especially interested in focusing on local and global points of view.

History

Over the last 14 years our program directors have had many different experiences in organizing innovative workshops, such as FAST and Groundcontrol, programs devised with the intention of training young Catalan and Dutch architects in the frame of European urban and landscape design tendencies.

We have kept exchange programs with: ITESM, Monterrey, México from 2002-2008, Texas A&M University, USA since 2000, Clemson University, USA since 1999, the University of Texas at San Antonio | UTSA 2008-2009 Université de Montréal, Canada, 2003-2006, the Universidad Iberoamericana de México, 2001. The BAC has reached a number of over 1000 students since its foundation

Currently, we are collaborating with several American and Asian universities. This year we welcomed a group of Japanese students from the Shibaura Institute, Chiba University, Tama Art University,  Toyo University, Tokyo University of Arts, Kyoto University of Art & Design, Hosei University and Tokyo University of Science.

Our goals

To develop an international synergy between students from different parts of the world in an interdisciplinary architecture environment using Barcelona as a platform to work in the European context.

To establish different collaborations between Barcelona’s institutions and foreign ones, whether they be public or private, academic or professional, in order to promote future common projects within the frame of architectural teaching and research, while at the same time enhancing international mobility for students and faculty.

To promote graduate research programs between universities from different countries.

To establish international standards for the teaching of architecture in order to recognize distinct credit systems and to facilitate the sharing of experiences abroad for all academic members.

To generate experiences that may lead to the systematization of non-traditional architectural teaching methods, especially non-presential ones, including the consideration of a future On-line Campus to teach and research architecture via Internet.