The annual convening of the American Institute of Architect’s membership now has a new name. What was formerly called the AIA Convention has been renamed the AIA Conference on Architecture, which this year will be held on April 27-29 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
“The name was changed to help shape new expectations about an annual event and experience that is about architecture,” says AIA spokesperson Matt Tinder. “The AIA is making the changes to be more relevant to a larger professional audience and have greater impact on the profession.”
The conference’s first year under the new brand also has a theme—”Anticipate,” following last year’s “Imagine+“—and a speaker lineup. As in previous years, the three-day conference will have one keynote session each day. On April 27, the conference’s first keynote session will feature architect and 2016 Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Aravena, architect Francis Kéré, Hon. FAIA, and MASS Design Group co-founder and and executive director Michael Murphy, presenting what the website describes as “powerful, short-form talks” under the umbrella of “Anticipate Need: Design That Cares.” In the second day’s session, “Anticipate Challenge: Design That Overcomes,” designer and Pentagram partner Michael Bierut will moderate a discussion with two visual strategists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, David Delgado and Dan Goods. Finally, on April 29, social psychologist and Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy will speak in the closing keynote session, “Anticipate Change: Design That Evolves.”
