The AIA Conference on Architecture is just around the corner, from June 21 to 23 at the Javits Center in New York City. To add to the excitement, the city will be bustling with architecture events and exhibits, including at MoMA PS1, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, and the Van Alen Institute. Here are our editors’ highlights for the week.
1) MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. (Midtown)
June 18
6:00–8:00 pm. Free. RSVPs required*
www.momaps1.org
Exhibition reception for 2018 Young Architects Program, featuring finalists LeCAVALIER R+D, FreelandBuck, BairBalliet, and OFICINAA. The winning scheme Hide & Seek by Dream The Combine (Jennifer Newsom and Tom Carruthers), opens to the public June 26. Opening reception, limited space.
2) Night at the Museums
Various locations
June 19
4:00–8:00 pm. Free.
NightattheMuseums.org
Fourteen Lower Manhattan museums open their doors, free of charge, as part of this annual event. Visit the Skyscraper Museum, African Burial Ground, Museum of Jewish Heritage, South Street Seaport Museum, National 9/11 Memorial, and others.
3) Architecture Books Opening Reception
Storefront for Art and Architecture
97 Kenmare St. (SoHo)
June 19
7:00–9:00 pm. Free.
Storefrontnews.org
Now on display at the legendary Steven Holl and Vito Acconci–designed gallery, selection of 100 fundamental books, selected by a jury, based on Storefront’s Global Survey of Architecture Books. On June 26, Storefront will host a conference at the New York Public Library Main Branch (6:30–8:30 pm, free), featuring prominent architects.
4) Solstice: 24x24x24
Storefront for Art and Architecture
97 Kenmare St. (SoHo)
June 20–June 21
Storefrontnews.org
Making the most of the longest day of the year, 24x24x24 brings together 24 designers to shape a day of programming and contribute a seat for a collective gathering during the summer solstice. From dawn until dusk, 24x24x24 is an experiment in collective production in design, action, and thinking. 24x24x24 is collectively organized and curated by a group of architects who will be taking over Storefront for Art and Architecture from 7pm on June 20 to 7pm on June 21.
5) Mind the Gap: Improving Urban Mobility Through Science and Design
Van Alen Institute
30 West 22nd St. (Flatiron)
June 20
6:30–8:30 pm. Free.
VanAlen.org
An examination of how populations move through cities, using tools and methods from neuroscience and behavioral psychology. Organized by the Van Alen Institute. AN’s very own Assistant Editor Jonathan Hilburg will moderate the discussion.
6) Summer Solstice Aperitivo
Vitra
100 Gansevoort St. (Meatpacking District)
June 21
4:00-8:00 pm. Free with RSVP*
aiany.org
Toast the summer solstice with Vitra and Skyline Design. Aperitivi, live DJ, and special exhibitions.
7) Architecture League Prize 2018: Night 1
Sheila C. Johnson
Design Center
Parsons School of Design
66 Fifth Ave. (Greenwich Village)
June 21
7:00–9:00 pm. $10 for non-members. RSVP required*
ArchLeague.org
Lectures by the winners of the Architectural League’s prestigious annual prize, recognizing the nation’s top young architects: Gabriel Cueller & Athar Mufreh, Coryn Kempster, and Bryony Roberts. Followed by reception
8) Modulightor Building Open House
246 East 58th St. (Midtown)
June 22
6:00–9:00 pm. $15. RSVP required*
modulightor.com
Tour Paul Rudolph’s stunning four-story glass townhouse.
9) Infrastructure: The Architecture Lobby National Think-In
Javits Center
655 W 34th St, New York
June 22
7:00 am–7:00 pm
Prime Produce
424 W 54th St (between 9th and 10th aves)
June 23
10:00 am – 7:00pm
This Think-In is divided into two parts over two days: active engagement with relevant sessions at the AIA National convention to ensure substantive dialogues on professional issues on Friday, June 22; and Think-In panel discussions on Saturday, June 23 at Prime Produce that examine the theme of Infrastructure. Infrastructure is the network of systems necessary for an organization to function. When those systems are degraded enough, the defining functions of the organization fail. The Architecture Lobby has selected this theme for its first National Think-In to generate a way forward and rebuild our discipline’s infrastructure.
10) Architecture League Prize 2018: Night 2
Sheila C. Johnson
Design Center
Parsons School of Design
66 Fifth Ave. (Greenwich Village)
June 22
7:00–9:00 pm. $10 for non-members. RSVP required*
ArchLeague.org
Lectures by winners of the Architectural League’s prize: Anya Sirota, Alison Von Glinow & Lap Chi Kwong, and Dan Spiegel.
11) A’18 Community Service Day
Various locations
Check-in: Center for Architecture
536 LaGuardia Place
7:30 am–6:00 pm; reception 6:00–8:00 pm
aiany.org/a18
Looking for a meaningful way to spend the last day of conference? AIANY encourages you to volunteer for a half or full day of work that will benefit local nonprofits. Roll up your sleeps and pitch in on projects that range from upgrading a church kitchen, fixing a shelter’s community room, working a mobile farmer’s market in an underserved community, and installing infrastructure at a school’s educational outdoor garden. Volunteers will have the chance to make a real difference for these organizations and the people they serve, and see parts of New York City that they might not otherwise visit. Collaborating firms include: Cannon Design and Stalco Construction, James Wagman Architect, Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects, FXCollaborative, Perkins Eastman, and 1100 Architect. Participants must sign up in advance.
12) Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers
Arnold and Sheila
Aronson Galleries
Parsons School of Design
66 Fifth Ave.
(Greenwich Village)
June 22–23
12:00–6:00 pm. Free.
ArchLeague.org
Exhibition featuring the 2018 winners of this prestigious prize program. This year’s theme, Objective, asked entrants to consider objectivity and criteria by which architecture might be judged today.
13) Panorama of the City of New York
Queens Museum
Flushing Meadows
Corona Park
Ongoing
QueensMuseum.org
Conceived by urban mastermind and World’s Fair President Robert Moses for the 1964 Fair, the Panorama is a 1:1200 scale model of New York City, covering 469 acres and including hundreds of thousands individually crafted buildings. In 1992, the original modelmaker updated the Panorama while the museum underwent its expansion, designed by Rafael Viñoly.
14) New York at Its Core: 400 Years of NYC History
Museum of the City
of New York
1220 Fifth Ave.
(Upper East Side)
Ongoing
MCNY.org
What made New York New York? Follow the story of the city’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World.” Framed around themes of money, density, diversity, and creativity, the city delves into its past and invites visitors to propose visions for its future.
15) Designing Waste: Strategies for a Zero Waste City
Center for Architecture
536 La Guardia Place (Greenwich village)
Through September 1
CenterforArchitecture.org
Waste is a design problem. This show presents strategies for architects, designers, and building professionals to help divert waste from landfills. Curator Andrew Blum will lead tours of the exhibition on Friday, June 22, 10:00–11:00 am, and Saturday, June 23, 11:00 am–12:00 pm. This exhibition is based on the Zero Waste Design Guidelines and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Text by AIA City Guide, Storefront for Art and Architecture and AN.
