Study Architecture 
ProPEL Artificial Intelligence Design Practices
Co-Chairs
Tatjana Crossley, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Antonio Furgiuele, Wentworth Institute of Technology
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.
Hosts
Conference Overview
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?
AI DESIGN CREATIVITY
Generative Design and Computational Creativity
- Contributions that explore how AI tools are reshaping and optimizing design workflows and vice versa, from concept generation to iterative design processes.
- Research or projects that evidence invention, innovation, or creativity in the use of AI tools and multi-agent systems.
METHODS & PRACTICES
Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Future Practices
- AI models that enable new forms of creative collaboration, project management, and assessment.
- Methods for integrating vernacular practices and community engagement reflecting aesthetics and cultural values.
Ethics, Equity, and Bias
- Design methods and tools engaging AI technologies that responsibly promote equity and social justice, and address data bias.
Environmental Systems, Climate Change, and Resilience
- Contributions that use AI to examine, analyze, and create possibilities that address environmental questions, carbon intensities, climatic changes, and resilient systems.
HISTORY, THEORY & PEDAGOGY
History & Theory of AI in Design
- Historical and theoretical scholarship that highlights insights into AI and machine learning technologies, concepts, and discourses.
Rethinking Pedagogies
- Curricula and pedagogies that engage new types of knowledge and skills to prepare students for AI design practices.
- Examples of how AI enhances learning, aids collaboration, and advances innovation in design education.
Conference Partners
Questions
Michelle Sturges
ACSA
Conferences Manager
202-785-2324
msturges@acsa-arch.org
Eric Wayne Ellis
ACSA
Sr. Dir. of Operations & Programs
202-785-2324
eellis@acsa-arch.org
