Calls | 2024 ACADIA Conference

CALL FOR PROJECTS

Designing Change

Host: University of Calgary, School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape

Date: 14-16 November 2024 I Banff Centre I Banff AB

ACADIA 2024, themed “Designing Change,” looks at computational design as an active agent of change in the built environment. Designing Change invites a variety of submissions encompassing recent research, practice, and theory in architecture. This call seeks scholarly, practice-based research and hands-on applications that demonstrate the transformative impact of computational design to redefine ways of living, working and existing together at various scales—from nano to micro; to demonstrations and pavilions; to buildings, and master plans. As computational design evolves from theoretical concepts to practical implementations, it redefines conventional architectural practices and introduces new operational modes in both the physical world and new realities.

The 2024 ACADIA conference spotlights the emergence of 'archipreneurs'—innovators who combine digital design with entrepreneurial ventures, such as consulting, digital fabrication, or startups at the crossroads of technology, architecture, and fabrication. In the contemporary milieu, particularly within Calgary's innovative ecosystem, the fields of architecture and urban design are experiencing a surge in technology-driven entrepreneurial ventures. Emphasizing this milieu, post-pandemic cities are redefining the ground for digital design and fabrication as agents of change to address housing and construction challenges, enhance urban infrastructure, and develop new typologies.

Within this technological, critical, and entrepreneurial landscape, ACADIA 2024 positions itself at this pivotal juncture, aiming to deliberate on the emergent socio-technical roles of digital designers. This conference aspires to engage in a constructive and critical dialogue between academia, industry, and professional practitioners in such innovations. It seeks to unpack the multifaceted implications novel design methods and technologies have on the discourse and praxis of architectural and urban design, thereby contributing to a nuanced understanding of the intersection between design, technology, entrepreneurship, and the socio-spatial fabric.

We invite contributions from researchers, practitioners, and students across diverse disciplines such as architecture, design, urban design and planning, landscape architecture and geography, social sciences, computer science, engineering and environmental sciences, and other related fields. Designing Change welcomes submissions that focus on one of the following scales (XL, L, M, S or XS) and address one of the following research topics, which are indicative but not limited to the five outlined categories:

Material Design Thinking

Human-computer Interaction and Design Cognition
Robotics, Digital Fabrication, Biodesign and Construction
Theories, Pedagogies, Philosophies, and Methodologies in Computational Design Research
Circular Design Thinking and Materialization

Digital Naturalism

Data acquisition, Data Visualization, Big Data, Data Ethics, and Digital Twins in Built Environment
Smart and Responsive Design and Optimization of Structures
Building Information Modelling, Parametric and Generative Design

Material Hyperlocalism

Digital Heritage and Preservation
Environmental and Ecological Performance
Material Systems, Processes, and Assembly

Applied Research – New Craft Models

Internet of Things applications in Built Environment
Extended Reality (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality) in Design
Gaming and Gamification in Design
Artificial Intelligence in Design
Participatory and Socially Engaged Co-design and Co-production

Integrated Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities

Urban Analytics, Big Data Analysis, and Smart City Development
Computational Design in Landscape Architecture
Supply Chains and Design to Manufacturing Processes
AI and Performance-driven Design

Submission and Review Process

All submissions will undergo a single stage of an anonymized peer-review process (reviewers and authors do not know each other's identities, previously referred to as a blind peer review). To be included in the proceedings, authors of accepted submissions must present their work in person at the conference according to the conference schedule. These proceedings will be listed in the CumInCAD database, given a unique DOI number, and can be searchable through the Web of Science Platform and Scopus.

PROJECT SUBMISSIONS:

Projects (600 words, excluding citations and captions, plus a maximum of 10 images) are invited for submission. All project submissions are subject to anonymized peer-review. Accepted projects will be published in the conference proceedings and exhibited as posters throughout the conference and invited to present. Published projects will be included in the CumInCad database and assigned a DOI. All ACADIA projects are searchable through the Web of Science Platform and Scopus.

Submission Deadline: EXTENDED UNTIL MAY 17 2024
Notification of Project Acceptance: 30 June 2024
Camera-Ready Submission: 15 August 2024

Project Submission Template HERE

We look forward to receiving your contributions that promise to enrich and expand our understanding of digital design in architecture and the built environment, all within the overarching theme of "Designing Change."