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AIA25 First-timers guide

, Starleetah Gaddis

Top 10 tips for first-timers

We’re expecting more than 15,000 AEC professionals at AIA25, the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design® 2025. Many attendees plan their year around this event, attending year after year to see what’s new, now, in architecture and design.

Use our ultimate guide—10 top tips—to make the most of your first AIA Conference on Architecture & Design.

First-time attendee at AIA24

1. Register early & save

Save hundreds on registration when you take advantage of early bird rates through April 9!

Maximize your budget with special discounts:

  • $159 New AIA members
  • $35 Students
  • $699 AIA Associates
  • $599 AIA Emeritus members

Save even more with exclusive travel discounts through select airlines.

What to do with the budget you’ll save?

2. Book with peace-of-mind in our hotel block

We’ve personally vetted the best hotels near the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center to amplify your conference experience and make your stay enjoyable. Book your room in AIA’s official hotel block and get the best rates, guaranteed, at 27 Boston hotels, plus peace of mind—knowing you’re staying near the venue and among fellow attendees. Hurry, the best rooms and hotels always sell out!

3. Take a conference-only architect-led tour

Tours are one of the most popular session types this conference offers, and with good reason. These architect-led experiences are exclusive to AIA25 and are a unique way to experience Boston’s best architecture.

Take one of 80+ tours for behind-the-scenes access to the Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex, Prudential Tower, Zakim Bridge, Kresge Auditorium, MIT.nano, Boston Harbor, and so much more. Tours are starting to sell out, so don’t wait too long to register.

Pro tip: An Ultimate Pass upgrade comes with a free tour credit up to $100!

Image of a group of architects on a tour of a historic building

4. Maximize your required CE

With 450+ sessions earning HSW, GBCI, RIBA, and AIA LU credits, you can earn your CE for the year. Follow one of five curated education tracks—including Trends & Technology, Career Advancement & Leadership, Business & Firm Prosperity, Workplace Culture, and Design Excellence—to plan your experience around a topic of interest or customize your own schedule.

The Full Pass and Ultimate Pass include free workshops and the Pro Series, three sessions on hot topics with high-profile speakers. You can also add a symposium! Take your pick from eight different options hosted Wednesday.

Image of a group of architecture professionals receiving continued education courses at a conference

5. Take advantage of streamlined session registration

When you register for AIA25, you only need to sign up for tours, open studios, symposia, and events. All other sessions can be added to your schedule via the AIA25 app—available now for Apple, Android, and desktop.

Adding seminars, workshops, and expo-credit sessions to your personal agenda in the app doesn’t register you for them; it simply bookmarks them to help you plan ahead and save time. We recommend selecting a first-, second-, and third-choice session for each time slot in case your first choice is full.

Then, when you’re on-site in Boston, you can enjoy the flexibility to choose the sessions you’re most interested in!

6. Network at events & parties

AIA25 hosts an unrivaled range of nearly 100 events and parties—offering unique opportunities to network, celebrate peers, and meet new collaborators. There’s no better place to build meaningful, in-person relationships in friendly, fun environments. But hurry—tickets sell out!

AIA Awards Gala: The can’t-miss event of conference! Don’t miss an incredible night of recognition with the best in architecture and design as AIA announces its award winners live at a red carpet-style celebration.

Open studios: Boston’s leading architecture firms are opening their doors for exclusive, one-night-only access to staff, space, and projects! Many are in architecturally significant buildings with stunning views.

More exciting events & parties:

  • Boston Society for Architecture Open House
  • Women’s Leadership Luncheon
  • LGTBQIA+ Happy Hour
  • NextGen Architects Mixer
  • AIA Annual Business Meeting

Image of architect professionals networking at a conference

7. See the future at the expo

Get the full expo experience from 600 brands at the AIA25 Expo! Demo the products and materials used in some of the most innovative design projects in the world, meet with experts one-on-one for technical advice, take related CE sessions and earn credits right on the expo floor, and order materials samples for free at the AIA Sample Gallery. The expo has everything you need to inform your design decisions and stay competitive.

Plus, you can learn about emerging trends, connect with peers who share common goals, and take part in fun interactive experiences in the expo’s four zones—Innovate, Design, Build, and Prosper.

Image of the Expo floor at conference

8. Connect & engage on social

Each of the four expo zones (Innovate, Design, Build, and Prosper) will feature cool, new topic-related interactive experiences and/or activations designed to help attendees engage and be seen on social to build organic connections with fellow attendees and AEC professionals.

But why wait until conference? Start building connections today! Use the hashtag #AIA25 to connect before conference—then build relationships in real life at AIA25 through events, tours, sessions, and so much more.

9. Visit the AIA Design Shop

From conference essentials to one-of-a-kind finds, the AIA Design Shop is the place to shop unique, curated items available only at conference. The selection includes home decor, books, design items, office accessories, and AIA25 products and gear. Stop by and find something to remember your time at AIA25!

Image of a young conference attendee browsing through books at the AIA Design Shop

10. Extend your stay in Boston

Turn your trip to AIA25 into an extended vacation for you or your family. Boston is packed with incredible sightseeing, hidden gems like the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Forest Hills Cemetery, nearby New England escapes to Martha’s Vineyard or Portland, ME, and world-class architecture you’ll experience on AIA25’s architect-led tours.

Wherever you go, AIA25 makes travel easy and affordable with the lowest guaranteed hotel rates and the option to extend your stay at the same low rate for up to three days before and after the event (subject to hotel availability).