The conference will examine the issues inherent to new digital architecture technologies and the innovative practices they will make possible from the perspective of new approaches to design, development, and manufacturing.

New conceptions of space and new practices will be discussed, as will the new ways of perceiving our environment brought about by the connected situations interactive architectural systems will create.

Architecture that uses bridging technologies will bring with it new relationships to information. This could lead to a new definition of the discipline of architecture as one that cuts across the digital, physical, emotional, economic, and social realms. Parametric architecture, generative processes, and the design-to-manufacturing continuum will give us new ways to create manmade spaces that integrate new technologies. Architectural form will emerge in new ways, and its spatial attributes will be assessed in new ways as well, according to criteria like context-based performance, quality of information, and degree of interactivity. This will spur new everyday experiences and ways of interacting with architecture, beyond the traditional aesthetic and emotional appreciation.

The conference will look at the instrumentation techniques used in designing these new architectural forms, the multidisciplinary know-how needed, and the types of interactions that can result. All of the building design professions will be affected, with a trend toward the development of multidisciplinary competencies and the integration of currently-separate professions like engineering, architecture, and city planning—not to mention the convergence of entire industries that are today distinct. All of these issues are inherent to the new design practices that are emerging.