CRAL

The CRAL is a dedicated research center at UPC—established in 2000 and promoted by ETSAV—that brings together the research, knowledge-transfer, and innovation capacity of the school’s faculty. Its activities are oriented towards research projects and programs in the fields of architecture, urbanism, and territorial studies, as well as collaborative agreements with public administration, civil society, and the productive sector. Its goal is to generate reflection and knowledge in areas such as housing, rehabilitation, urban regeneration, infrastructure, public space, environment, landscape, and heritage. The current context makes it especially relevant to engage in joint reflection among the affiliated faculty, enabling CRAL to focus on the school’s areas of specialization and to shape the future of the discipline.

Specifically, the knowledge generated through knowledge-transfer activities is closely linked to teaching, through key projects—often in workshop format—that connect the school with society via the Master’s in Architecture (MArq), the Master’s in Sustainable Intervention in the Built Environment (MISMeC), the Master’s in Ecology of Architectural Design (MADE), and selected workshops within the Bachelor’s in Architectural Studies. This is a bidirectional process: topics explored by students and faculty can materialize into concrete projects, or conversely, research on a specific problem can serve as teaching material.

Campus Lab Vallès – CRAL also benefits from the Model Laboratory and the CRITT Fabrication and Prototyping Laboratory, which provide the necessary infrastructure for research, knowledge transfer, and innovation. In this sense, the campus itself becomes an active experimental space, open to both researchers and students.