Nurture: Cultivating Care, Creativity, and Collaboration in Architecture seeks to reflect on and nurture architecture as a process, practice, and pedagogy. In our rapidly changing world, architecture plays a crucial role in addressing environmental, political, economic, and cultural challenges. As practitioners and educators, understanding how we care, for what and for whom is a fundamental existential concern. What is our agency when almost all building activities cause some form of damage? How do we make decisions when we must balance impacts from multiple, often conflicting perspectives—planetary, social, economic, cultural, political, and more? What should be the hierarchy of our concerns? Moreover, how can we shift from viewing the world as a fixed and stable entity to seeing architecture as part of an ecosystem of shifting interdependencies?

The conference aims to celebrate the dynamic and evolving condition of architecture, exploring the importance of collaboration, mutual support and constructive critique in the practices, processes and constructions of architecture and education. Central to these responsibilities is the concept of care, highlighting our commitment as architects and educators to the current and future wellbeing of our community of educators, architects, students – alongside concerns for impact in the local and global contexts in which we operate. The conference will be a place to reflect on these issues, share knowledge of current and past radical or alternative models, and speculate on future forms of architecture and education.

Find out more about the conference themes and call for papers: Association of Architecture Educators Conference 2025

Contact the organisers: aae2025@uwe.ac.uk