The newly opened second phase of Hunters Point South Waterfront Park, one of the many projects that’s being highlighted by Archtober Courtesy Albert Vecerka / Esto
Speaking on board the Manhattan II, a boat that will ferry architecture enthusiasts back and forth the Hudson and East Rivers throughout next month’s Archtober, AIANY executive director Ben Prosky made one thing clear. Acknowledging the routinely mispronounced portmanteau, he clarified, “It’s pronounced ‘Ar[k]tober,’ like ‘ar[k]itecture’…we don’t say the other word!”
Prosky, who also leads the Center for Architecture, was there to tease what this year’s event has to offer. Now in its eighth year, Archtober still has multitudinous options for practitioners and casual architecture fans alike: From the always-entertaining “Pumpkitecture! Architectural Pumpkin Carving Competition” to building tours and lectures from leading architects, there’s almost certainly something for everyone. Those interested should visit the Archtober (remember the k!) website, but Metropolis has selected a few highlights below.
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop ArchitectureOct 1. – Jan 12., Center for ArchitectureIt's no secret that the hip-hop genre originated in the South Bronx—less known is its connection to the borough's architecture. While the exhibition's exact format isn't clear, the show aims to highlight that untold story using the works by students, academics, and practitioners.
Courtesy Center for Architecture
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop ArchitectureOct 1. – Jan 12., Center for ArchitectureIt's no secret that the hip-hop genre originated in the South Bronx—less known is its connection to the borough's architecture. While the exhibition's exact format isn't clear, the show aims to highlight that untold story using the works by students, academics, and practitioners.
Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF)Oct. 16 – Oct. 21, Cinepolis Chelsea and SVA TheatreFrank Gehry, Dieter Rams, Mies van der Rohe, Renzo Piano—all of them will be making appearances in films during this year's ADFF. Though not all films will celebrate renowned figures: the documentary Leaning Out, which will be premiering at the festival, mixes triumphant architectural innovation and tragedy in telling the story of Leslie E. Robertson, the young engineer who helped design the original World Trade Center towers. The ADFF never fails to deliver a stimulating selection of architectural cinema paired with panel discussions, installations, and Q&A's. (Seen here: Leslie E. Robertson)
Courtesy Leslie E Robertson, via officeinsight
Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF)Oct. 16 – Oct. 21, Cinepolis Chelsea and SVA TheatreFrank Gehry, Dieter Rams, Mies van der Rohe, Renzo Piano—all of them will be making appearances in films during this year's ADFF. Though not all films will celebrate renowned figures: the documentary Leaning Out, which will be premiering at the festival, mixes triumphant architectural innovation and tragedy in telling the story of Leslie E. Robertson, the young engineer who helped design the original World Trade Center towers. The ADFF never fails to deliver a stimulating selection of architectural cinema paired with panel discussions, installations, and Q&A's. (Seen here: Leslie E. Robertson)
Timber in the City: Opportunities for Architecture and UrbanismOct. 4, 6pm – 8pm, and Oct. 5, 10am – 8pm, Parsons School of Constructed EnvironmentsBuilding technologies like reinforced concrete, float glass, and air conditioning fundamentally changed what buildings could do. What are the many implications—in terms of health, sustainability, and construction—of mass timber? This two-day annual event at Parsons, now in its third year, will "look critically at the current use of mass timber and speculate on the opportunities that the material brings to architecture and urbanism."
Courtesy Parsons the New School for Design
Timber in the City: Opportunities for Architecture and UrbanismOct. 4, 6pm – 8pm, and Oct. 5, 10am – 8pm, Parsons School of Constructed EnvironmentsBuilding technologies like reinforced concrete, float glass, and air conditioning fundamentally changed what buildings could do. What are the many implications—in terms of health, sustainability, and construction—of mass timber? This two-day annual event at Parsons, now in its third year, will "look critically at the current use of mass timber and speculate on the opportunities that the material brings to architecture and urbanism."
Building of the Day: Hunters Point South Waterfront ParkOct. 31, 12pmArchtober offers a slew of building tours led by multiple organizations, but given the acute importance of landscape for resiliency and social equality, Metropolis wanted to call out this particular tour of Hunters Point South Waterfront Park, designed by SWA/Balsley, WEISS/MANFREDI, and ARUP. Consult the Archtober website for the full list of tours, which include Foster + Partners' new Midtown skyscraper and the under-renovation TWA Flight Center.
Courtesy Albert Vecerka / Esto
Building of the Day: Hunters Point South Waterfront ParkOct. 31, 12pmArchtober offers a slew of building tours led by multiple organizations, but given the acute importance of landscape for resiliency and social equality, Metropolis wanted to call out this particular tour of Hunters Point South Waterfront Park, designed by SWA/Balsley, WEISS/MANFREDI, and ARUP. Consult the Archtober website for the full list of tours, which include Foster + Partners' new Midtown skyscraper and the under-renovation TWA Flight Center.
Archtober Wikipedia Edit-a-thonOct. 27, 12pm – 4pm, Bard Graduate CenterArchitecture doesn't just have a present-day diversity problem—architectural history has frequently neglected to record the work of women and other minorities. The Bard Graduate Center, Architexx (a non-profit dedicated to gender equity in architecture), the AIA’s Women in Architecture and Diversity and Inclusion Committees, and Wikimedia NYC are teaming up to help remedy this shortcoming by adding Wikipedia entries on architectural contributions from women and members of LGBTQI communities.
Courtesy ArchiXX
Archtober Wikipedia Edit-a-thonOct. 27, 12pm – 4pm, Bard Graduate CenterArchitecture doesn't just have a present-day diversity problem—architectural history has frequently neglected to record the work of women and other minorities. The Bard Graduate Center, Architexx (a non-profit dedicated to gender equity in architecture), the AIA’s Women in Architecture and Diversity and Inclusion Committees, and Wikimedia NYC are teaming up to help remedy this shortcoming by adding Wikipedia entries on architectural contributions from women and members of LGBTQI communities.
Gaetano PesceOct. 15, 6:30pm – 8:30pm, Avery Hall at Columbia University
The renowned Italian industrial designer and architect Gaetano Pesce—known for his material innovations and explorations of design's social importance, among other accomplishments—is delivering a lecture at Columbia University's GSAPP. Seating can be limited for popular lectures, so determined attendees should probably arrive early! (Seen here: Feltri seats, 1987, designed by Gaetano Pesce)
Courtesy Cassina
Gaetano PesceOct. 15, 6:30pm – 8:30pm, Avery Hall at Columbia University
The renowned Italian industrial designer and architect Gaetano Pesce—known for his material innovations and explorations of design's social importance, among other accomplishments—is delivering a lecture at Columbia University's GSAPP. Seating can be limited for popular lectures, so determined attendees should probably arrive early! (Seen here: Feltri seats, 1987, designed by Gaetano Pesce)
Brooklyn Navy Yard: New Lab Tour
Oct. 12, 9:30am – 11am, the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Tech enthusiasts and workplace designers alike will find something to enjoy in this tour of New Lab, a former shipbuilding facility that's now home to entrepreneurs working with robotics, AI, architecture, and smart cities.
Courtesy Spencer Lowell
Brooklyn Navy Yard: New Lab Tour
Oct. 12, 9:30am – 11am, the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Tech enthusiasts and workplace designers alike will find something to enjoy in this tour of New Lab, a former shipbuilding facility that's now home to entrepreneurs working with robotics, AI, architecture, and smart cities.
Rebel Architecture: How to Dismantle Power Through Design
Oct. 2, 6:30pm – 8:30pm, NYU/Gallatin
While public space can seem benign, it's no secret that it can be weaponized to foster social exclusion. This panel of advocates, architects, and academics will "demonstrate ways we can—and do—counteract these prescribed meanings through alternate, collective, and collaborative forms, as well as through active resistance." (Seen here: NYU/Gallatin)
Courtesy NYU
Rebel Architecture: How to Dismantle Power Through Design
Oct. 2, 6:30pm – 8:30pm, NYU/Gallatin
While public space can seem benign, it's no secret that it can be weaponized to foster social exclusion. This panel of advocates, architects, and academics will "demonstrate ways we can—and do—counteract these prescribed meanings through alternate, collective, and collaborative forms, as well as through active resistance." (Seen here: NYU/Gallatin)
Arthur Rosenblatt Memorial Lecture: Odile DecqOct. 18, 6pm – 8pm, Center for ArchitectureKnown for her multidisciplinary, award-winning practice, French architect Odile Decq will be delivering a lecture at the Center for Architecture. While details on the lecture haven't been released, Metropolis is sure this will be an architectural tour de force.
Courtesy Shaftesbury Asset Management Group
Arthur Rosenblatt Memorial Lecture: Odile DecqOct. 18, 6pm – 8pm, Center for ArchitectureKnown for her multidisciplinary, award-winning practice, French architect Odile Decq will be delivering a lecture at the Center for Architecture. While details on the lecture haven't been released, Metropolis is sure this will be an architectural tour de force.
