Projective Cities programme has initiated a series of external collaborations and partnerships that aim into introducing students to relevant contemporary case studies and to foster design experimentation and their research ambitions. The purpose is twofold. Candidates have the opportunity to study and to work on sites where there is high level of expertise and knowledge shared between programme staff and local experts, academic and practising architects. Secondly, students are encourage to set their own contacts and network of collaborators, that would support their own theses and research projects.

Historically, ‘research by design projects’ have been developed in a variety of locations that address complex urban problems and challenges. Research projects in the Projective Cities programme have produced investigations in cities like Beijing, Paris, Shanghai, Amsterdam, Zurich, Brasilia, Brussels, Mexico, London, Sydney, and New York. In the current academic year 2019-20, Phase II students are developing their dissertations in sites such as Athens, Silesia in Poland, Bangkok, Wuhan and Beijing among others. Phase I students are undertaking design exercises and workshops in the cities of Barcelona, Athens, and London, where the programme has established institutional collaborations with local municipalities, universities (ETSAB/NTUA), activist groups and cooperatives like Lacol and Arquitectos de Cabecera.