A Multidimensional Reflection on the MCH and its Impact
About the interview format.
The Master in Collective Housing (MCH) is more than a specialization—it transforms the way architects think about designing for communities. In this interview, we hear from three alumni who reflect on how the MCh reshaped their understanding of architecture and their journey through and after the program, from early expectations to lasting professional impact.
AH: Alberto Hueso – Alumni MCH 2021
TdM: Taís de Moraes – Alumni MCH 2017
HdM: Heidi De Moya – Alumni MCH 2012
Interviewers
Milagros Ucha – Alumni MCH 2024
Kailey Akins – Alumni MCH 2024
1. About the MCH: To begin, tell us about your experience during MCH. What were your expectations before starting? How did the experience either challenge or confirm the perspective you brought to the program?
AH.
I have always felt a great interest in issues that have to do with living. I have always understood architecture as a scenario for the development of life and good living. In a way, the MCH gave me the opportunity to have a space where I could research and work in a very intense way on these aspects that shape the character of contemporary life. It was really a personal challenge.
For a little more than a year, conversation becomes a fundamental role for a project methodology based on collaboration, diversity and contradiction. It is a place that establishes a line of thought that oscillates between the theoretical framework and practice in the ‘domestic universe’ of people, housing and city.
HdM.
In my case, I arrived in Madrid with no idea how this master’s program would change my life. I took the master’s program at a very young age, and at the time, I was more concerned about living away from my family than about the experience itself. But from the first day of the master’s program, I knew I had made the right decision and that it would be a challenge (I love challenges).
When I entered MCH, I thought it would only be a master’s program on housing, but I realized there were collateral situations or approaches that made this master’s program richer. For example, at the time, I didn’t understand why I should take the time to learn about business and international architectural practices, but soon after, I realized the importance of this and how it helped me broaden my horizons and, above all, my way of seeing things.
My interest in housing was already there, but the master’s program helped me strengthen and gain knowledge about the concept of collective housing. Perhaps the most impressive thing for me was meeting and learning firsthand from such renowned international architects who contributed so much to my academic and personal development.
TdM.
Well, when I joined the MCH in 2017, I carried with me a deep admiration for the Brazilian architectural tradition, shaped by my time at the University of São Paulo. But I also felt the need to step beyond familiar ground to encounter other frameworks and test the limits of my perspective. The program offered exactly that: an immersive dialogue with architects whose work I had long followed, now in direct exchange.
Being part of a small group created space for real conversation and critical questioning. Beyond gaining new tools and references, the MCH helped me understand the ethical, poetic, and practical layers that shape architectural decisions. It challenged my assumptions while giving me the means to articulate a position rooted in my own path, yet open to broader architectural discourse.
2. About the Post-Graduate Process: After completing the MCH, how was your professional journey? How did the program impact your goals?
HdM
I can speak from two perspectives: academic and professional. Professionally, I’ve worked with my partners (father and brothers) on many housing projects, but since I finished my master’s degree, I can say that many new criteria have been incorporated into our designs.
Academically, I’ve been able to apply this knowledge in several courses I teach and was able to secure an elective course exclusively focused on contemporary collective housing. It was very gratifying to see it implemented and how interested students have become in learning about these topics.
TdM.
For me the MCH opened a path for international collaboration, leading me to work for a time in Zürich with Patrick Gmür, whom I had met as a workshop leader during the program. It was a period of close observation, both within the office and out in the city—learning from the team and from the built environment: how buildings hold space, explore materials, and respond to context. Returning to São Paulo, those experiences—together with local challenges—led me and Fulvio Ramos Roxo to co-found Archflex, a startup focused on modular architecture. Our goal is to develop solutions that address current housing and environmental demands. We’ve built an ecosystem that includes a hybrid construction system, a 3D design software, and a digital platform of building components. In 2024, we completed our first 1:1 prototype: a 100m2 pavilion assembled at the experimental site of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Sao Paulo. This was a crucial step in realizing our principles, allowing us to rigorously test the performance of modular systems under real-world conditions.
AH.
In my case, my current professional stage is very focused on collective housing projects. I lead projects from the design phase to on-site supervision. Although professional practice is governed by other types of laws, the master’s degree provides a series of knowledge that have been fundamental for my development as an architect. The academic program of the master’s is diverse and wide-ranging. By this I mean that it does not only deal with specific topics related to architecture and contemporary lifestyles. A whole cross-disciplinary knowledge is constructed through other disciplines that build a current theoretical framework around housing and city. This multidisciplinary environment builds the necessary tools that allow us to respond to global challenges.
3. About the Future: What changes have you noticed in your own work on collective housing? How have attitudes or expectations evolved in the way people live, and what seems vital for the MCH to include as it seeks to reflect this evolution moving forward?
TdM.
In recent years, my work has shifted toward systems thinking—designing not only buildings, but the conditions under which they are made.
The urgency of the climate crisis and the pace of digitalization ask us to rethink how architecture supports life and enables shared spaces. At Archflex, we approach collective housing as a living framework—merging modular construction, 3D software, and real-time environmental data to inform design. I believe the MCH is well positioned to lead this kind of conversation, connecting technical developments with architectural thinking without losing sight of context or history. The challenge is to support practices that are both locally grounded and systemically aware—architecture that remains specific, yet responsive to the larger shifts shaping how we live.
AH.
Freedom for sure. The search for this idea builds the foundations of my own work, as Paul Valéry once wrote: ‘The greatest freedom is born of the greatest rigour’. This phrase synthesises, in a way, my attitude towards the architectural project.
Life is transformation and evolution. In essence, it’s time. I believe that contemporary life, as we know it today, is going through a disruptive moment of profound change. The global climate emergency, the emergence of new technologies and the processes of decarbonization of cities will generate a paradigm shift that will affect the contemporary way of life through the presence of architectures linked to the territory and the responsible consumption of resources.
HdM.
The most important changes I’ve noticed are how families and the way they live together have changed over time (in European cities this changed a long time ago, but in Latin America it’s only recently). I think we increasingly need to think about projects that are more flexible over time. The pandemic also greatly changed the way we understand the importance of connecting with the environment. Finally, we also included the importance of understanding the climate in which our projects are developed and their context in our MCH curriculum.
Closing editors’ notes
Whether arriving with a clear goal or simply a curiosity about housing, each alumni reflects on the MCH as a turning point—a space of challenge and exchange that acted not only as an academic milestone, but also a bridge towards their professional development. From varied geographies, career stages, and architectural interests, these alumni brought different questions to the table—and left with a broader, more nuanced way of working. It’s this diversity that defines the MCH, and it’s what continues to give shape to the way its alumni design, teach, and build in an increasingly connected world.
Taís de Moraes Alves (TdM) is 2017 graduate of the Master in Collective Housing, and is the co-founder of Archflex, a design studio based out of São Paulo, Brazil. Focused on modular architecture, Archflex combines construction solutions with digital modeling and software. This system not only measures a project’s carbon footprint and cost in real time, but also provides a construction methodology that deals with both environmental and efficiency metrics. Along with her work at Archflex, Taís is a graduate of Universidade de São Paulo, and worked at Steib Gmür Geschwentner Kyburz in Zurich before returning to Brazil. There she maintains her studio and design work, along with continuing research through FAPESP (Research Foundation) in São Paulo.
Heidi Isabel De Moya Simó (HdM) graduated from the Master in Collective Housing in 2012 and from Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña in 2016 with a Master in Project Management. She has remained a member of the the UNPHU faculty, and is a partner at the studio Grupo De Moya Simó in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. As both a professor and director of the School of Architecture and Urbanism (2016-2025) at UNPHU, Heidi has facilitated international accreditation, and was recognized as an outstanding member of the university faculty in 2019 and 2020. She is now the editor in chief of the journal Entrópico, published through UNPHU, and is focused on scientific research related to architecture and urbanism. She continues to address both sustainable and social design, and works with students to understand opportunities related to housing.
Alberto Hueso (AH) is a 2021 graduate of the Master in Collective Housing, and remains in Spain at the Madrid-based studio FRPO Rodriguez & Oriol. Before attending the MCH, Alberto attended Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, where he received a Master of Architecture (2019) along with an exchange scholarship to KU Leuven (2017). He has gained professional experience in both Spain and Switzerland, and has also completed personal competitions as both a finalist and facilitator of built work. Starting at GNWA Architekten in Zurich (2015-2016), Alberto then moved to Anna & Eugeni Bach Arquitectes in Barcelona (2016-2017) and BAAS Arquitectura in 2018. He moved to Madrid and joined RICA Studio in 2019 and also BETA.Ø before beginning his current role at FRPO. He was also an editor and collaborator at HIC Arquitectura in 2018-2019, and he continues to work on housing-based projects throughout Spain.
