Contributors: Justin Crane, FAIA and Maddie Burns, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC

As thousands of designers, engineers, theorists, and enthusiasts gathered in Boston for the 2025 AIA Conference on Architecture and Design, CambridgeSeven was keen to participate in several events and learn from our talented colleagues and counterparts from around the country. We were honored by all those who took an interest in our projects and we were delighted to meet a new generation of professionals. A notable element of this year’s conference: showrooms where crowds typically browse new materials and products are now bustling with software vendors, indicative of an increasingly important topic in the industry.

 

Conference Themes: Innovation, Collaboration, and Transformation

AI took center stage on Thursday as the topic of the keynote speech, by Allie K. Miller, formerly Global Head of Machine Learning at Amazon Web Services. She conveyed the seeming inevitability and omnipresence of AI, followed by recommendations for how to build and scale practices around the technology. Innovations to watch include “world models,” which allow AI to generate internal representations of an environment, allowing it to simulate, predict, and reason about surroundings and, as a result, vastly improve simulations of interactions and processes with no need for the real, physical world we work so hard to design.

Following the talk, doors opened to the exhibition floor – a quadrant of which was dedicated to the “Innovate Zone.” In a clear contrast to past conventions which primarily featured vendors of building materials, this zone was dominated by software companies showcasing applications that reshape architectural workflows by incorporating data into every phase of design and construction.

Several sessions at AIA25 demonstrated hands-on applications of AI in architecture that have the potential to expand and refine our ever-evolving toolbox:

• Generative Design for Urban Planning: AI algorithms were used to generate and evaluate multiple urban design scenarios, optimizing for factors like traffic flow, green space, and energy efficiency.
• AI-Driven Building Performance Analysis: Machine learning models analyzed building data to predict energy usage patterns, enabling architects to design more sustainable and efficient buildings.
• Adaptive Reuse and Historic Preservation: AI tools assisted in assessing the structural integrity of historic buildings and proposing adaptive reuse strategies that preserve cultural heritage while meeting modern needs.

Memorable Conversations

Artificial Intelligence may have been the dominant theme, but the gathering also featured projects and events inspired by an even more powerful force. Part of what we love most about these conferences is the exchange of ideas that happen in formal workshops and informal encounters with colleagues.

Community in Contrast: The Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) opened its gallery doors for an exhibition entitled, In Common: Sites of Encounter. The show focused on the importance of shared spaces, where interactions between people can generate something beyond AI: a community. It reminds us that architecture is never passive. It frames possibility, encodes power, and holds memory. In Common invites reflection on the visible and invisible forces that shape our shared environments and the encounters that sustain communal life.

One of the projects featured in this exhibit is Foundry 101, a publicly-owned enterprise run by an independent non-profit providing spaces for art creation, workforce training, and community building. Not only has Foundry 101 become increasingly busy with events we never could have imagined, but it has clearly been embraced by its users as they’ve adapted the space with, for example, new floral patterns on the floors, artful wall graphics, and new equipment for the special and evolving needs of the neighborhood.

Modern Academia: Principal Justin Crane and Associate Maddie Burns met architecture students from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Boston Architectural College to discuss the modern challenges faced by rising professionals. While some themes are a tale as old as time in the design industry, such as the tension between theory and technical practice, we also learned that today’s students can see how their education relates to fields beyond architecture, opening up all new possibilities for their career paths.

Sustainability Buzz: During the Committee on the Environment (COTE) Session, attended by Maddie Burns and Associate Jacob Bloom, AIA, LFA, conversations focused on material durability and re-usability as a response to building resiliency. For years we have studied concepts such as energy performance, carbon footprint, and material sourcing, but now more and more thought is being put towards what happens to materials after the buildings are built. Can we repurpose materials and products that have reached their end of life? A wooden door? Probably. A vinyl graphic? Probably not.

Featured CambridgeSeven Projects:

We had the privilege of touring visitors around recent projects and showing off some of our older gems:

• Justin Crane and Senior Associate Danielle McDonough, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC gave visitors an insider’s look at Foundry 101 – a retired industrial manufacturing center repurposed into an art, performance, and makerspace for the community.
• Principal Gary Johnson, AIA joined PCF in leading a select group of skyscraper fans around our joint project, the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, One Dalton – New England’s tallest residential high-rise.
• President Timothy Mansfield, AIA, and Justin Crane and welcomed visitors to CambridgeSeven’s new office space in Charles Square with first-hand anecdotes from Gary Johnson, who worked on the original design in the eary1980s.
• Banker & Tradesman tapped tour guides, Timothy Mansfield and Justin Crane to highlight the Liberty Hotel and the New England Aquarium as must-see spots for conference goers.
• While not an in-person tour, some conference attendees also got a behind-the-scenes look at the Williams Inn – our LEED Gold farmhouse-style destination hotel in the Berkshires.

Looking Ahead

The experiences and insights gained at AIA25 will continue to influence our approach to design at CambridgeSeven. We are excited to integrate the latest trends and technologies into our projects, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of architectural innovation. And we will remain steadfast in our commitment to create something that we believe is even more mysterious, complicated, and ultimately rewarding than an AI-generated model: a sense of belonging, connection, and empowerment; in other words, a community.

Thank you to all who attended and engaged with us during this inspiring event. We look forward to continuing the conversations and collaborations that began at AIA25.