Future Unfolding: Reflections from the 2025 NOMA National Conference

Taruna Gupta
Nov 25
4 min read

Attending the 2025 NOMA National Conference in Kansas City was an energizing, grounding, and deeply meaningful experience. The theme “Future Unfolding” captured exactly what the week felt like. It was a moment where our collective stories, ideas, and identities were opening outward toward possibility.

The conference brought together architects, designers, students, and community leaders committed to shaping a more equitable future in the built environment.

As an immigrant architect, I often reflect on how our journeys shape the way we see space, community, and design. This conference felt like a reaffirmation of that truth.

Keynotes That Moved Me

The keynote presentations were profoundly impactful, each offering a lens into justice, imagination, and community resilience.

Ruha Benjamin: Race to the Future? From Artificial Intelligence to Abundant Imagination

Dr. Benjamin challenged us to confront the inequities embedded in emerging technologies and to design futures that resist bias rather than reinforce it. Her message pushed us to imagine technological and architectural systems rooted in liberation, care, and collective creativity. These ideas echoed through many of my conversations afterward, especially around how innovation must be anchored in ethics and equity.

Heal Our Cities with Michael Brown Sr. and Cal Brown

In a deeply emotional keynote moderated by NOMA President Bryan C. Lee Jr., the Browns shared their family’s story and the mission of Chosen for Change. They spoke about transforming grief into activism and building community spaces of healing. Their message underscored how architecture carries memory, trauma, and hope. Our work must respond to these realities with humility and purpose. It was a very moving session, empowering and hopeful at the same time.

Session Highlights

This year’s sessions spanned design, technical expertise, business development, and community & justice. Many were led by immigrant architects and designers who are actively shaping the profession.

Empowering Immigrant Architects: The IAC Session

A major highlight was the Immigrant Architects Coalition session, “Empowering the Immigrant Architect Community.”

The panel brought together architects whose stories reflected diverse lived experiences. They spoke about navigating cultural and language barriers, confronting discrimination, and overcoming the unspoken hurdles of building a career in a country that isn’t your birthplace. What made the discussion powerful was not only the honesty of the panelists but also the resilience behind their journeys. They carved their own paths, developed strategies to thrive, and transformed barriers into leadership.

They also emphasized the unexpected role of volunteer work in cultivating belonging, building local roots, and developing a deeper appreciation for the United States as a chosen home.

This conversation held deep personal resonance. Stories of navigating licensure, immigration barriers, cultural transitions, and professional growth reflected so much of my own path. The IAC session was a powerful reminder that immigrant architects are not peripheral to this profession. We are actively reshaping its future.

Securing The Future of Architecture: Creating A Bias-Free Profession

In a moment when EDI efforts face legislative and cultural attack, this session addressed the burnout and setbacks that many equity advocates are experiencing. Led by AIA Strategic Council members, including IAC Board Member Graciela Carillo, the panel offered both a reality check and a path forward.

They shared AIA research, case studies, and insights from firm leaders who are navigating today’s pressures. Their message was clear. Building a bias-free profession requires tools, accountability, equitable pathways, and a commitment to community-rooted design. Despite the challenges, the panelists emphasized that meaningful progress remains possible and that every architect and institution has a role to play.

Designing the Future: Printing Community Layer by Layer

One of my proudest contributions to the conference was presenting my session on 3D Printing and Emerging Technologies through Defining Humanity, the non-profit I co-founded. Through our projects in Madagascar, I shared how 3D printing can democratize design and empower communities, particularly those historically excluded from architectural tools and representation.

The energy in the room was incredible. Attendees were excited not just about the technology, but about what it could mean for community-driven design and global equity.

Experiencing the City: Tours & Place-Based Learning

A beautiful part of this conference was experiencing Kansas City through its architecture and neighborhoods. The local tours offered insights into the city’s cultural and historical fabric. We visited neighborhoods rich with Black history, music, and resilience; adaptive reuse projects that reflect vibrant creative energy.

No tour of Kansas City is complete without a stop at both the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art & Kauffman Center, icons of the city’s bold architectural identity and civic pride.

Walking these neighborhoods made Future Unfolding feel tangible. It was an invitation to listen to the stories places hold and imagine what comes next.

Celebration & Community

The conference balanced depth with joy, bringing the NOMA community together in iconic Kansas City venues that added richness to the experience.

Union Station hosted the welcome reception, an awe-inspiring Beaux-Arts landmark that set the tone for reconnection.
The Awards Gala at the Midland celebrated the achievements of BIPOC and immigrant architects in a setting full of architectural splendor.
And of course, the Masquerade Ball gave us a moment to breathe, dance, and connect. It was a joyful reminder that celebration is also essential to the work we do.

These moments of celebration are what sustain us and make NOMA one of the most meaningful conferences in architecture.

Why This Conference Matters

As I reflect on the week in Kansas City, I feel reenergized. Something shifted. The conference wasn’t just a gathering, it was a reaffirmation of identity, purpose, and belonging. For me, as an immigrant architect, Future Unfolding felt like a promise. ur stories and visions are essential to shaping what comes next.

For the Immigrant Architects Coalition, this moment reinforced why our work matters. IAC is not just a network, it is empowerment, visibility, mentorship, and solidarity. The conference made it clear that immigrant architects and designers aren’t only part of the future, but we are actively designing it.

I leave Kansas City grateful for the opportunity to present, to learn, to celebrate, and to connect. I am excited to keep building community and expanding what is possible, one unfolding future at a time.