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Celebrating NYC’s Architecture and Design with Archtober’s Month-Long Festival

09.11.18 | By
Celebrating NYC’s Architecture and Design with Archtober’s Month-Long Festival

Archtober (pronounced ark-tober) is a month-long festival in New York celebrating architecture, design and the city that created it. The event, now entering its eighth year, is organized by the Center for Architecture in collaboration with 60+ partners and sponsors across NYC’s five boroughs to bring you an exciting month of activities, programs, exhibitions, tours, talks, competitions, and parties.

You can grab a printed Archtober Guide available at the Center of Architecture, McNally Jackson Books, Housing Works Bookstore, and The Strand or visit Archtober for the full calendar of events but here’s a sneak peek of some of the events we’re excited for:

Buildings of the Day – October 1: One John Street, designed by Alloy \\\ Photo by Alloy/Laurian Ghinitoiu

One of the most popular attractions is the Festival’s Building of the Day where an architect will lead visitors on a walking tour to some of NYC’s new construction and historic sites. Some sites are already sold out so head to this full line-up to register today!

Need something to look forward to in the middle of the week? Workplace Wednesday is returning, a series where an architectural firm will host a workshop, talk or presentation at their offices. This year features SITU Studio, Steven Holl Architects, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners, and WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism.

Buildings of the Day – October 6: TWA Hotel, renovated by Perkins Eastman \\\ Photo © Chris Cooper, Courtesy Perkins Eastman

Buildings of the Day – October 1: R & Company, designed by wHY Architecture Photo \\\ Photo courtesy Joe Kramm / R & Company

The Uni Project

Audiences of all ages are invited to come participate in the festival which will have programs like the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s Teen Design Fair, Museum at Eldridge Street’s Amazing Architecture for Kids program, and the Queens Foundation for Architecture’s bilingual K-12 Architecture Design Workshop. The Center of Architecture will also be hosting a Build a LEGO City Family Day, a Build and Wear Halloween Costume workshop, and a family-oriented Building of the Day tour of the Helen Hayes Theater.

The Uni Project, a non-profit organization that creates pop-up learning environments for kids, will be activating sites across the city to teach children how to draw architecture and build.

The Uni Project

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Don’t miss out on tours by the Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum, the Judd Foundation – Historic House Trust of NYC, the South Street Seaport Museum, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and the Classic Harbor Line (for daily architectural boat tours!).

South Street Seaport Museum \\\ Photo by James Keivom

Classic Harbor Line boat tour

Organized by the Center for Architecture and Times Square Art, finalists from the Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition will present their proposed installations at this opening event. The competition is designed to generate connections and conversations through expressions of love, both individual and collective.

Various exhibitions will be on view, including Yinka Shonibare’s Wind Sculpture and B. Wurtz’s Kitchen Trees. The full list of exhibitions can be found here.

B. Wurtz, Kitchen Trees \\\ Photo by Jason Wyche courtesy of Public Art Fund, NY

Yinka Shonibare, Wind Sculpture \\\ Photo by Jason Wyche courtesy of Public Art Fund, NY

Museum at Eldridge Street \\\ Photo by Chelsea J. Dowel

A number of museums will be hosting engaging tours throughout the month. On October 10th, the Museum at Eldridge Street will be hosting a Rediscovery and Restoration tour of the landmark synagogue building which underwent a 20-year, $20-million restoration. On October 21, the New Museum will host an architecture tour focusing on the building designed by architectural firm SANAA.

Museum at Eldridge Street \\\ Photo by Chelsea J. Dowel

Museum at Eldridge Street \\\ Photo by Chelsea J. Dowel

New Museum, designed by SANAA

Needless to say, there’s a lot to see and do! In a city that doesn’t stop moving, Archtober helps visitors and locals alike stop to admire the architecture + design scene around them. Learn more at archtober.org.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She's probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.