Association of Architecture Educators (AAE) 2025 Conference

About the conference

The Association of Architecture Educators (AAE) Conference 2025 will take place at the School of Architecture and Environment (R Block) at UWE Bristol from 9 to 12 July 2025. The conference theme is Who cares? Care, creativity and collaboration in times of change.

The conference focuses on fostering an ethos and ethics of care for architecture in both the processes and constructions of architecture and education. Central to these responsibilities is the concept of care, highlighting our commitment as architects and educators to the current and future wellbeing of our community of educators, architects, students – alongside concerns for impact in the local and global contexts in which we operate.  

Call for proposals

The conference aims to be a platform for reflection, knowledge exchange, and speculation on the nurturing of architecture. We welcome contributions that enhance understanding, challenge prevailing assumptions, nurture alternative approaches, push boundaries, cultivate collaborations, and explore and implement innovative ideas. Paper, panel, provocation and participatory workshop proposals may explore (but are not limited to) themes such as: 

• Caring for each other: We all play a role in nurturing students and academics in our schools and the profession. Architecture education, known for its intensity and high production, presents challenges, often felt most amongst those from marginalised groups. How can we create supportive models of education and practice that promote wellbeing and nurture thriving graduates? 
• Caring for architecture: Educators and professionals have a vital role in caring for the discipline and its future. Recent changes by professional bodies challenge established curricula, while systemic challenges in higher education require rethinking our approach practices How can we nurture our profession, learn from global transformations, and develop nurturing pedagogies that address contemporary challenges? 
• Caring for our environments: RIBA’s ‘The Way Ahead’ and the ARB’s ‘Tomorrow’s Architects’ highlight the need to prepare for a changing future. Post-pandemic, a new generation are creating new stories, engaged with issues of social justice, ecological breakdown, and resilient communities. Indigenous knowledge, with its deep understanding of ecosystems,  relations and cultures, offers valuable insights into global challenges. How do we nurture care across generations through our education and praxis? 

Conference contributions can include: 

• 3,000-word papers (inclusion in post-conference proceedings and a 20-minute presentation at the conference) 
• Workshop proposals (up to 1 hour in length) 
• Participatory events
• Panel discussions
• Screenings 
• A1 poster proposals (may include models if transported by author)

Other formats may be proposed in discussion with the organising committee.

Abstracts will be double-blind peer reviewed by the AAE 2025 organising committee. All papers accepted for the conference will be included in full online proceedings published following the conference and selected authors will be invited to submit proposals for papers in a special issue of Charrette, the journal of the AAE.

Please submit your contribution via email by 16 November 2024.

Submit your abstract

Programme

The conference programme will be available in due course.