ACADIA 2024: Designing Change

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.