Hi there,
Three signals this week point at the same gap: architecture has adopted AI faster than it has structured anything around it. The RIBA survey shows usage climbing while confidence and fee-capture stay flat. Benjamin Bratton's provocation asks where the profession's talent should actually go if design work contracts. And nine new Rhino plugins are proof the tools keep arriving whether or not practices are ready for them.
This week: the five most telling numbers from the RIBA AI Survey 2026, why graduates might be better served by ConTech than the traditional route, and what's new in the database - plus a CTO role worth a look.
Let's get into it. 👇
What Sparked the Most Discussion This Week
Here are 5 surprising insights from the RIBA AI Survey 2026. And my interpretation.
"50% of architects and urbanists in the entire world should, as of now, stop designing new buildings and new developments altogether." Benjamin Bratton wrote that. Today, 61% of RIBA members think AI will take opportunities away from young architects.
Your Rhino users spend hours each week on work software can now do for them. 9 new Rhino plugins that use AI & data.
Is your practice Technology ready?
Not sure where to start? Start here. The free "Is your practice technology ready?" guide gives you an honest read on where your practice stands - the gaps, the quick wins, and the questions worth asking before you spend a penny on new tools. It's the same thinking behind the Blueprint above, in a form you can run yourself.
What's inside:
-/ The four phases of a connected technology strategy
-/ The six things most practices haven't addressed but should
-/ A self-assessment with a scoring guide and recommended next steps
-/ Five questions to ask before any technology decision
Built for Practice Directors, Managing Directors, Digital Design Leads and Studio Principals.
Download here: Is your practice technology ready?
News & Events
Start Up Fund - NXT Activate
NXT Activate is a $3 million developer-focused accelerator supporting early-stage AEC software startups with funding, mentorship, and industry access.
Apply for the Fall 2026 Cohort: Apply Now – NXT Activate
Application deadline is Friday, August 21.
Symetri
Join me as I support Symetri at their upcoming event. There will be industry peers, Naviate experts and guest speakers for a day of insight, discussion and practical learning focused on the challenges shaping today's construction and design industry. Sign up here: Naviate User Group Event | Symetri.co.uk
New this week in the ConTech database
Each week I will continue to share new software added to the ADDD Database and specific categories of software to help you find the right solutions and stay up to date on what is emerging out there.
Leica CloudWorx for Revit
Point cloud plug-in that lets you model straight from as-built laser scan data inside Revit, built for retrofit, construction and lifecycle asset work. Leica CloudWorx for Revit | Leica Geosystems
Constant Builder
AI-powered construction management platform for GCs and subs, covering scheduling, estimating, invoicing and vendor payments in one place. AI Construction Management Software for GCs & Subs | Constant Builder
Lagarsoft HUDA
Bulk user management across Autodesk ACC, Forma and BIM 360, so admins stop hopping between platforms to manage access. Bulk User Management for Autodesk ACC, Forma & BIM 360 | HUDA
Revalu
Material selection platform for choosing building products with sustainability and performance data built in. Select Building Materials with Confidence and Ease
Muro
AI assistant for pre-construction managers, with agents for scope extraction, bid levelling and estimating drawn from your own project data. Muro AI
Videos Update
From the AEC Tech Futures Channel
One Role Worth Noticing This Week
Role: Mori CTO - Mori
“You are the CTO and cofounder. You're building Mori's AI platform: the system that turns a project brief into a fabricated mass timber home, and takes an architect's model straight to the machine with no manual redraw in between.
This is the operating system of our factory. You'll design the architecture, make the foundational AI and software decisions, and build the technical team around you.
Where we are today: we have real geometry, panel, and cost data from live projects, plus fabrication outputs and test files. What we don't have yet is the platform.
That's yours to build, and you're not starting from a blank sheet.”
→ View role: Here
See all roles here: www.aectechjobs.com/search
What this issue means for you
None of this week's numbers say “Don't use AI”. They say most practices have adopted the tool and skipped the strategy. Three-quarters of RIBA members now use AI, up from 41% two years ago but only a fifth feel more optimistic about their organisation's future, and only 19% have a documented policy. Bigger practices are proving the two aren't in tension: the same firms with the highest confidence also have the most governance. That's not a coincidence, it's cause and effect. And it's why free AI tools are the wrong shortcut - the productivity gain isn't worth what leaks out through a tool with no data agreement behind it.
The same gap shows up in how the profession is thinking about people, not just policy. If 61% of members expect AI to squeeze opportunities for young architects, and JTP can get 2,600 applications for 9 Part 1 roles, the bottleneck isn't talent - it's where that talent is being pointed. ConTech needs architects in product, data, sales and operations roles just as much as it needs coders, and the nine Rhino plugins in this issue are a reminder of what that talent is already building: automation that removes manual work without removing judgement.
Start with the readiness guide above if you want an honest read on where your own practice sits before you spend on anything new.
Get in touch - reply to this email or book a call: 30 min with Allister Lewis
Thanks for reading!
Allister
Richard didn’t seem that worried about the heat this week.
