The CONVERGENCE 2025 International Conference – Architecture as a Framework for Collaboration and Trust took place in November 2025 at the Aula Magna “Carmen Sylva” of “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași. The official opening was delivered by Prof. Neculai Seghedin, Vice-Rector of TUIASI, followed by introductory remarks and the conference overview presented by Aurora Irina Dumitrașcu and Piotr Gradziński, who also offered the keynote “Architectural Design as a Collaborative Praxis”.
Day 1 focused on interdisciplinary collaboration and participatory, sustainable design. The first sessions explored co-housing and resilience, the role of genius loci in heritage regeneration, care infrastructures in the city, and new forms of trust-based collaboration between architects and communities. Subsequent presentations addressed circular materials and resource-efficient design, new structural strategies for emerging architectural ideas, and business modelling for financially sustainable practices. The day concluded with debates on critical interdisciplinarity in architectural studies, including architectural illustration, cinematic dystopias, and imaginary architectures as tools for understanding contemporary space.
Day 2 shifted the focus toward trust and ethics in contextual and adaptive architecture, technological and cultural convergence, and the role of the architecture school in its local community. Contributions discussed temporary spaces as tools for social cohesion, interspecies design, VR-based learning environments, participatory board games for civic engagement, as well as projects reconnecting industrial heritage with public awareness and integrating historic layers into new urban developments. The closing sessions highlighted guides and research projects dedicated to the city of Iași and to collaborative, formative practices in architectural education.
Throughout the two days, the programme combined paper sessions, Q&A debates and a poster exhibition, creating multiple opportunities for exchange between authors, moderators, reviewers, students, and invited guests. Authors, moderators, reviewers and special guests received a printed copy of the edited conference volume, while all participants were offered a conference folder with materials and programme details. The images below capture some of the key moments, encounters, and atmospheres that shaped this edition of CONVERGENCE.
Photo credits: Dodo Visuals