AIA26 San Diego: Powerful connections and real solutions for the industry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) holds its conference from June 10 to 13 at the San Diego Convention Center, bringing together professionals from the architecture and engineering fields and delivering fresh insights, powerful connections, and real solutions for a changing industry.
The schedule includes tours of regional landmarks such as the Salk Institute, Balboa Park, and the University of California, San Diego campus. Presentations will address the use of artificial intelligence in the profession, the reuse of existing structures, and design for accessibility.
This program features specialized lectures that focus on technology, sustainability, and climate action, exploring business cases, adaptive reuse, and community impact, as well as the effects of Artificial Intelligence and digital architecture on equity, business, and well-being in professional practice.
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Photo by AIA
The AIA26 keynote series opens with a line-up of visionaries and thought leaders who will focus on today's most pressing challenges and tomorrow's opportunities.
Weijia Jiang, CBS News' senior White House correspondent, offers her perspective on the profession's pivotal role in shaping society, both nationally and internationally. Carole Wedge, AIA executive vice president and CEO, and Illya Azaroff, AIA 2026 president, to honour Shigeru Ban with the prestigious AIA 2026 Gold Medal.
The talk explores the value that architects bring to industries and communities, focusing on their leadership in tackling climate challenges, driving innovation and creating a more sustainable and equitable future.
Next, Padma Lakshmi, Emmy-nominated producer of Hulu's "Taste the Nation" series, New York Times bestselling author, TIME 100 award winner, and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, will talk about her work in immigrant and indigenous communities and its parallels with architects.
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Photo by AIA
The conference aims to acknowledge the regenerative, climate-adapted solutions developed by indigenous and immigrant communities, which can inform resilient design, and to identify strategies for engaging underrepresented communities in the design process, thereby surfacing knowledge that enhances built outcomes.
Important figures in the sector, including AIA President-elect for 2026 Yiselle Santos Rivera and AIA Chief Economist Richard Branch, will present actionable strategies for navigating economic challenges like inflation, labor market shifts, and geopolitical risks, and for positioning a firm for long-term resilience. The talk also explores how climate resilience and sustainable development principles can be integrated into architectural practice at every scale.
Visitors will have the chance to explore some of San Diego's most inspiring architecture, landmark projects, award-winning spaces and community icons, accompanied by the architects who designed them. This will give visitors exclusive insight into the craftsmanship, design philosophy and innovations that have shaped this coastal city.
Source: AIA
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