A&DS:SpACE - a new pop-up venue for design and architecture in Edinburgh

Hopeful Housing Futures

Exhibition | Tue 15 - Thur 17 September | 10:00 - 17:00 | Admission Free

An interactive exhibition that explores ideas about the future of home, streets and neighbourhoods in celebration of National Housing Week.

• Explore your ideal living environment by playing the Imagine If Game - drop in and play, then compare your results to real-life examples of housing.
• Build a fictional street together to explore what good design should and shouldn't consider. Join a workshop to help us build it.
• Contribute to the "gallery of hopeful futures" showcasing good ideas from the neighbourhood workshops.
• The short film “Hopeful Futures” will be played every half an hour between workshops
• Come along to our closing panel discussion to find out "What do good neighbours, communities & homes look like?"

This exhibition aims to encourage conversation and surface good ideas to contribute to Hopeful Futures.

Exhibition, events and workshops by Imagine If. Space CIC

Additional events and workshops on Hopeful Housing Futures

Hopeful Housing Futures opening event

Event | Mon 14 September 2026 | 18:00 – 20:00 

Launch of A&DS & SpACE exhibition programme with the opening event by Imagine If. Space exploring 'Hopeful Housing Futures'

For more information and how to register, view here.

Build a Street Together: Founders

Workshop | Tue 15 September 2026 | 12:00 – 13:00 

Contribute to a fictional street shaped by 3 workshops throughout the exhibition - sign up to become a founder, innovator or steward.

For more information and how to register, view here.

Making Ideas Happen

Workshop | Tue 15 September 2026 | 15:00 – 16:00 

Play our neighbourhood game, share ideas about the future of neighbourhoods & how to make them happen.

For more information and how to register, view here.

Build a Street Together: Innovators

Workshop | Tue 16 September 2026 | 12:00 – 13:00 

Contribute to a fictional street shaped by 3 workshops throughout the exhibition - sign up to become a founder, innovator or steward.

For more information and how to register, view here.

Making Ideas Happen

Workshop | Tue 16 September 2026 | 15:00 – 16:00 

Play our neighbourhood game, share ideas about the future of neighbourhoods & how to make them happen.

For more information and how to register, view here.

Build a Street Together: Stewards

Workshop | Tue 17 September 2026 | 12:00 – 13:00 

Join the last workshop to create a fictional street for the exhibition - explore how people, nature and systems will steward the future.

For more information and how to register, view here.

Making Ideas Happen

Workshop | Tue 17 September 2026 | 15:00 – 16:00 

Play our neighbourhood game, share ideas about the future of neighbourhoods & how to make them happen.

For more information and how to register, view here.

What do good neighbours, communities & homes look like?

Event | Thur 17 September 2026 | 18:00 – 20:00 

Join Imagine If. Space CIC for an evening of conversation and inspiration, as invited panellists share real-world projects already creating more connected, inclusive, and thriving places. Through short talks and Q&A, explore practical examples, lessons learned and the ideas that can help shape better homes and communities for the future.

For more information about the event and how to register, view here.

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The A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 

Exhibition | Mon 21 - Thur 24 September 2026 | 10:30 -16:30 | Admission Free

An exhibition of architecture students’ work offers a vivid glimpse into how emerging designers are reshaping the built environment. The showcase brings together models, drawings, digital explorations, and experimental materials that reveal each student’s evolving architectural voice. Themes range from adaptive reuse and sustainable urbanism to speculative futures, with projects demonstrating how design can respond to social, ecological, and technological change. It’s a celebration of creativity, critical inquiry, and the next generation of designers preparing to shape tomorrow’s cities.

Exhibition by Architecture and Design Scotland and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland

Additional events and workshops

Career Conversations: Speed Mentoring Afternoon with RIAS Careers Studio and A&DS

Event | Tue 22 September 2026 | 16:00 -18:00 | Admission Free 

Join RIAS Careers Studio and Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) for an inspiring afternoon of speed mentoring designed to connect students with professionals from across the architecture and built environment sector.

For more information about the event and how to register, view here.

RIAS Seminar: Using Architecture Policy to Generate Public Value

Event | Wed 23 September 2026 | 13:30 - 15:15 | Free

How does Scottish architecture policy delivery compare with Europe's best? Join us for the launch of new RIAS commissioned research.

Join RIAS and Architecture and Design Scotland for a seminar exploring new research comparing role of architecture within public policy across different European contexts.

For more information about the event and how to register, view here.

RIAS BookshopLATE...How to Build a City with Gabriella Bennett

Event | Thur 24 September 2026 | 18:00 -20:00 | Admission Free for RIAS Members

Join the next RIAS BookshopLATE talk... author Gabriella Bennett discusses her new book 'How to Build a City'

Gabriella Bennett takes readers on a globe-trotting journey to learn how we are reimagining home to embrace the challenges of contemporary living. From political instability to wildfires, flooding and an increased pressure on materials and space, the built environment is under threat like never before. It must change - and it is. We'll travel to the frontier cities of this urban revolution and discover how people are transforming their communities in surprising ways.

For more information about the event and how to register, view here.

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Scotland's Climate Week 2026, 29 September - 1 October

A short exhibition and event series curated by Architecture and Design Scotland to mark Scotland's Climate Week. 

Heat Network – Impact on homes and occupants

Event | Tuesday 29 September 2026 | 12:00 - 17:00 | Admission Free 

Register: You’re welcome to drop in on the day, but to secure a seat, please email events@heatnetworkscotland.org

Come along to explore heat networks, through talks and demonstrations. Exhibitors and speakers are:

• Heat Network Scotland (Antoine Reguis) – The Home and voice of heat network sector in Scotland
• Vattenfall (Ben Carter) – Connecting homes in Edinburgh and the Lothians
• SAV Systems (Lukas Fabricius) – Practical changes within homes and buildings
• Porty Community Energy (Maria Vrabec) – Perception of change by the public

Sowing Seeds workshop 

Event | Wed 30 September 2026 | 12:00 - 15:00 | Admission Free 

As part of A&DS marking Scotland's Climate Week, join us for an afternoon of collective making exploring ecology, craft, memory and belonging.

Sowing Seeds brings together designer Alyesha Choudhury's research from Bangladesh with the experiences and stories of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Scotland. Through cyanotype printing, clay impressions, textiles and stitching, we will explore how plants, bodies and materials can leave traces and carry memories across places. 

Open to the Bangladeshi diaspora and anyone curious about plants, materials, making and memory. Funded by British Council Bangladesh & Women of the World (WOW) Bangladesh. Free (no booking needed).  

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Scotland's Climate Week 2026, 29 September - 1 October

Climate Clinic – Diagnosing and treating the built environment 

Event | Thurs, 1 October 2026 | 13:00 – 16:30 | Admission Free

The Climate Clinic brings together architects, students, and built environment professionals to explore how we can adapt, reuse and future-proof the buildings and places we already have. Through a series of interactive discussions, the event will examine climate resilience, retrofit, adaptive reuse, circular construction and the design of healthier, more sustainable places in a changing climate.

Register here (Eventbrite)

Event by Architecture and Design Scotland 

People's Emergency Briefing - Community screening [SOLD OUT]

Event | Thurs, 1 October 2026 | 18:00 – 20:00 | Admission Free

Join us at A&DS:SpACE during Scotland's Climate Week for a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing - an eye-opening 50-minute film bringing together nine leading UK scientists and experts with the latest evidence on the climate emergency. 

Register for free here (Eventbrite) 

Event by Architecture and Design Scotland 

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Exhibition of the 2026 RIAS Award Winning Projects

Exhibition | Mon 5 - Thur 8 October 2026 | 10:30 - 17:00 | Admission Free

Explore the winning projects from the 2026 RIAS Awards for Architecture at this public exhibition, bringing together a selection of outstanding architectural projects from across Scotland.

The exhibition will also showcase the 2026 RIAS Doolan Award shortlisted projects, offering an insight into the range of work being considered for the 2026 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland. Together, the projects provide an opportunity to see the variety of approaches, scales and contexts represented in this year’s awards.

Exhibition by The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland

2026 Doolan Award Shortlist: In Conversation

Event | Thur 8 October 2026 | 17:30 – 19:00

Join RIAS President and awards judge Libby Heathcote, as she hosts and chairs this live discussion with the practices shortlisted for the 2026 RIAS Doolan Award, to explore the projects that are in the running to be named this year's best building in Scotland.  

For more information about the event and how to register, view here.

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Edinburgh Through a Child's Lens

Exhibition | Mon 12 - Thur 15 October 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00 | Admission Free

What do Edinburgh's children tell us about their city?

Through drawings, maps, models, words and ideas, children from across Edinburgh show us the city as they experience it- an opportunity to see Edinburgh differently, through the eyes of the young people who live here.

Before we talk about the future of Edinburgh, we are going to listen to the people who will live longest with the decisions we make.

Exhibition and events by Simpson Studio

Exhibition opening: The children’s opening

Event | Mon 12 October 2026 | 15:00 - 17:00 | Admission Free

What do Edinburgh’s children tell us about their city? This opening event is our day of listening to children - an opportunity to see Edinburgh differently, through the eyes of the young people who live here.

Before we talk about the future of Edinburgh, we are going to listen to the people who will live longest with the decisions we make. Come along, explore the exhibition and, listen to the ideas. 

Exhibition Opening | Free Tickets | Refreshments will be provided

Book your tickets on Eventbrite here.

Panel discussion: Designing for childhood in the city - What makes a great city for children?

Event | Tue 13 October 2026 | 13:30 - 14:30 | Admission Free

Having listened to what Edinburgh’s children have told us about their city, Tuesday asks us to think, to consider what their experiences and ideas mean for the way we design, plan and shape Edinburgh.

Book your tickets on Eventbrite here.

Activity: Build the city - children's build day

Event | Weds 14 October 2026 | 10:00 - 16:00 | Admission Free

A day for children and families to make, build, play and imagine the city together. Children don’t always communicate their experiences of place most powerfully through words. Making and play can reveal ideas, relationships and observations about the city that conventional consultation can miss.

So, for our Make day, we’re putting the city in their hands. Children are invited to get creative, build their ideas and imagine the places they would love to grow up in - exploring what their streets, neighbourhoods, play spaces and wider city could become.

Book your tickets on Eventbrite here.

Talk and drinks reception: The teen gap with Make Space for Girls

Event | Thur 15 October 2026 | 15:00 - 17:00 | Admission Free

As children grow into adolescence, the spaces designed specifically for them begin to disappear. Playgrounds are left behind and public space becomes increasingly important, a place to meet friends, gain independence and develop a sense of belonging.

But who are these spaces really designed for? Who feels welcome in them, and who gets pushed to the edges?

Together with Imogen Clark from Make Space for Girls and Anna Gaffney of A Place in Childhood, we explore what young people need from their city as they grow, with a particular focus on the experiences of teenage girls and the inequalities that can shape their access to public space

Book your tickets on Eventbrite here.

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The Mass Timber Revolution

Exhibition | Mon 19 - Thur 29 October 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Exhibition by Mass Timber Academy

Future housing in Edinburgh

Exhibition | Tue 3 - Fri 13 November 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Exhibition by 7N Architects

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Infrastructure & Energy

Public talks | Wed 4 - Thur 5 November 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Exhibition by The Centre of Net-zero High Density Buildings

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Demystifying AI in Architectural Design

Event | Thur 12 November 2026 | 12:30 - 17:00 | Admission Free

An event exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being integrated into architectural practice, and what might this mean for architects in Scotland?

For more information and to book tickets on Eventbrite, view here

Event by Architecture and Design Scotland 

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EAA Week - Celebrating Architecture in Practice

Exhibition | Mon 16 - Thur 19 November 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Exhibition by Edinburgh Architectural Association

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Collaborative Practice Pilgrimage

Exhibition | Mon 21 - Fri 27 November 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Exhibition by Andrew Gillespie Trust

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Boom Saloon Calling

Live Broadcast Call | Mon 21 - Fri 27 November 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Live broadcast call by Boom Saloon

Art, Architecture & the City

Exhibition | Mon 30 November - Fri 18 December 2026 | 10:00 - 17:00

More information coming soon...

Exhibition by Simpson Studio and The Fine Art Society