Faculty
Guillem Camprodon is a designer and technologist working in the intersection between emergent technologies and grassroots communities. He is the executive director of Fab Lab Barcelona at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), a benchmark in the network of over 2000 Fab Labs and home of the Distributed Design Platform. He has a passion for teaching and is the co-director of the Master on Design For Emergent Futures (MDEF), a collaboration between IAAC and ELISAVA. Previously, he led Smart Citizen, a platform that opposes the traditional top-down Smart City model, empowering communities with tools to understand their environment. As a former research lead, he participated in many European-funded research and innovation projects, such as Making Sense, iSCAPE, GROW Observatory, Organicity, DECODE, ROMI and Reflow.
Saúl Baeza is DOES and MAYBE Creative Director, VISIONS BY Founder and Editor-in-chief and VIBE content director. While lecturing at Elisava Barcelona University of Design and Engineering he also researches functional and digital identities as part of the “Making with..." Research Group (TU Eindhoven Research) and "Futures Now" Research Group (Elisava Research). Saúl is the co-director of the Master in Design For Emergent Futures (MDEF), organised by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with the Fab Academy. Saúl has been visiting professor and lecturer at international universities, educational institutions and cultural venues such as Harvard GSD, Central Saint Martins and London College of Communication (UAL), Institute for advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), RMIT University Melbourne, Rhode Island School of Design, Pascual Bravo University in Medellín, Sónar+D, Victoria&Albert Museum, CCCB and DHUB, among others.
Chiara Dall’Olio is an Italian designer based in Barcelona. Architect and urban planner by training, she is currently the academic coordinator of the Master in Design for Emergent Futures and part of the Fab Academy global coordination team at Fab Lab Barcelona. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Ferrara, Italy. Master in City and Technology degree for IaaC, Barcelona, and Master in Urban and Territorial Planning for UPM, Madrid. Chiara has professional experience as an urban planner on several scales, from regional planning to small urban interventions. She applies the culture of planning to different fields: design, education, and research.
Pau Artigas is an Interactive Web Developer at Taller Estampa. Estampa is a collective of programmers, filmmakers and researchers, with a practice based on a critical and archaeological approach to audiovisual and digital technologies. Since 2017 they have developed an important amount of work focused on the uses and ideologies of AI, an interest that started with a project programmatically entitled The Bad Pupil. Critical pedagogy for Artificial Intelligences (2017-2018).
Laura Benitez has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is a researcher, and university lecturer. Her research connects philosophy, art(s), and technoscience. She is an associate professor at the Department of Philosophy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She also teaches at Elisava. She has served as the coordinator of the Theory area in the Arts and Design Degree at Massana, where she has taught Critical and Cultural Studies. She has been a visiting researcher at the Ars Electronica Center and the Center for Studies and Documentation of MACBA. She has also collaborated with international institutions such as Interface Cultures Kunstuniversität Linz, Sónar Festival (Barcelona/Hong Kong), Royal Academy of Arts London, and the University of Puerto Rico. Between 2019 and 2021, she directed Biofriction, a European project (Creative Europe) on bioart and biohacking practices, led by Hangar in collaboration with the Bioart Society, Kersnikova, and Cultivamos Cultura. She is co-director of the Master on Design For Emergent Futures (MDEF).
Milena Juarez (female) is a Brazilian environmental engineer with a master’s in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability and specialization in Urban and Industrial Ecology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. With a large experience in research, Milena has been actively involved in various interdisciplinary research projects in the field of circular economy, resilient cities, co-creation, and sustainable food. She currently coordinates the Barcelona pilot for CENTRINNO EU project at IAAC and works as an action researcher for the REFLOW and FOODSHIFT EU projects. As one of the responsible for community engagement at Fab Lab Barcelona, Milena supports the local activities at the Fab City Hub, a co-creation distributed space to design the future for urban self-sufficiency.
Albert is a multimedia engineer fascinated by the disruptive business models outside the pure digital domains. He founded ConsumoColaborativo in 2011 and since then he has been the reference in Spanish language for the collaborative economy. He also leads the OuiShare activities in Spain and Latin America.
In addition to teaching, speaking and writing about the impact of the collaborative business models, Albert is a consultant for startups, companies and public administrations who are willing to adapt their strategies to the collaborative era.
Author of “Vivir mejor con menos: descubre las ventajas de la economía colaborativa” (Conecta 2014)
Andres Colmenares (CO/ES) is the co-founder of IAM, the creative research and strategic design lab helping citizens and organisations make responsible decisions by using futures as tools to anticipate challenges and opportunities, while exploring the socio-ecological impacts of digital technologies and the internet(s) through collective learning initiatives, partnerships and commissioned projects. He is also strategic advisor for WeTransfer’s Supporting Act Foundation, director of the Master in Design for Responsible Artificial Intelligence systems at ELISAVA and faculty member of the Master in City & Technology at IAAC.
Nuria is a post-doctoral researcher at Complex Systems Laboratory at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in the PRBB. She holds a major in Biology and a engineering in informatics and performed her research thesis about Biocomputation, that it is at the interface of both fields. Nuria teaches biology for architects, artist and designers of IAAC, Elisava or Massana universities and is a founder member of the DIYBioBcn, the first biohacking group of Spain.
Christian Ernst is a creative technologist with a background in UX design. After finishing degrees at Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW), he studied the Master of Design for Emergent Futures at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and subsequently at ELISAVA Barcelona. Through his speculative practice he approaches technology critically and question it through different lenses. Projects are ranging from technological investigation into AI to speculative furniture design and multimedia installations. His works and live in Barcelona.
Santiago Fuentemilla Garriga , is Master degree in Architecture and postgraduate in digital fabrication and rapid prototyping (Fabacademy). He accumulates more than 15 years of experience in studios (OPR, FHAUS, OPERA, Brullet de Luna associats), designing multidisciplinary projects at an international level. Since 2013 he is part of the IAAC - Fab Lab BCN team, as coordinator and leader of Future Learning Unit (FLU), an area of research, design and implementation of innovative educational models that promote growth, learning and creativity to generate opportunities to achieve the goals and challenges of uncertain futures. FLU participates in private and EU funded research projects such as TEC-LA, Shemakes, Ruractive, DOIT, Phablabs 4.0, Creative Minds, among others. He is director of the global academic programs Fab Academy and Fabricademy, in the Barcelona node, executive board of Fab Learning Academy, and faculty of the Master in Design for Emergent Futures (MDEF) and The Master in Design for Distributed Innovation (MDDI).
Petra Garajová
Materials & Textiles
Petra is a Slovak designer with a background in architecture, exploring the boundaries of material science, digital manufacturing and textiles. Currently she is working in Fab Lab Barcelona as a Fabricademy Local Instructor. Her main interest arises from biology and waste materials which lie on the borders of various artistic disciplines. Nowadays, she is also a co-founder of the Experimental Design platform which is using fashion as a tool to reshape the connection between nature, soft materials and the human body using new technologies. Petra holds a Master’s degree in Arts and Architecture at the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague. After her architectural studies she graduated from Fabricademy – Textile and Technology Academy in Fab Lab Barcelona IAAC. During her studies she was part of Shemakes.eu European project as an Ambassador between Fab Lab Barcelona and TextileLab Iceland working on the Lab to Lab project – Rethinking Wool. Her Fabricademy final project was awarded the Young Scientist Award 2022.
Oscar Gonzalez
Sense Making Expert
Óscar González is an Industrial Engineer based in Barcelona with expertise in data analysis, testing and calibration through his experience in automotive and sensor development. Óscar is the Sense Making lead at Fab Lab Barcelona team doing research and development within the Smart Citizen project and is an instructor at the Fabacademy program.
Ariel Guersenzvaig is a lecturer at ELISAVA School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona (Spain). He combines his academic work with 20+ years of professional experience in the field of user experience and service design. He is the author of an upcoming book on design professional ethics (Rowman & Littlefield, April 2021). Besides professional ethics and design theory, another important locus of research is the ethical impact of machine intelligence on society, with a focus on autonomous weapons and algorithmic justice. He has published in academic journals such as ACM Interactions, SDN Touchpoints, AI & Society, Journal of Design Research, and IEEE Technology and Society Magazine. He holds a PhD in Design Theory from the University of Southampton (UK), an MA in Ethics from the University of Birmingham (UK).
Roger Guilemany is a founding member of the design cooperative aqui, where he contributes, through action research, to processes of ecosocial transition and the praxis of participatory design. As an independent researcher, he is interested in relationships and collaborative processes of situated production. With his design practice, he also collaborates with commoning projects and other self-governance structures.
Jessica Guy is a designer and action researcher. Jessica’s work focuses on exploring participatory practices, community engagement and capacity-building activities in European research projects on a global and local scale. Jessica holds a Master degree in Design for Emergent Futures organised by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with the Fab Lab Barcelona and Fab Academy. In the past, Jessica successfully graduated as an Industrial Designer (BA) at the Munich University for Applied Sciences and participated in the acceleration programme X-Futures by Fab Lab Barcelona. At Fab Lab Barcelona, Jessica is leading the global activities of the Creative Europe project Distributed Design Platform and co-leading the Erasmus+ Project Makeademy educational programme. Furthermore, they are the Make Works worldwide coordinator and lead of Make Works Catalonia. Jessica has contributed as a researcher to the European-funded projects Pop-Machina, CENTRINNO and REFLOW.
Born in Barcelona in 1995, Mikel has been doing art, graphic design and programming for video games and cinema until he discovered the amazing world of digital fabrication, the OpenSource community and makers to be related to different processes and characters of the sector. Until October 2021 he has been working as Manager of Fablab Barcelona, organising different things around the lab, including workshops, taking care of the machines, doing the necessary maintenance and teaching students not only how to use them but also how to become "makers". He has also been developing projects to empower people and communities to have access to technology in the most open way. When asked what he liked most about Fablab Barcelona he answers without a doubt: "Doing things" but "Doing open things". Since he left Fab Lab Barcelona in October 2021, he has been opening a new studio in Barcelona, called Facto, located in the Gràcia neighbourhood, where he has his own workshop and workspace for the development of projects, among which he is founding a design brand that works with recycled plastics.
Josep Martí is an Industrial Engineer from Barcelona. Josep started his career as a BI consultant but decided to change his professional path graduating from Fabacademy in 2019. Since then, he has taught digital fabrication, design and electronics in the Fablab, being part of the Future Learning Unit teaching in Fabacademy, Fabricademy and the Master in Design in Emergent futures. Recently, he started his path as a researcher in Erasmus+ projects. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology Engineering and a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, specialising in Automatic Control, both from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Fabacademy diploma. He has always been interested in the Maker culture and is always looking to learn and create new things.
Jonathan Minchin studied Fine Arts and Design Craftsmanship and digital Fabrication. He attained BA in Architecture and a masters degree MSC in ‘International Cooperation, Sustainable Emergency Architecture’ in 2010. He is coordinator of the EU funded research project called ROMI (Robotics for Microfarms) and has spoken at the European Commission and British Parliament.
In this field he has worked on housing and development projects alongside ‘Habitat for Humanity’ in Costa Rica, ‘UNESCO’ in Cuba and with ‘Basic Initiative’ in Tunisia.
He has worked in conjunction with ‘UN-Habitat’ in Barcelona and holds a particular interest in appropriate technology, bioregional industries and agroecology. His professional career has focused on architectural and urban development projects with Architects Offices in both England and Spain and his writing on “Geographic referencing for Technology Transfer” was published in the book “Reflections on Development and Cooperation” in 2011. He took part in the Fab Academy, Bio Academy and Coordinated the Green Fab Lab and Valldaura campus between 2012 and 2017.
Jonathan has also worked on the on the DIYBio Barcelona project.
Pietro Rustici is a computer scientist with a background in robotics and design. After finishing degrees at Delft University of Technology (TU), he studied the Master of Design for Emergent Futures at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and subsequently at ELISAVA Barcelona. Through the speculative practice his approach technology critically and question it through different lenses. Projects are ranging from technological investigation into AI to speculative furniture design and multimedia installations. He works and live in Barcelona.
Adai Surinach
Digital Fabrication Expert
Adai graduated with a superior degree in engraving and stamping techniques at Llotja School of Art and Design in Barcelona. After graduation, he became interested in 3D printing, taking him to get involved in Fab Labs until becoming an intern at Fab Lab Barcelona. Shortly after, Adai undertook Fab Academy in 2022 and started working at the lab in different projects like Smart Citizen and as an instructor in academic programs.
As a designer and researcher with a strong focus on sustainable practices and innovative design methodologies, Jana is committed to questioning and challenging the field of design. By continuously striving for movement and positive change, she puts sustainability, innovation, and care at the forefront of her work — which is always underpinned by post-humanist and feminist materialist thought. In her design practice, Jana’s work is community-driven and collaborative, working with other designers and artists to create thought-provoking installations and experiences.
Olga Trevisan is an Italian visual artist who graduated from I.U.A.V at the University in Venice and holds a Master’s Degree in Local Development from the University of Padua. Over the past ten years, she has been actively involved in European and international cross-disciplinary projects as an art and education facilitator and consultant, focusing on participatory practices and bottom-up strategies. One of her main focuses is to use arts and crafts to promote collaborative methodologies in local communities connecting them to global challenges. In 2022 she supported Centrinno EU project team and is now involved in Distributed Design and Dafne+ as EU Creative action researcher at IAAC | Fab Lab Barcelona.
Experienced Creative Director with 15+ years in global agencies and brands across Latin America and Europe. Holds a Master's in Future Design, specializing in digital manufacturing and emerging tech. Over 6 years of teaching in diverse universities, focusing on communication, creativity, design, and storytelling.
Founder of POWAR, a Barcelona-based R+D Ed-Tech studio driving planet-centred STEAM education. Known for strategic vision, expertise in innovation, project management, and audiovisual production. Researching around the future of education.
Ron Wakkary is full professor in the Future Everyday cluster. In addition, he is full professor at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University in Canada where he is director of the Interaction Design Research Centre and founder of the Everyday Design Studio. Wakkary is interested in design-oriented human-computer interaction, tangible computing and the philosophies of technologies through design. Wakkary’s research investigates the changing nature of interaction design in response to everyday design practices in the home and new understandings of human-technology relations. He aims to reflectively create new interaction design exemplars, concepts, and emergent practices of design that help to shape both design and its relations to technologies. Wakkary considers people as integrally connected with technologies, and specifically as creators and makers rather than passive users or consumers of digital artifacts. He investigates how to design computational things that are radically simple, allowing ‘everyday designers’ to determine how these things fit into their lives and improve upon them. The big idea behind his work is that the artifacts and systems we design are resources rather than finished products. Wakkary has a background in interaction design, computer science and visual arts.