Webinar Week: architecture as a tool, a system, and a story

What does it mean to practice architecture today? How can design respond to social urgencies, environmental challenges, technological acceleration, and the growing complexity of professional practice? Questions like these framed a series of discussions that explored architecture not as a single discipline, but as a constellation of roles, tools, and responsibilities, ranging from social impact and construction innovation to management, storytelling, and research-driven design. These conversations came together during Architecture Hunter’s January Webinar Week, marking the beginning of the 2026 programme. Across four days, the series unfolded as a curated journey, from social impact and construction innovation to management, storytelling, and research-driven practice, offering both inspiration and critical insight into how architecture is conceived, built, and communicated.

The opening conversations set the tone by addressing architecture’s social dimension through the work of Colectivo C733, a Mexico City–based architectural meta-collective represented by José Amozurrutia and Carlos Facio. Known for its extensive portfolio of public infrastructure across Mexico, the collective framed architecture as a civic act grounded in collective authorship, territorial awareness, and social responsibility. Their presentation positioned architecture as a civic act, one rooted in collective authorship, territorial awareness, and efficiency understood not only in economic terms, but as a social and cultural responsibility. Through built examples and reflections on process, the discussion illustrated how public architecture can become an active agent of social transformation when grounded in local realities.

From social impact, the focus shifted toward construction, technology, and material innovation through contributions by Lapo Naldoni, engineer and computational designer at Mario Cucinella Architects, and Elora Hardy, founder and creative director of IBUKU. Lapo Naldoni, from Mario Cucinella Architects, explored how research and development can meaningfully inform architectural decision-making from the earliest design stages. Addressing embodied carbon, robotic fabrication, and earth-based construction systems, the session demonstrated how innovation operates as a design strategy, one that redefines sustainability, performance, and beauty while remaining closely tied to context and feasibility.

Attention then moved behind the scenes of architectural practice with Olivia Argentini, São Paulo Office Director at Archea Associati (Marco Casamonti). Olivia Argentini, São Paulo Office Director at Archea Associati, offered insight into the often-invisible dimensions of running an international studio. Her talk foregrounded management, communication, and storytelling as fundamental architectural tools, showing how leadership structures, strategic thinking, and internal organization shape not only projects, but also office culture, identity, and continuity over time.

The final conversations turned toward research-driven and interdisciplinary practice with Ken Clausen, Associate and Head of Digital Practice at 3XN, and My Lunsjö, Associate Architect and Behavioural Design Specialist at GXN, who discussed how computational design, behavioural research, and human experience can be integrated within a single workflow. Their contribution emphasised collaboration across disciplines and the need to align data-driven tools with lived, embodied experience.

This reflection was further expanded through the contribution of Neil Leach, whose lecture addressed the rapidly evolving relationship between architecture and artificial intelligence. Moving beyond tools and workflows, Leach situated AI within a broader cultural and theoretical framework, questioning how emerging forms of machine intelligence are reshaping authorship, agency, and the future role of the architect. His talk invited the audience to critically engage with AI not only as a technical resource, but as a profound shift in how design knowledge is produced and understood, raising questions that extend well beyond the discipline itself.

Together, the four days formed a coherent narrative about architecture today: a discipline in constant negotiation between impact and imagination, data and intuition, strategy and care. All sessions are now available to watch, offering a rich resource for architects, students, and researchers eager to engage with the future of practice.

_article written by Daniela Moreira da Silva
_speakers day 01: José Amozurrutia and Carlos Facio 
_speakers day 02: Lapo Naldoni & Elora Hardy 
_speaker day 03: Olivia Argentini 
_speakers day 04: Kenn Clausen and My Lunsjo & Neil Leach