ISAD – Institute of Higher Specialization in Architecture and Design

ISAD, the Instituto Superior de Arquitectura y Diseño, is a private school of architecture and design in Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, founded in 1992 and known as la escuela del desierto. It offers licenciaturas and maestrías in architecture and design, with programmes that run across territory, urbanism, interiors, furniture, multimedia and construction, and it is incorporated into the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua.

Teaching is organised around experimentation rather than lecture halls: studio work, trips and academic exchanges, a Fab Lab for digital fabrication that the school describes as the only academic one of its kind in Chihuahua, and a Taller del desierto that puts students in front of real sites. The campus itself is used as a teaching device, with geometric sculptures, murals and outdoor rooms. In 2024 ISAD worked with the Mexican concrete producer Forma&Cemento on Una gota en la arena, a series of wash basins by young designers presented at EDIT Napoli.