The highly anticipated AIA International Spring Conference made its return on March 26-28, 2026. This event, now in its 6th year, has become a fixture in the AIA International calendar, bringing together our members, architects, designers and thought leaders wherever they are in the world.
With this year’s theme Shaping Place, we focused on how architects respond to both trends and place, translating global insights into locally grounded, culturally responsive, and environmentally responsible design.
A Global DialoguE
A few stats to sum up the conference:
AIAISC’26 attracted 1013 registrants from 81 countries.
Speakers joined us from locations spanning 18 time zones, from Brisbane to Vancouver; from as far North as Norway and as far South as Sydney.
Speakers ranged from students to firm leaders!
Among the most attended sessions were:
AIA Hong Kong’s Multi-stakeholder Strategy for Neighbourhood Innovation (151 live attendees).
New Urban Prototypes: A Framework for Human-Centric, Affordable Densities (153 live attendees).
AIA Latin America’s Curitiba and Chicago Sustainability Strategies (153 live attendees).
As a virtual event, we believe the Spring Conference offers an incredible platform for global collaboration and knowledge-sharing. It demonstrates that AIA International’s strength lies in connecting our members and chapters, with insightful sessions being hosted by the International Chapters - Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, the Middle East, Shanghai, and the United Kingdom - and International Sections.
A Platform for Continuing Education
The conference is also a valuable Continuing Education opportunity, of course, offering 20 LUs (of which 15 HSWs) for AIA members. All sessions were recorded and are now available to view. For recorded sessions, AIA Members can earn CES credits on demand by taking the related quiz; where the quiz is not yet available, we are working to add them, so do check back if you are interested.
Thank You
Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making AIAISC’26 a success! To our conference co-chairs, Sam Oboh, FAIA and Michelle Montgomery, AIA, for their thoughtful shaping of the theme and the program, so that we could offer something fresh this year; to our speakers, for sharing their work and their time so generously; to our conference sponsors for their vital support. And to all the participants - your engagement and energy are what truly makes this conference!
Watch AIAISC’26 recordings: 2026 Spring Conference Program
Genie Khmelnitski,
Executive Director, AIA International
