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While digitally-automated tools and large language models (LLMs) have undoubtedly transformed architectural design processes in practice, the continued importance of physical workshops and model-making in educational environments suggests not a complete transformation but rather a continuing hybridity, where the fundamentally material nature of architecture demands a renewed emphasis on physical modeling in education on the analog.

The 2027 Teachers Conference examines the evolving relationship between analog and digital approaches in architectural pedagogy. Might we frame it not as a binary opposition but as a complementary and dynamic system that directly shapes student learning experiences and competencies? We invite reflection on the potential role of analog methods—such as hand drawing and physical model-making—in supporting embodied cognition, material awareness, and multisensory perception. How might these approaches contribute to the development of spatial understanding, observational skills, and conceptual thinking in students? How might their relevance can be critically reassessed within contemporary architectural education? To what extent can they contribute to student resilience, well-being, and mental health, considering the stress and anxiety often reported by architecture students?

In parallel, digital tools emphasize abstraction, data-driven processes, and endless visual outputs, while also automating routine tasks and promising to significantly improve efficiency, precision, and workflow management. Can we measure how these capacities contribute to the development of students’ computational literacy, analytical abilities, and capacity to handle complex design processes? How do digitally-automated environments and working methods shape how students understand and apply spatial relationships, design logic, and information processing in architectural projects?

This conference invites an exploration of the key challenges related to balancing analog and digital approaches within architectural curricula and pedagogies, with particular attention to student learning outcomes and competence development. It encourages discussion on the shift toward hybrid methodologies that integrate analog and digital tools as a possible framework for enriching learning processes and supporting the development of student skills.