After a 10 year hiatus, Texas Society of Architects returned to Houston to host its 85th Annual Conference & Design Expo on October 3–5. This year’s event, led by 2024 President Derwin Broughton, AIA, NOMA, was themed “The BRIDGE,” and welcomed nearly 2,000 architects, designers, exhibitors, students, and industry professionals.
Over three days, attendees gathered inspiration from more than 130 hours of peer-led continuing education sessions, explored the city on 26 unique architectural tours, heard from world-renowned keynote speakers, and made new connections in the Design Expo with 150+ exhibitors.
Day One
The conference kicked off with workshops and exclusive architectural tours of the city, including to NASA’s Mission Control Center and the 3D-printed Mars CHAPEA Habitat. Students were welcomed to the event to participate in a design charrette and celebrate the finalists and winners of this year’s Student Design Challenge. A morning of engaging continuing education sessions made way for the opening of the Design Expo, which was filled with discovery, connections, and entertainment. The excitement continued into the evening with Pecha Kucha Night at AIA Houston’s Architecture Center that featured PK founders and keynote speakers Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein.
Day Two
Two keynote sessions filled the heart of our conference Friday morning, beginning with Frank Harmon, FAIA, who captivated us with his architectural love story through sketches. Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein discussed their Tokyo work, and 2024 Honor Award winners were honored. The state’s newly-licensed architects were recognized at the New Architects Convocation, and the day wrapped up with celebration! Emerging Professionals gathered for a sunset happy hour on the POST rooftop and then guests danced the night away to an amazing live band at the sneaker-ball themed President’s Party!
Day Three
The last day of the conference finished strong with more thoughtful sessions and tours, and featured a closing keynote from Wendy Evans Joseph, FAIA. “I loved the opportunity to learn new information about architectural practice in Texas, to see colleagues, and to see some of the Houston architectural landmarks,” said Yelena Ptashinskaya, AIA.
Thank you to AIA Houston for their hospitality and all who planned, attended, presented, and exhibited, coming together to make it an amazing conference. We’re already looking forward to next year in Dallas — see you for #TxA25 on October 30 – November 1, 2025!
See the full photo gallery from the event here (be sure to credit Killy Photography and tag us on socials!)