The annual event of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics (SIGraDi) will present a series of workshops, conferences and seminars from the perspective of research, teaching and professional practice, in order to promote the dissemination and exchange of ideas in the application of intelligent biodigital systems in the world of architectural design and art.

“Cities will either be 50% biological and 50% digital, or they will not exist”, said Alberto T. Estévez, director of the Master in Biodigital Architecture and president of the SIGraDi 2024 edition. The main theme of the 2024 edition, Biodigital Intelligent Systems, covers a wide range of fields such as bioinspired robotics, artificial life, evolutionary algorithms or computational neuroscience, among others. These systems use the confluence of principles of biology, digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to create intelligent systems inspired by living organisms.

During the event, the three different approaches -research, teaching, and professional practice- will be addressed, starting with the keynote speakers and ending with a round table. The first, focused on research in the biodigital era and artificial intelligence, will be opened by Jordi Faulí, current Architect Director of Gaudí's Sagrada Familia, and closed with a round table moderated by Professor Neil Leach. The second day, with a special focus on teaching biodigital and the biological world, will begin with a lecture by Marcos Cruz, professor and former director of the Bartlett School of Architecture, the best School of Architecture in the World according to the QS Ranking. The day will end with a round table by Professor Yomna K. Abdallah. The last day, focused on professional practice with biodigital nuances and the digital world, will be led by Benedetta Tagliabue, director of the prestigious architecture firm EMBT, and Professor Rosa Cervera.

This year, UIC Barcelona has been especially chosen as host as a pioneer institution in the biodigital field. The Master in Biodigital Architecture which started in 2000, is the first academic programme that addresses the discipline of building from both a biological and digital point of view. That same year, the school also founded the world’s first genetic architecture laboratory, and the first digital architecture laboratory. These programmes are formed by an international interdisciplinary group that brings together architects, designers, artists, engineers, biologists, geneticists and philosophers.

With the SIGraDi 2024 Congress, UIC Barcelona and its Master's in Biodigital Architecture aims to present a new understanding of nature and computing, natural intelligence and artificial intelligence, biolearning and machine learning, and the potential of biofabrication and digital manufacturing.