In November, architects, designers, digital fabricators, and innovators gathered in Calgary, Canada, for the 2024 Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) conference. This years theme, Designing Change, put forth research, innovations, and hypotheses for how computational designcan be harnessed to adapt and evolve the built environment. Out of the workshops, papers, and Ideation Lab pitches, ACADIA identified a few stand out topics and ideas, including Material Design Thinking, Digital Naturalism, Material Hyperlocalism, Applied Research New Craft Models, and Integrated Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities. The full workshops and conference agenda can be viewed here.Workshops started in Calgary on November 1113, 2024. The conference, located in scenic Banff, followed those sessions, running from November 1416, 2024. (Courtesy ACADIA)The talks and research presented at the conference fostered timely and topical discussions on applying methods of computational design to architectural practice, examples include looking at how technology can be used to deliver infrastructure projects and tackle humanitarian crises.In addition to the in-person events and the presentation of new, innovative ideas, ACADIA also presented its Awards of Excellence. These annual accolades are doled out to individuals and practices committed to working within the digital architecture sphere and have made a significant contribution to it.Elena Manferdini was one of three keynote speakers. (Courtesy ACADIA)Awards of ExcellenceThe Design Excellence Award recognizes an architect, designer, or researcher who has made significant, innovative, and impactful contributions to the fields of architecture and computational design. At ACADIA 2024, the jury awarded it to Philip Beesley, recognizing the professionals work in immersive sentient physical environments.The Digital Practice Award of Excellence went to Matias del Campo for his expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Fologram, a research practice and technology startup, working in extended reality, computational design, and fabrication was recognized for its contributions; that outfit received the Innovative Research Award of Excellence. The Society Award for Leadership, for demonstrated commitment to supporting ACADIA, was given to Andrew Kudless. Kudless teaches at the University of Houston and is the director of the Construction Robotics and Fabrication Technologies Lab (CRAFT Lab).This award recognizes the significant role that Andrew Kudless has played in ACADIAs leadership, and as a voice in the computational design community, the jury wrote in its citation. Andrew is an exceptionally dedicated scholar whose many years as Technology Officer served to advance the organization.And finally, the ACADIA Teaching Award of Excellence was awarded to Larry Sass, an educator at MIT in the Department of Architecture. Sass was a founder of the MIT Design Fabrication Group. The jury described him as a developer of innovative pedagogical approaches that center digital fabrication and making as an integral part of the design process.ACADIA Best Paper Award Winner: Digital Upcycling (Erik Zanetti I, Vincent Witt, Javier Fuentes, Moritz Drstelmann)In addition to recognizing individuals making a significant contribution to the field of computational design in architecture, ACADIA also prizes the best papers and projects presented at the annual conference, awarding both research and innovations that have made significant impact as well as those that have spurred constructive dialogue within the field. The paper taking the top spot in 2024 was titled Digital Upcycling: Transforming Waste Wood for Circular Construction through Digital Strategies. The Vanguard Award was given to researchers with focused work on materiality; that paper was titled, Gradient Multimaterial Printing: Integrated and Tailored Thermal Insulation through Gradient Multimaterial Additive Manufacturing for Masonry Architectural Components.The Best Project Award was given to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for their endeavor to create dynamic light drawings that reveal what is not easily detected to the naked eye. A process that involves using augmented mirrored sheets, the runner-up was a project focused on wildfire resiliency.ACADIA Ideation Lab First Place: Ecological Scaffolds (Mary Polites)Ideation LabNew this year at ACADIA was the Ideation Laban opportunity for researchers, academics, early career professionals, and students to work with established professionals on early-stage research or initial concepts. Three of these initiatives were recognized with awards.First place was awarded to work by Mary Polites of University of Oregon, titled Ecological Scaffolds: Architectural Infrastructures Informed by Root Morphologies and Growth Patterns. A team at University of Michigan received second place for its work: a low-carbon rainscreen facade cladding product. Third place was given to a team of researchers looking at housing displaced people involved in humanitarian crises.The Architects Newspaperis a media partner for ACADIA 2024.