Master’s Degree in International Cooperation: Sustainable Emergency Architecture – Official
Extraordinary adaptation of the teaching guide due to COVID-19
Study programme and subjects 2020-2021
| Subjects in course | Type | Term | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom Up Strategies for Urban Regeneration | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Environmental Justice. Urban Development | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Governance, Participation and Social Design | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements | OB | Sem.1 | 6,00 |
| Introduction to Emergency and Urban Development | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Participation As a Tool for Upgrading | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Participatory Planning. Community Design | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Socio Spatial Workshop for Integrated Urban Upgrading | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Urban Growth and City Resilience | OB | Sem.1 | 3,00 |
| Fieldtrip | PR | Sem.2 | 5,00 |
| Internship | PR | Sem.2 | 10,00 |
| Master Thesis | TF | Sem.2 | 15,00 |
- ECTS: European Credit Transfer System
- Term: calendar term
Students will learn from a prestigious roster of renowned international researchers and practitioners, benefitting from both the expertise of practitioners in leading humanitarian organisations as well as leading researchers from top universities. Our teaching staff come from a range of disciplines and specialisations, including political ecology, environmental justice, gender and equity, urban resilience and climate change adaptation, thus providing students with an interdisciplinary understanding of the humanitarian sector.
Master’s degree steering committee
Carmen Mendoza Arroyo, Arch. PhD in Urban Design and Planning. Associate professor. Her research is focused on urban regeneration, informal settlement upgrading and urban refugee integration. She is co-principal of DAC Arquitectura Rehabilitació i Urbanisme SLP.
Raquel Colacios Parra, Arch. PhD in Architecture. Her research is focused on social movements for urban transformation in Barcelona. Co-principal of TAAB6 Architects.
Allison Koornneef, coordinator of the Master’s Degree. Alumnus of this master’s programme.
Sandra Bestraten, Arch. Her research is focused on housing and cooperation in developing countries. She is co-principal of Bestraten Hormias Arquitectura SLP. Director of the Barcelona branch of the Official Association of Architects of Catalonia (COAC).
Emilio Hormias Laperal, Arch. Expert in rammed earth and other natural building materials and in social housing rehabilitation. University Without Borders (USF). Co-principal of Bestraten Hormias Arquitectura.
UIC Barcelona lecturers and professors and dissertation supervisors:
Marta Benages Albert, Arch. PhD in Landscape Architecture. School of Architecture, UIC Barcelona.
Lorenzo Chelleri, PhD in Geography. Expert in resilience, researcher and director of the Master’s Degree in City Resilience Design and Management at UIC Barcelona.
Kathrin Golda Pongratz, PhD in Architecture and Urban Planning, author and curator. Her research and practice revolve around self-built housing, urban memory and place-making.
Hug March Corbella, PhD in Environmental Sciences. Researcher and lecturer at the Universitat Obert de Catalunya (UOC). His research focuses on political ecology, urban water infrastructure and the economics of urbanisation.
Mbongeni Ngulube, Arch. MSc in International Cooperation and Urban Development. PhD candidate in Anthropology at UAB. Expert in theories and discourses on development.
Apen Ruiz, PhD in Anthropology. School of Architecture, UIC Barcelona.
Pere Vall Casas, Arch. PhD in Urban Design and Planning. School of Architecture, UIC Barcelona.
Visiting professors
Nerea Amoros Elorduy, Arch. PhD. Founder and lead architect at Creative Assemblages, Uganda. Her research focuses on protracted refugee camps and its effects on childhood development.
Isabelle Anguelovski, PhD in Urban and Environmental Planning, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Social scientist. Director of the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (BCNUEJ).
Paul Cabrera, Arch. Construction and Sheltering, Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Alejandro de Castro, Arch. Researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development. His research focuses on informal settlements and design thinking in the field of development.
Alejandro Haiek Coll, Arch. Professor at UMEA, Sweden. Specialist in bottom-up construction and capacity building processes.
Nabeel Hamdi, PhD in Housing and Urban Development. Oxford Brookes University.
Clara Irazábal Zurita, Arch. PhD in Urban Planning. Director of the Latina/Latino Studies Program and professor of Urban Planning in the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design (AUPD), University of Missouri - Kansas City.
Torange Khonsari, Arch. Co-founder of Public Works Group. Director of the MA Design for Cultural Commons, LMU. Her research and practice are on the concept of The Commons.
Daniel Ledesma, Arch. Researcher on the design of emergency shelters, with vast experience in the field.
Sergio Palleroni, Arch. MSArch in History Theory & Criticism. Co-founder of the BaSiC Initiative, Director of the Center for Public Interest Design, Portland State University.
Marta Peña, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Veronica Sánchez Carrera, Arch. Co-Founder of n’UNDO. PhD candidate researching Ebola and emergency medical camps.
Gonzalo Sánchez-Terán, refugee camp expert with 15 years’ experience working for various organisations, including the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS International).
Andreas Schiffer, expert in WASH, FLASH - Education on Logistics, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Reena Tiwari, Arch. PhD in Urban Planning. Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia.
Due to its academic format and accreditation, by completing a written master’s dissertation, our programme enables graduates to start a PhD at UIC Barcelona or any other European university. The dissertation is developed throughout the course with the help of our Writing Workshop and one-on-one dissertation supervision with knowledgeable researchers. It is important for professionals in this field to develop a critical perspective, improve writing and communication skills and improve urban development and emergency practices through your proposals.
The master’s dissertation is an extended research paper no more than 11,000 words long. The dissertation topic should emerge from a discussion of theoretical aspects related to the topic and should bring together issues or concerns that the master’s programme addresses. The dissertation will be submitted and defended in person in front of a panel of expert researchers at the end of May.



