The AEC sector has undergone significant transformation through digitalisation yet continues to struggle to fully leverage Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve communication and productivity. Effective communication is vital across all project phases and becomes increasingly complex in large-scale projects, where integrated interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to improving both process efficiency and project outcomes. Drawing on insights from two research trips to Europe, this lecture explores how architectural practices are currently being re-structured across the globe. Through the described research interviews with practitioners and case studies, you will learn about clear and consistent communication strategies with clients and relevant stakeholders throughout projects.

As the built environment faces mounting pressure to decarbonise, polymer-based Large-Format 3D Printing offers a promising pathway to enable distributed manufacturing, reduce material waste, and practically deploy circular economy principles. Large-Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) is no longer an emerging technology, but a maturing industry reshaping how we design, manufacture, and think about materials at scale. This talk traces the expanding applications of polymer-based LFAM across architecture, construction, and industrial contexts, charting a field that is rapidly moving from prototype to production. The next generation of designers must not only understand these technologies, but also how to design for them.

3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) has grown rapidly in popularity as a fabrication method promising to reduce architecture’s vast concrete consumption. Yet its role in supporting broader sustainability strategies remains unexplored, with most built projects limited to monolithic construction practices that are misaligned with current sustainability prioroties. This presentation reframes 3DCP within these prioroties, particularly carbon reduction and circularity, discussing how repositioning 3DCP as an enabling technology can unlock new design opportunities. By situating 3DCP within hybrid material and construction contexts, the session explores how architects can deliver beautiful, novel solutions that fulfil our professional sustainability goals and our broader responsibilities to the world we inhabit.

NSW faces unprecedented housing demand, yet its dominant construction material — lightweight timber — is becoming harder to source, more expensive, and environmentally contentious. With native forest logging under scrutiny, plantation timber quality limitations, and global supply chains disrupted, the industry needs new options. Laminated bamboo offers a scalable, fast‑growing, low‑carbon alternative that Australian builders can work with. Its structural performance, surface quality, and versatility enable exposed applications and reduce reliance on secondary materials. Drawing on international project experience, this talk explores how bamboo’s single‑supplier manufacturing model can streamline procurement, enable prefabrication, and support faster, more sustainable housing delivery.

This lecture examines a material-based approach to architectural design by Melbourne-based design and fabrication studio LLDS. It presents a series of innovative research investigations that integrate advanced manufacturing into standard construction processes, exploring how digital fabrication and robotic manufacturing challenge current practice to produce craft, ornamentation, and spatial complexity—towards a contemporary Baroque expression. By embedding precision and intelligence within conventional building systems, the work demonstrates how highly articulated details can be delivered efficiently and within an economy of means. Among the studio’s recent projects, Northcote House serves as a case study for rethinking craft, material expression, and the evolving relationship between technology, construction, and architectural practice. The lecture coincides with the launch of the book Baroque Tendencies: The Making of Northcote House (URO).

This presentation explores 3D printing with concrete as an innovative construction technology transforming the built environment. It highlights the fundamental principles of additive manufacturing and explains the main concrete 3D printing technologies, including extrusion-based systems, robotic arm printing, and gantry systems. The discussion covers material design, mix optimization, pumpability, buildability, and the role of admixtures in achieving printable performance. Real-time applications and case studies from regional and international projects are presented to demonstrate practical implementation, challenges, and solutions. The session aims to provide technical insight into process control, structural considerations, sustainability benefits, and future opportunities in digital construction.

Much of today’s architectural software was conceived decades ago. AutoCAD is over 40 years old, Revit nearly 30, and many “modern” tools still reflect workflows designed for a different era. As a result, BIM has often stalled as a documentation process rather than fulfilling its promise as a platform for collaboration, intelligence, and design innovation.  This keynote argues that the industry is now approaching a fundamental shift. Drawing on real project experience, Allister Lewis explores the emergence of BIM 2.0, driven by AI, automation, interoperability, and data-centred design, and presents a practical framework for assessing future-ready technology and building the foundations practices need to thrive in the next era of architectural work

This presentation explores the expanding landscape of architectural 3D‑printing across polymers, concrete, steel, sandstone, and earth, revealing how each material opens new creative possibilities while introducing its own geometric, structural, and fabrication constraints. Through a series of real-world case studies—most drawn from pioneering projects across Australia the session explores how research and industry capabilities shape what is possible today. By examining both the potential and the limitations of each technology, attendees will gain a practical framework for evaluating 3D‑printing strategies within their own architectural ambitions and the realities of the Australian context.

This lecture provides a practical framework for the shift to digital delivery in architecture, positioning 3D concrete printing (3DCP) as a project operating system rather than a standalone technique. It is grounded in extensive field experience, with 50+ real-world projects delivered and managed across multiple contexts (Dubai, Saudi Arabia, China, and beyond), highlighting what actually works at scale. A brief opening note links better outcomes to spatial equity and simplified regulation, while recognising 3DCP can still deliver major impact without full reform. The session covers the operational stack: digital workflows, toolpaths and verification, materials control, QA/QC readiness, Structural/MEP coordination, and site logistics and handover, with AI as an enabler.

To maintain an architectural concept through to delivery on technically demanding projects is difficult. It requires close integration and communication between architects engineers and contractors. Using the Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway project as a case study looking at the importance of fabrication in engineering, architecture and industrial design and the holistic design process that can facilitate an element of craft in delivery. This talk will discuss digital set out, geometry method statements and the control of tolerance to resolve complexity and the process of developing construction methods which improve and develop a design.

This CPD explores how human-centred and integrative co-design approaches can advance human-robot collaboration in timber construction. It draws on interdisciplinary methods from architecture, engineering, and computer science to present a conceptual framework connecting human, system, and design spaces, alongside a technical framework integrating safety, AR interfaces, and computational design workflows. The session introduces the Vizor framework and showcases its application across case studies and empirical experiments on human–human and human–robot collaboration, revealing how users engage with AR and robotic systems in both controlled and real-world environments. Attendees will gain insights and strategies for designing and evaluating user-centred collaborative fabrication workflows and interfaces in their practice.

This talk introduces current research on human–robot collaboration in prefabrication and construction through a feminist technoscience lens. Drawing on concepts of bias, situated knowledge, embodiment, and participation, we examine how FTS critiques existing HRC approaches and supports designing interfaces that respond to uncertainty, dynamic site conditions, and diverse user needs. Together, we will review projects live to surface issues of task relevance, safety, and trust—highlighting how users’ lived expertise shapes collaboration. I will then show how these insights informed my own research using sensors and AI in HRC interfaces, and outline how participants can apply FTS-informed strategies to design more inclusive, context-aware tools.

In societies such as Japan—confronting structural challenges ahead of others after a period of sustained economic growth and entering an era of population decline—focus is shifting from the mass production of new buildings to the promotion of resource circularity. This entails the effective use of existing structures and reusable materials within a high-mix, low-volume framework. The session explores how digital technologies, including 3D scanning, can be strategically integrated to reinterpret the inherent complexities of existing environments and reclaimed materials as valuable social and cultural resources, providing practical insights into assembling widely available tools into low-cost yet adaptable solutions.

De-fit, the process of removing a commercial fitout at the end of a lease, is one of the least visible and most wasteful phases in a building’s life. The de-fit stage presents a significant opportunity to engage circular pathways, diverting materials and assets from landfill. To assist building owners, tenants, architects, designers and contractors in reducing waste, recovering value, and designing for circular outcomes from the outset, we’ve created an open-source how-to guide, De-fit Guidelines for Commercial Fitouts. Co-authored by BVN and FTD Circular, the Guide provides material pathways, removal strategies and advice to support project team members in achieving a mutual goal of eliminating waste.

This CPD explores generative AI as a practical tool for developing systems and geometry in computational design pedagogy. The session will outline how large language models learn and generate outputs, what “prompting” is and demonstrates their use in translating design intent into reproducible processes. Reflections from pedagogical applications explore the development of web applications and the potential benefits from systems prompting, whilst a fabrication case study illustrates opportunities, limitations, and critical processes. Participants will be presented with methods that can integrate generative AI into everyday studio and practice workflows.

This lecture explores the integration of cable-driven robotic systems in architectural design and construction, focusing on the YES Pavilion as a case study. It examines how computational workflows and robotic fabrication enable complex geometries, enhance material efficiency, and support sustainable public infrastructure. The discussion highlights CU-Brick, a patented cable-robotic system developed at CUHK, and its role in bridging architectural intent with automated precision. Emphasis is placed on design-to-fabrication strategies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the implications for future urban environments. The lecture concludes by outlining opportunities for human-centred, data-driven construction in advancing architectural innovation and sustainability.

This lecture explores the integration of cable-driven robotic systems in architectural design and construction, focusing on the YES Pavilion as a case study. It examines how computational workflows and robotic fabrication enable complex geometries, enhance material efficiency, and support sustainable public infrastructure. The discussion highlights CU-Brick, a patented cable-robotic system developed at CUHK, and its role in bridging architectural intent with automated precision. Emphasis is placed on design-to-fabrication strategies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the implications for future urban environments. The lecture concludes by outlining opportunities for human-centred, data-driven construction in advancing architectural innovation and sustainability.

This lecture explores the integration of cable-driven robotic systems in architectural design and construction, focusing on the YES Pavilion as a case study. It examines how computational workflows and robotic fabrication enable complex geometries, enhance material efficiency, and support sustainable public infrastructure. The discussion highlights CU-Brick, a patented cable-robotic system developed at CUHK, and its role in bridging architectural intent with automated precision. Emphasis is placed on design-to-fabrication strategies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the implications for future urban environments. The lecture concludes by outlining opportunities for human-centred, data-driven construction in advancing architectural innovation and sustainability.

In an era of climate collapse, architectural practice faces a crisis of liability, materiality, and relevance. The built environment generates 40% of global emissions, creating an urgent mandate for architects to cut project carbon by a staggering 98% to meet climate targets. This talk argues that incremental changes are insufficient. It moves beyond ‘sustainability’ to explore alternative modes of practice founded on active ecological reparation. We will investigate strategies including radical material reuse, the transformation of industrial waste into valuable resources, and degrowth frameworks that design for sufficiency, fundamentally redefining the architect’s role in a volatile future.

Designing for Everyone – Universal Design and Accessibility Strategies for Architects explores how digital technologies and advanced fabrication can drive inclusive design. Drawing on co-design with blind and low vision (BLV) children, families, and educators, the talk presents The Museum for Touch—a research initiative that uses photogrammetry, 3D prints, and robotics to produce tactile models, interactive exhibits, and accessible learning tools. Through 3D printing, CNC milling, and robotic fabrication, cultural artefacts and playground elements become physically and sensorially engaging. Aligned with SDGs 10 and 11, this session invites architects to rethink public spaces using emerging technologies to build more equitable, multisensory environments.

In the ever so prevalent drive to reduce the environmental impacts of the construction industry, the (re)emergence of opting for a circular economy through repurposing of structural elements is gaining traction. This presented project explores an approach to develop modular systems that could be assembled and reassembled in a vast array of options thus further extending the lifespan of existing structural elements. The project was designed with a self-assembly process in mind that solely relies on the utilisation of bolted connections. This presentation outlines the challenges with sourcing, selecting, designing, and fabricating with reclaimed stock materials.

Over the past two decades, web technologies have transformed static platforms into dynamic, interactive tools for real-time data visualisation. Through open standards and modular systems, designers can now create responsive web interfaces that support digital twins, real-time data integration, and dynamic communication across diverse audiences. The session will showcase frameworks, dashboards and immersive visualisations that bridge digital and physical spaces, while also addressing challenges, particularly the infrastructure demands and sustainability implications of cloud-based systems and distributed sensor networks.

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the construction industry through greater transparency, efficiency, and trust into complex project ecosystems. This CPD session explores the fundamentals of blockchain and its practical applications—from secure contract management using smart contracts, to real-time supply chain tracking, digital payments, and tamper-proof documentation. It will assist in discovering how blockchain supports seamless collaboration across disciplines, protects intellectual property through immutable records, and empowers architects, project managers, engineers and construction managers to contribute more confidently to projects with complex stakeholder networks.

This CPD explores how computational design empowers the creation of organic, biomimetic architecture through digitally driven workflows. Drawing on experience as a Computational Design Specialist at Roth-Architecture and international projects in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Africa, the session demonstrates how parametric tools, custom scripts, and digital fabrication enable natural forms to be translated into buildable systems. From stone-inspired villas to topography-informed structures, the talk addresses strategies for managing geometric complexity, material efficiency, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Ideal for architects, engineers, and creatives interested in computational design, digital craftsmanship, and integrating biomimicry into contemporary construction practices.

The practice of architecture is deeply contextual, yet AI tools often operate without effectual context unless we provide it. Aimed at architects with little or no background in AI, this session explores how designers can introduce context into AI-enhanced workflows – an increasingly vital skill as AI shifts from rule-following to interpreting user intent. Drawing on a software development perspective, the talk presents straightforward strategies for reusing core values, logic, and goals across evolving tools. It offers practical ways to begin working intentionally and confidently with AI, grounded in accessible examples and design computing insights.

The practice of architecture is deeply contextual, yet AI tools often operate without effectual context unless we provide it. Aimed at architects with little or no background in AI, this session explores how designers can introduce context into AI-enhanced workflows – an increasingly vital skill as AI shifts from rule-following to interpreting user intent. Drawing on a software development perspective, the talk presents straightforward strategies for reusing core values, logic, and goals across evolving tools. It offers practical ways to begin working intentionally and confidently with AI, grounded in accessible examples and design computing insights.

This CPD explores a design methodology that engages Interactive Genetic Algorithms to generate optimised solutions while preserving the creativity and intuition integral to architectural design. It fosters a collaborative process where algorithms augment rather than replace intuition, allowing architects to guide the evolutionary search toward desired objectives while adapting to emerging insights and discoveries.

Construction is evolving with new digital fabrication methods that make projects faster, more cost-effective, and more sustainable. This session will explore how DFMA (Design for Manufacture & Assembly), digital workflows, and prefabrication are shaping the future of building design. Using case studies from completed projects, we will examine how advanced manufacturing techniques help deliver efficient high-quality architectural and engineering solutions.

Immersive technologies are reshaping architectural practice by enabling designers to evaluate human experience, spatial quality, and user behaviour before construction begins. This presentation explores how Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) can support more human-centred design processes within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector. Drawing on published research, case studies, and a VR-based coworking space evaluation, the lecture demonstrates how immersive environments can enhance stakeholder participation, improve spatial understanding, and generate measurable behavioural and experiential data during the early stages of design. The presentation also examines the evolution, current adoption, benefits, and limitations of XR technologies across architectural practice and the wider AEC industry.

This lecture introduces agent-based adaptation as a design method for maintaining architectural coherence between differentiated parts and the whole in parametric modular systems. In contemporary architecture, digital design and fabrication allow modular components to vary according to geometry, material, fabrication, assembly, use, structural, and environmental conditions. However, such variation also creates new challenges for coordinating local parts with the overall architectural system. Through three case studies—the Intersecting Timber Strip Structure, the Foldable Wooden Stair System, and the Parametric Concrete Unit System—the lecture explains how real-world constraints can be translated into local agent behaviors and evaluated through physical realization.

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has been relatively slow to adopt new technologies, which has been associated with lower levels of efficiency compared with manufacturing and the broader economy. At the same time, alongside broader technological advancements, early design-supporting tools (Generative Design tools) are rapidly proliferating across the AEC sector, with at least 20 such tools now available, each promising to enhance designers’ workflows. In response, this CPD aims to provide designers with a glimpse into the current landscape of these tools (E.g., scopes, formats, functions, typologies, level of automation). It also introduces a set of decision-support criteria to help designers evaluate the tools’ usefulness for practical applications.

Among rapidly emerging technologies in the AEC industry, Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) has become a key approach for bridging design with real-world constructability. With the introduction of Machine Learning (ML), designers can now leverage data-driven methods to predict performance, optimise workflows, and respond more effectively to project constraints. This lecture introduces the application of ML within a DfMA framework through a parametric free-form glazing façade case study. Using ASTM E1300 as a reference for glazing load conditions, it demonstrates how intelligent, data-informed decision-making can support material selection, enhance parametric design workflows, and enable more fabrication-aware outcomes.

The Australian Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is currently navigating a critical juncture, defined by a severe skilled labour deficit and mounting pressure to reduce material waste. This talk introduces the “Circular Robotic Housing Chassis”, a reversible, metal-free timber building platform designed to confront these socio-technical challenges. By shifting construction complexity away from the building site and into an algorithmic pre-fabrication workflow, this research reimagines traditional timber joinery as a scalable “Digital Vernacular”. In this CPD, we will explore the current Australian socio-technical landscape shaping the AEC industry towards automation, demonstrating how bridging the gap between circular material sourcing and accessible robotic manufacturing can empower architects to deliver high-quality, sustainable residential housing without relying on scarce manual labour.

As cities face mounting pressures from climate change and urbanisation, architects must integrate advanced analytical tools to optimise design decisions across sustainability dimensions. This session explores how machine learning and artificial intelligence transform urban design practice through evidence-based approaches to environmental sustainability and community wellbeing. Examining AI-enabled studies on green infrastructure optimisation, space zoning, and public space activity prediction, participants will understand how computational methods assess environmental impacts and integrate behavioural insights into design. These emerging technologies support architects in fulfilling professional obligations to minimise resource consumption, care for the community, and advance carbon-neutral built environments while maintaining design excellence.

This study presents a digital heritage framework for endangered Chinese villages. Combined with UAV photogrammetry, LiDAR point clouds, and a Rhino-Grasshopper fusion workflow, the system generates coherent multi-scale 3D models that overcome shadow and terrain discontinuities. Using an advanced computer vision deep-learning model-SAM2, we achieve automated semantic segmentation and material recognition, enabling precise and non-invasive facade analysis. A Unity-based platform enhances visualization and public accessibility. The framework reduces manual processing and hardware demands, offering a scalable, high-precision solution with significant value for long-term digital conservation and future AI-driven reconstruction.

Architecture, design, and built environment education are entering a transformative era — one defined by artificial intelligence. As AI reshapes the way we design, make, and think, the question is no longer if education must adapt, but how. Join us for a panel discussion exploring how UNSW Built Environment is effectively engaging with this challenge. The session will showcase best-practice examples of understanding, tracking, and implementing AI across our programs, featuring case studies that illustrate how AI is being embedded in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Academics will share firsthand experiences of integrating AI tools into studio, research, and professional practice, and reflect on the opportunities and challenges this presents. Through this discussion, UNSW BE presents its thought leadership in digital literacy and AI education — reimagining how future architects, designers, and built environment professionals learn, create, and lead in the age of intelligent design.

Panel 4 will explore the shifting ethical landscape of architectural education and practice as AI becomes increasingly integrated into design processes. Key themes include how to teach students to critically engage with AI, the challenge of accountability in AI-generated decisions, and the role of regulatory bodies in setting ethical standards. The panel will also address concerns around authorship, transparency, and trustworthiness, while considering the implications for accreditation, digital literacy, and the future competencies of architects. Through interdisciplinary insights and practical examples, the discussion aims to foster moral imagination, critical thinking, and responsible innovation in the AI-driven design era.

Panel 3 invites a timely and provocative conversation on the future of architectural education in an age of intelligent tools. Through critical dialogue, the panel aims to examine both the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI, while considering its implications for future graduate capabilities, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the evolving role of institutions in guiding this change. The discussion will also reflect on how these shifts in education resonate with, and potentially reshape architectural practice itself, as the profession navigates new relationships with technology, learning, and creativity.

As AI transforms architectural workflows and culture, this panel examines its impact on practice, education, and the business of architecture. This session will discuss the shifting role of graduates in an increasingly automated workplace in architecture. The discussion also considers how AI can be leveraged for long-term impacts, and how architectural education can better prepare students to navigate ambiguity, and become agents of change in a socio-technical landscape.

This CPD will explore the evolving role of architectural professional bodies, such as the NSW Architects Registration Board, in shaping the way that architectural education and practice responds to emerging AI technologies. We will examine how AI integration might influence accreditation frameworks globally, drawing lessons from digitally mature industries such as FinTech and telecommunications, particularly in areas of data science and risk management, while preserving the creative and judgment-based core of design. What emerging competencies will architectural education need to adopt to prepare students for AI-integrated workplaces?