MAS Program Overview
The Master of Advanced Studies in CAAD at ETH in Zurich is a one-year postgraduate program with a focus on computer-based architectural design and its automated production. MAS class this year is an interdisciplinary class of about 20 graduate students interested in research on the next level of Computer Aided Architectural Design. This class contains modules in theory, in basic skills about programming, and in the CNC production of architectural artifacts. The main interest of the research is the reflection on the potentiality of the upcoming technologies for future architecture. The class starts on an abstract theoretical and philosophical level and ends in exercises in designing concepts of future architecture on the so called symbolic level.
CAAD Department
The CAAD Department (Computer Aided Architectural Design) represents the information-technology branch at the ETH’s Department of Architecture. The CAAD Chair was newly vested with Ludger Hovestadt at the end of year 2000, which lead to a paradigm shift in its orientation. Since this time the aim is no longer to illustrate architecture within the computer (virtual reality), but to extract architecture again from the computer (back to reality) in order to build artifacts, which cannot be realised by conventional methods.To attain these goals, the CAAD Department employs are a uniquely large faculty of teachers and researchers, which is formed in an interdisciplinary manner and is – in its core – oriented towards a pragmatic conversion of information-technologies in architecture. A complete overview of the CAAD Department’s activities is available on its site: www.caad.arch.ethz.ch
ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich is one of Europe’s leading research universities. The school is able to attract excellent faculty members, and it draws on a large community of architects, theorists and practitioners in the region. The Department of Architecture is particularly vibrant, with a large number of exhibitions, conferences and lectures. See the Department of Architecture’s site for further information and for a list of current events: www.arch.ethz.ch
MAS CAAD Faculty
The Master of Advanced Studies program is taught by the researchers of CAAD Department as well as by visiting lecturers. The faculty is comprised of a very diverse set of international teachers and researchers, coming from background including architecture, product design, computer science, philosophy, literature, music, medicine, and economics.Faculty profiles can be found on the CAAD Department’s page: Faculty ProfilesFurther, a list of recent faculty publications can be found here: CAAD Publications
Facilities
The MAS program takes place in the CAAD Department’s facilities on ETH Hönggerberg campus. There is ample open office studio space, as well as lab space for experimentation. Students have access to the CAAD Department’s 3D printer, it’s high end workstations, as well as an excellent Cimbali espresso machine. Further, MAS students have full access to the Architecture Department’s Rapid Architectural Prototyping Laboratory Raplab, complete with laser printers, vacuum formers, CNC machines, etc. The CAAD Department further has a dedicated 500 square meter production facility for large scale experiments, complete with a robot arm and Zünd CNC plotter. Further information is available here.