ARCH:ID 2026 Explores Architecture as Collaborative Ecology

The questions facing architecture now are too broad for one discipline alone, and ARCH:ID 2026 responds by widening the table. Taking place on 23–24 April 2026 at Nusantara Hall, ICE BSD City, the ARCH:ID 2026 International Conference returns with a programme centred on architecture as an engaged, collaborative practice, bringing together designers, policymakers and creative thinkers to examine how the built environment is being shaped now.

Held as part of the wider ARCH:ID 2026 forum, the conference is organised by the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI) in collaboration with PT CIS Exhibition. This year’s theme, Synthesis Scheme – Architecture of Engagement, frames architecture as something formed through exchange rather than isolation. The premise is timely, as environmental pressure, urban change and the shifting demands of public life are asking more of architecture, and the conference is responding by opening the discussion across disciplines.

The programme is divided into two main platforms, the Architecture Forum and the Urban Forum. Together, they look at how architecture and urbanism can respond to current realities, from the climate crisis and the rapid transformation of cities to the growing influence of the creative economy. This conference connects them and in turn, gives the programme a broader and more grounded scope.

That thinking is reflected in the speaker line-up. International names include Florence Chan of Kohn Pedersen Fox, recognised for her work on large-scale urban developments, French architect Manuelle Gautrand, whose projects explore culture, materiality and form, and Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, known for a practice shaped by context and people. They are joined by Agnes Soh, Isha Hening, Irene Umar, Diana Kusumastuti and Helen Agustine, whose contributions extend across design, public policy, governance, technology and creative industries.

At its strongest, the conference appears to offer a useful reminder that architecture does not sit apart from the forces around it. It is influenced by regulation, economics, culture, ecology and the way people actually live in cities. ARCH:ID 2026 is intent on keeping that complexity visible, while giving space to the people working within it. For architects, students, urban practitioners and those simply interested in how cities are being imagined and managed, the conference offers two days of discussion worth paying attention to! 

More information is available at arch.id/conference2026, with enquiries also open via +62 812-9429-2503 (Annisa).