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Technology content at AIA25

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If you are coming to the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design (AIA25) this year (June 4-7 in Boston), there are a couple official TAP events plus many more great sessions to consider! This guide provides you with an inside look at some of the sessions and events that TAP members might be most interested in.

TAP events

Wednesday: TAP+COTE^® Symposium at AIA25

Advancing a Sustainable Future through Technology Innovation

SYM102 | 8:45am-5pm | 6 LUs | $149 (if attending AIA25) / $279 (symposium only)

The built environment plays a significant role in climate change and resource depletion, making transitioning to sustainable design practices an imperative priority in the AEC industry. This symposium addresses the critical intersection of architectural practice, technological innovation, and environmental stewardship. Through expert-led panels, participants will explore strategies for integrating artificial intelligence, optimizing building performance, and navigating the evolving landscape of sustainable design and regulatory compliance. This event examines the practical application of advanced technologies, the importance of carbon accounting methodologies, and the collaborative approaches necessary for fostering resilient and equitable built environments, emphasizing actionable solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors of small and medium size. Sponsored by Autodesk.

Thursday: TAP Open Forum

Tech + Sustainability: A Force for Good

EV121 | 11am-12:30pm

Join the Technology in Architecture Practice (TAP) Advisory Group for a panel discussion exploring how data-driven techniques are transforming sustainability in architecture. Hear from experts about gathering, analyzing, and communicating sustainability data. The session includes small group discussions to exchange ideas and practical strategies, plus a networking opportunity to connect with peers and industry leaders. Discover how technology and sustainability together can shape a better future for your practice.

Other sessions of interest

Note: For more options, you can use the filter on the AIA25 Schedule page to filter by Tracks: Trends & Technology or Topic: AI & technology trends

Wednesday

Innovating for Impact: Harnessing New Technologies to Address Global Challenges
WE110 | 9:30-10:30am | 1 LU

Want to learn how cutting-edge technologies like 3D printing and prefabrication are transforming underserved communities and addressing global challenges? This session will showcase real-world projects, including 3D-printed concrete structures in Madagascar and prefabricated homes for California's affordable housing crisis. Join us to explore how these innovations improve public health, safety, and welfare while reducing construction costs and timelines. Plus, through interactive discussions, you'll gain practical knowledge to apply these technologies in your own projects, driving sustainable solutions for the AEC industry's most pressing issues.

Rethinking the Firm: Could AI Be Your Next Practice Partner?
WE117 | 11am-12pm | 1 LU

What if AI could be your most powerful, and only, collaborator? In this session, you'll follow "Archie," an architect building a solo firm, as they test the limits of what AI can achieve in practice—from strategic planning to client engagement and project delivery. Through Archie's journey, you''ll explore AI's potential to streamline daily operations, expand creative potential, and open doors to new business models. Join us for a unique perspective on the future skills and approaches architects will need to thrive in a profession where AI plays a pivotal role.

Energy Modeling on Autopilot: Scripting Efficient Architectural Designs
WE119 | 11am-12pm | 1 LU HSW

Don't miss this chance to learn about the benefits of automating energy consumption analysis using programming scripts. This session will highlight how to integrate energy modeling directly into your design workflows, allowing for real-time adjustments and optimizations. You'll also see how streamlining the process of evaluating energy usage will enable you to identify areas for improvement quickly, leading to more efficient and sustainable designs. Finally, through case studies and live demonstrations, you'll discover how to use automation tools to enhance energy modeling and get tips on best practices for integration.

Architectural Visualization With AI: A Hands-on Workshop
WE121 | 1-3:30pm | 2.5 LU

Are you curious about how AI can enhance your design practice, but don't know where to start? Join us for an interactive session that will demystify generative AI and empower you to create with confidence. With expert guidance from our presenters, you'll learn how to use image and video creation tools to enhance your designs and streamline your workflow. By the end of the session, you'll know how to use AI and be ready to integrate it into your own design practice. No prior experience is required—just bring your creativity and a willingness to learn.

Thursday

Harnessing the Power of AI Across the Built Community
TH104 | 7:30-8:30am | 1 LU

How are structural engineers using cutting-edge AI to deliver better, more efficient outcomes on their projects? Find out in this session. You'll learn from examples demonstrating how AI can be used to accelerate and expand conceptual structural design, advance decision-making, enhance design customization, and incorporate sustainability considerations into the design process. In addition, you'll examine the potential of AI in structural health monitoring and predictive maintenance on built structures. Lastly, you'll discover how AI can enhance communication and collaboration across design disciplines and throughout projects.

The Automation of Design Compliance in Architecture & Design
TH105 | 7:30-8:30am | 1 LU

Join us for a wicked session on compliance and AI in architecture. You and other attendees will explore how indecision, information loss, and endless revisions lead to project delays and budget issues. Plus, discover key challenges in design processes, client communication, and onboarding new team members. Lastly, learn how integrating AI, automation, and design compliance tactics can revolutionize your workflow. Don't miss this chance to play a role in transforming the future of architecture.

Keynote: Building & Scaling Your Practice Using AI with Allie K. Miller
GS100 | 9-10:15pm | 1 LU

AI is no longer a distant concept; it's creating immediate and dramatic changes in the field of architecture. Yet, with great potential come critical questions about ethical design, data privacy, and maintaining a creative, human-centered approach in a tech-driven era. Join Allie K. Miller—a top AI leader, advisor, and investor—as she reveals how architects can harness AI to build and scale their practices. Drawing from her experience as the first-ever Global Head of Machine Learning at Amazon (AWS) and her role as an AI advisor to Fortune 500 companies, she’ll provide meaningful real-world examples and insights into how AI can empower firms of every size to work faster, smarter, and more creatively.

AI-Powered Innovation: Making Tech Accessible & Boosting Firm Productivity
EX023 | 11-11:30am | .5 LU

By unlocking the potential of AI and machine learning (ML), you can transform the way your architecture firm works. This session will go beyond theory, presenting practical ways these technologies can enhance project management, streamline workflows, and improve decision-making. Join us to learn how to identify opportunities for AI adoption and explore real-world examples from the industry. Plus, uncover strategies to position your firm as a leader in efficiency, innovation, and productivity in an ever-changing landscape.

Developing a Design Intellience for Productivity
EX025 | 11:45am-12:15pm | .05 LU

How can cloud technology, AI, and interoperability between tools and platforms revolutionize architectural design processes? Find out at this session. Employing a design intelligence strategy empowers architects to transform BIM into a process that streamlines workflows by harnessing data-driven insights, optimizing designs, and utilizing advanced user experiences. AI-powered interfaces boost productivity, streamline onboarding, and expedite decision-making through visual change tracking and task automation. Join us to learn how to enhance site potential and promote sustainability by making data work for you.

Construction 3D Printing: Opportunities & Challenges in Design
TH302 | 4-5:15pm | 1.25 LU

Construction 3D printing is an emerging technology that will likely have profound implications for architectural design. This session will present case studies of planned and completed large-scale 3D-printed projects by architects from three design practices. Join us to review the state-of-the-art in construction 3D printing as well as the inherent challenges of deploying this new technology within a still-nascent regulatory landscape. Plus, explore new design possibilities the technology enables within sectors such as affordable housing, hospitality design, residential design, and design for hurricane and tornado resiliency.

Surviving & Thriving in the Design Data Desert
TH303 | 4-5:15pm | 1.25 LU

Firms generate volumes of design performance data during projects. However, it's nearly impossible to collate that data in a manageable format that informs design decisions on other projects. By taking a deeper dive into design data, some intrepid firms are uncovering insights into opportunities that drive net-zero energy projects. In this session, three leading firms will discuss how they're integrating deep design data into their practices. Plus, learn how they're collaborating with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to build a larger industry data-sharing ecosystem to enable firms to work with detailed data in new ways.

Enhancing Sustainability Through Materials & BIM
EX021 | 4-4:30pm | .5 LU HSW

Specifying high-quality, sustainable materials for interiors leads to longer product life cycles and better energy management. It also improves occupant health by limiting the use of toxic substances and volatile organic compounds. Join us to discover how BIM software gives the designer more control over a building's level of sustainability, such as by generating embodied carbon calculations, and more opportunities to enhance the aesthetics and occupant comfort through a systems approach.

Friday

Data-Driven Design: Transforming Architecture Practice Through Data
FR105 | 7:30-8:30am | 1 LU

Data-driven decision-making is transforming architectural practice by providing tangible value to building owners, users, and society at large. This session will delve into the impact of integrating data analytics into design processes and organizational structures. Join us to learn how leveraging data can enhance financial success, improve user satisfaction, and promote societal equity. By examining real-world examples and engaging in interactive discussions, you'll also discover how data-driven methodologies such as post-occupancy evaluations can optimize design outcomes, demonstrate expertise, and contribute to a more successful and equitable architectural business.

Virtual to Reality: Streamlining Construction Through VDC & 3D Visualization
FR107 | 7:30-8:30am | 1 LU

Explore how Briargate Elementary leveraged Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), advanced Visualization with VR, and Reality Capture technologies to enhance project workflows Join us for this session to explore how Briargate Elementary leveraged virtual design and construction (VDC), advanced visualization, and reality capture technologies to enhance project workflows from design through construction and into facility management. You'll discover how these tools improved collaboration, streamlined decision-making, and ensured accuracy at every project stage. Plus, gain practical strategies for integrating these technologies into your practice to reduce errors, enhance communication, and achieve better project outcomes. Whether new to these tools or refining your process, you'll pick up valuable insights for modernizing workflows.

Tour: Material Histories & Innovations at Autodesk Boston
ET197 | 11am-1pm

Discover how Autodesk is bridging past and future at the Autodesk Technology Center in Boston’s Seaport District. As part of Autodesk Research, this hub explores emerging technologies that are reshaping the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. With large-format fabrication equipment, a wide range of robotics, and two floors of project space, Autodesk research experts and design engineers explore ideas that are transforming the built environment such as industrialized construction, automation and robotics in construction, and digital fabrication. Learn how historical material studies, like those from Volterra, Italy, inspire cutting-edge work in digital preservation, adaptive reuse, and sustainable fabrication. From reality capture to biomimicry, explore how deep curiosity drives technological breakthroughs that impact today's built environment.

Incorporating Virtual Reality in Early Stages of the Design Process
FR202 | 12-12:30pm | .5 LU

This session will highlight the transformative potential of virtual reality (VR) in the early stages of architectural design, focusing on how the technology can enhance spatial understanding, site recognition, and decision-making. Join us to gain hands-on experience using VR tools to evaluate design alternatives, simulate real-world conditions, and interact with design proposals in a more intuitive and engaging way.

Demystifying the AIA Design Data Exchange: Collaborative Workshop for First-Time Users
EV152 | 1-2:30pm | 1 LU | $5

This hands-on workshop will onboard first-time and returning users to AIA's Design Data Exchange (DDx) to learn how the platform supports signatory firms' engagement with the AIA 2030 Commitment. The DDx is a powerful tool for tracking progress toward net-zero energy goals and can be leveraged to make data-driven design choices. In this session, you'll learn to navigate the DDx and input project information as well as apply your new skills using a real project. You'll also brainstorm solid strategies for reporting your portfolio to AIA 2030 and hear tips on creating a strong Sustainability Action Plan.

Scan to BIM: Driving Efficiencies Through Automation
FR306 | 3:45-4:15pm | .5 LU

Manual modeling of existing structures is often labor-intensive and adds little value to the design process, detracting from architects' creative focus. But today, automation in scan-to-BIM workflows is transforming the way architects access and model existing conditions. Join us for this instructive session to explore the challenges of conventional scan-to-BIM methods along with automation tools that streamline tedious tasks.

AI for People & Planet
FR402 | 4-5:15pm | 1.25 LU

AI promises to generate better design solutions and reduce project delivery time, but how? Join us to hear from a panel of experts on the cutting edge of experimenting with AI to drive better and greener project outcomes. This session will feature real-life case studies with videos of implementation, showcasing technology and people who have delivered more sustainable measures leading to a net-zero road map. You'll leave with greater knowledge of AI, an outcome-based framework, and an informed perspective on software that can support early-stage analysis and preparation for AI governance.

AI: Architecture’s Climate Resilience Future (A 20-Year Hurricane Katrina Retrospective)
FR405 | 4-5:15pm | 1.25 LU HSW

Architects have a critical role to play in mitigating the escalating threats of climate change. In recognition of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this session will imagine how AI could empower architects with new tools to safeguard communities. Join us to learn from firsthand accounts of Katrina's impact. Plus, discover how AI can revolutionize building safety assessments, enhance predictive capabilities, and accelerate recovery efforts in the face of increasingly severe weather events.

Found in Translation: Alignment of BIM Practices to Decarbonize Buildings
FR407 | 4-5pm

Which way is best? The AEC industry lacks agreed-upon processes for measuring embodied carbon (EC), so how can we align on best practices? Join this panel for a deep dive into how six global firms conducted a proof of concept to address this complexity. Under the auspices of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Autodesk and six AEC leading companies—AECOM, Arcadis, Arup, Foster + Partners, Ramboll, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—brought their building information modeling (BIM) and sustainability experts together to investigate the processes behind translating BIM data into material quantities to measure EC. The goal: Identify best practices toward establishing industry-wide guidelines for EC assessment. Join this fascinating technical discussion into how we aligned, agreed on assumptions, drew conclusions, and illuminated the variability of carbon assessments.

Saturday

A Practical, Purposeful & Private Approach to AI Adoption
SA105 | 7:30-8:30am | 1 LU

AI is all the rage in AEC today, but many firms jump into the deep end without regard for the security and veracity of their source data. Further, many firms still define design technology and information technology teams separately—despite their sharing critical data. This session will highlight the risks of inadequate preparation for AI and provide guidelines for establishing a digital foundation. You'll also have a chance to discuss how AI tools can be used behind the scenes to organize and clean a firm''s data in preparation for the popular AI-powered end-user tools of today and tomorrow.

How Can Biometrics & AI Revolutionize Human-Centric Design?
SA303 | 12-1pm | 1 LU

This session will focus on how eye-tracking, facial expression analysis, and other advanced sensors are redefining human-centered architecture. Join us to learn how these biometric tools, paired with AI, reveal real-time emotional and behavioral responses to space. You'll also gain practical insights on optimizing layout, enhancing the sensory experience, and more to design environments that truly resonate with users. Plus, discover how biometrics and AI can transform the way we create responsive, empathetic spaces that support sustainable, impactful design.

Building Without Grids: Design Efficiency Through Surface-Based Design Delivery
SA304 | 12-1pm | 1 LU

Boston Logan Airport's new, award-winning Terminal E was constructed via a bold, innovative partnership between the builders and designers that was embedded in the modeling and contractual documentation. The structure was built without a traditional grid, instead relying on 3D undulating surfaces to govern trade coordination. This project is the future of design and construction. Join us to learn how weeks and months were shaved off the process by allowing for accelerated coordination and redesign along with expedited review of shop drawings—all without sacrificing quality or risk in the field.

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