2025 Intersections Research Conference: AI DESIGN PRACTICES

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) with co-hosts Wentworth School of Architecture & Design are pleased to continue the conference partnership dedicated to the intersection of education, research and practice. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Design Practices conference invites faculty, practitioners, and advanced students to explore, propose, or challenge new and existing practices and paradigms in using AI technologies. We welcome innovative approaches at all scales, from individual studies to large-scale systems. The following topics are intended to describe the domains for submission and discussion during the conference. The conference will take place September 25-27, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. At this in-person conference, attendees will gain an increased awareness of research happening in both academia and design practice. The conference will create opportunities for new partnerships, sources of funding, collaborations and critical observations. It will be a chance for both established researchers as well as those looking to enhance their research capabilities, with sessions, breakouts, workshops and networking events. The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in architecture and design is reshaping design possibilities and practices. AI propels new processes of design and making but also raises urgent questions about creativity, authorship, energy consumption, ethics, and the digital divide. This conference invites architects, designers, educators, researchers, and advanced students to critically examine the potentials and limitations of generative AI across design practices. Framing AI as a transformative force, discussions center on topics such as computational creativity, new pedagogical models, the ethics of machine learning, emergent tools for addressing complex environmental and resiliency challenges, new modes of interdisciplinary practice, and the evolving workflows across project phases. The conference will also explore underlying frameworks within AI, including data bias, automation, intellectual property, and socio-political implications. Set against the backdrop of an AI-powered world, this conference asks: How is the role of the architect and designer being redefined? How does the design profession shape AI and its processes? How can we harness AI to continue to augment human creativity, productivity, and optimization, but also design for change and address the social and ecological crises of our time?