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Foster + Partners is part of the pioneering new InnoChain research network, comprising of six leading European research institutions and 14 industry partners. The network has been awarded a 4 million Euro grant from the EU’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation – more than 1,000 proposals were submitted, of which just 94 networks achieved funding.

image © Foster+Partners 

The InnoChain network will run for four years, starting in September 2015, and the grant will fund 15 new doctoral positions, three of which will be based in Foster + Partners. The focus of this research will be “Building Innovation in the Extended Digital Chain” – the development of new inter-disciplinary design methods that combine advanced simulation and material fabrication to create smarter, more efficient material solutions. The network will create a structured training programme focused on individual research projects, supervised by experienced researchers and enriched through an inter-sector secondment programme with industry partners.

image © Foster+Partners 

The InnoChain academic partners: CITA, Centre for IT and Architecture, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture; Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London; Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE), University of Stuttgart; IOA, Institute of Architecture, University of Applied Arts, Vienna; Royal Institute of Technology; Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

The InnoChain industry partners: Foster + Partners; White Arkitekter AB; BIG; HENN GmbH; ROK GmbH; Cloud 9 SL; Buro Happold; str.ucture GmbH; designtoproduction GmbH; Smith Innovation; Blumer-Lehmann AG; S-Form; Factum Arte Desarrollos Digitales SL; McNeel Europe SL.

For more information please visit:The InnoChain website http://innochain.net

Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions:http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/marie-sklodowska-curie-actions

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