Our newest section, RECORD Events, is your go-to source for information about exhibitions, lectures, conferences, and symposia around the globe. This section also features competition announcements for both emerging and established architects.

Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective RECORD editor Josephine Minutillo visits a new semipermanent exhibition at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. Photo © Kevin Kennefick

"realities:united!"
Los Angeles
November 17-December 12, 2008  
Electronic surfaces that carry sounds and imagery have long been featured in the work of the Berlin-based realities:united architectural studio. This exhibit, which presents a selection of their projects and approaches from the past 10 years, explores the intersection of art, architecture and
communication. At UCLA. Call 310-267-4704 or visit www.aud.ucla.edu.

Pierre Berge & Associes Auction of DuPont Installations and Designs
Brussels
December 18, 2008
Pierre Berge & Associes will auction a selection of DuPont Corian installations and designs created for DuPont international events and exhibitions.  Some of the designers include Sottsass Associati, James Irvine, Ron Arad, Zaha Hadid, David Rockwell, and Arik Levy. For more information, contact: Olivia Roussev, Pierre Berge & Associes, oroussev@pba-auctions.com or call +32 495 74 63 62.

Atelier Bow-Wow
Los Angeles
February 5-April 5, 2009
Tokyo-based architecture studio explores the use and function of space within urban environments. As working architects in Tokyo, Atelier Bow-Wow developed the term "pet architecture" a style of small, ad hoc, multi-functional structures that make the most of limited space. For over 10 years, they have also created "micro public spaces" within the framework of art exhibitions. The project will expand on the possibilities of a gallery space to relate to its surroundings and the urban environment. This is Bow-wow's first solo exhibition in the U.S. At the Gallery at Redcat. Visit www.redcat.org or call 213/237-2800 for more information

Ongoing Exhibitions

Architects Fired
Washington, D.C.
Through November 28, 2008
A group of celebrated DC architects, Mark McInturff, Anthony Barnes, Guy Martin, Bill Bonstra, Tom Kerns, Janet Bloomberg/KUBE, Dhiru Thadani, Louis Sinclair, Outerbridge Horsey, and Salo Levinas, turn their sensibilities to the medium of clay. The architects demonstrate their 3-dimensional ideas without the normal constraints of budgets and building codes with earthenware. At Cross Mackenzie Gallery. Call 202/333-7970 or visit www.crossmackenzie.com.  

Just In: Recent Acquisitions from the Collection
New York City
Through November, 2008
This installation of recent acquisitions, many of which are on view for the first time, represents the diversity found in contemporary design practice, with a focus on the latest innovations in architectural, industrial, and graphic design. Highlights include videos and drawings of Diller + Scofidio’s ephemeral mist construction, the Blur Building. At the Museum of Modern Art. Call 212/708-9400 or visit www.moma.org. 

April Greiman: Does It Make Sense?
New York City
Through December 13, 2008
One of the first American designers to embrace digital technologies, Greiman has explored the intersection of art, design, and architecture for more than a quarter century. The School of Visual Arts (SVA) honors April Greiman with the Masters Series Award and retrospective exhibition. At SVA. Call 212/592-2010 or visit www.sva.edu.

Oyler Wu Collaborative
Los Angeles
Through  December 14, 2008
Motivated by the desire to occupy the SCI-Arc gallery in a way that exploits the spatial potential of the existing venue, this Oyler Wu Collaborative installation is intentionally situated in the territory between tectonic expression and functional performance. At SCI-Arc gallery. Call 213/613-2200 or visit www.sciarc.edu.

Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Chicago
Chicago
Through December 15, 2008
This exhibition, a preview of the citywide celebration of the Burnham Plan Centennial that begins in January, presents 32 of these prized illustrations from the Department of Architecture and Design’s collection in five separate and insightful rotations. The exhibition offers an extraordinary opportunity to view these historically significant and artistically exceptional documents that, because of their fragility, are rarely displayed publicly. At the Art Institute of Chicago. Visit www.artic.edu.   

New York NOW
New York City
Through December 2008
New York NOW celebrates the diversity of the AIA New York Chapter and Center for Architecture membership by displaying non-juried submissions of member projects. The exhibition will include works of all scales: small, large, commercial, residential, public, private, interiors, historic preservation, engineering, landscape, and urban design.
The exhibition presents the depth and breadth of professional activity and the variety of its impact. The resulting dialogue between different practitioners encourages a deeper understanding of what is happening in the New York architecture and design world now. At the Center for Architecture. Call 212/683-0023 or visit www.aiany.org.

Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future
Minneapolis
Through January 4, 2008
The short but prolific career of Finnish-born American architect Eero Saarinen, whose masterpieces of 20th-century design include the soaring Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the TWA Terminal at New York’s JFK Airport, are showcased in his first major museum retrospective. At Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Call 612/870-3131, visit www.walkerart.org or www.artsmia.org.  

Smart Home: Green + Wired
Chicago
Through January 4, 2009
An exhibit that showcases Michelle Kaufmann’s functioning three-story sustainable “green” home—built on the Museum’s east lawn—that will be outfitted with amazing technologies for the 21st century and a variety of environmentally friendly materials. This marks the first time that a museum has built a fully functioning exhibit home of this kind on its grounds. At the Museum of Science and Industry. Call 713/684-1414 or visit www.msichicago.org.  

Shanghai Transforming
Chicago
Through January 9, 2008
Shanghai Transforming captures a snapshot of China’s second largest city. With its seemingly boundless potential, Shanghai is providing architects and urban planners with unprecedented opportunities to rethink their work. The exhibition, featuring graphics, photographs, and maps from architect Iker Gil’s forthcoming book, analyzes the past and speculates about the future of a city in transition. By approaching Shanghai from the perspectives of economy, culture, and politics, Shanghai Transforming delivers a multifaceted study of city building. At ArchiCenter. Call 312/922-3432 or visit www.architecture.org.

+Housing: 2008 AIA New York “Designs for Living” Exhibition
New York City
Through January 19, 2009
This exhibition focuses on eight current examples which illustrate mixed-use hybrid design, public uses combined with and often financed housing. At the Center for Architecture. Visit www.aiany.org.

Ours: Democracy in the Age of Branding New York City
Through January 30, 2009
 The exhibition is a multi-disciplinary investigation of democracy as a consumer brand. Timed to coincide with the final stages of the American presidential elections, the exhibition also seeks to reflect on electoral process in this country. At the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design. Visit www.parsons.newschool.edu.

Vertical Cities: Hong Kong/New York
New York City
Through February 2009
Examining the evolving identities of the worlds’ most strikingly similar vertical cities, the exhibition uses photographs, film, architectural drawings, maps, and large-scale models to convey Hong Kong’s character: its iconic skyline, a crowded commercial core with multi-level traffic, a network of pedestrian bridges, and vertical shopping malls. The unifying theme is density, exemplified by the city’s uniquely slender towers on tiny lots, or the monumental apartment blocks of 50 to 60 stories or taller, multiplied by the dozen in New Town housing estates in the New Territories. At the Skyscraper Museum. Call 212/945-6324 or visit www.skyscraper.org/verticalcities.

Dreamland: Architectural Experiments since the 1970s
New York City
Through March 2, 2009
The 1970s saw an explosion of architectural thought and experimentation, with the city, and New York especially, becoming a screen for the projection of architectural fantasies and utopias. This installation includes documentation of built projects that resulted from these innovative ideas, including such traditional building types as single-family houses and skyscrapers.  At the Museum of Modern Art. Call 212/708-9400 or visit www.moma.org.

Ateliers Jean Prouvé
New York City
Through March 31, 2009
This exhibition looks at the great French architect and designer Jean Prouvé (1901-1984) and his Ateliers. The installation centers on the evolution and many variants of the "Standard" Chair, alongside other examples of furniture and architecture that demonstrate Prouvé's intuitive approach to construction and sensitive handling of materials. At the Museum of Modern Art. Call 212/708-9400 or visit www.moma.org.

George Lois: The Esquire Covers
New York City
Through March 31, 2009
From 1962 to 1972, George Lois changed the face of magazine design with his ninety-two covers for Esquire. He stripped the cover down to a graphically concise yet conceptually potent image that ventured beyond the mere illustration of a feature article. Viewed together, the covers serve as a visual timeline and as a window into the turbulent events of the 1960s.  At the Museum of Modern Art. Call 212/708-9400 or visit www.moma.org.

Chicago: You Are Here
Chicago
Ongoing
This new permanent exhibit includes a scale model of downtown Chicago, along with images, artifacts and video presentations, encouraging visitors to explore the architecture, infrastructure and environment of Chicago. At the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Call 312/922-3432 or visit www.architecture.org.

Transforming LACMA
Los Angeles
Ongoing
This installation is comprised of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop drawings, studies, and models-all of which chronicle the development of a master plan and early building designs for LACMA. At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Call 323/857-6000 or visit www.lacma.org.

ReThink/ReDesign/ReCycle
Chicago
Ongoing
The ongoing exhibition Competition: Public Process for Public Architecture will be updated with the display of more than 100 entries for the competition to design on-street recycling bins created by members of the City of Chicago and the AIA Chicago Young Architects Forum. At the CAF’s CitySpace Gallery. Call 312/922-3432 or visit www.architecture.org.

 

The Architecture Foundation’s Real Architecture Autumn 2008
London
November 13, 20, 27, and December 3, 2008
Presentations on the most important architectural projects of today, from the tallest building in the world to a vision for a desert settlement; from a multi-award winning London school to a Norwegian cultural center, will take place in two of London’s most innovatively designed buildings. As the opener, a special presentation on the Stirling Prize-nominated Westminster Academy will take place in the Academy itself and the remainder of the series will be housed in the Royal college of Physicians. Call 020 7420 9425 or visit www.architecturefoundation.org.uk.

The True, the Beautiful, and the Good: Reconsiderations in a Postmodern, Digital Era Kinds and Degrees of Truths
New York City
November 25, 2008
In this unprecedented lecture series, world-renowned psychologist Howard Gardner offers an extended reflection on the concepts of truth, beauty, and the good in the digital age, analyzing how a sophisticated understanding of the power and limitations of these concepts can come about. Peter Galison, Pellegrino University Professor in History of Science and Physics, Harvard University, leads a discussion with Gardner after the lecture. At the Museum of Modern Art. Call 212/708-9400 or visit www.moma.org.
 

Studio-X: Soviet Contamination
New York City
December 2, 2008
Celebrate the five-year anniversary of Future Anterior: Journal of Historic Preservation, History, Theory and Criticism, and a new issue devoted to experimental preservation and Soviet modernism. Panel discussion with Barry Bergdoll, Jean-Louis Cohen, Yevgeniy Fiks, Vitaly Komar, Annette Michelson and Jorge Otero-Pailos. Reception to follow. Held from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm at 180 Varick Street, Suite 1610 Visit the Studio-X website for more information.

Fencetech ’09 and Decktech ‘09
New Orleans
January 14-16, 2008
With over 9,000 fence, deck and railing professionals expected to attend and more than 450 exhibitors, FENCETECH was recently announced one of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50. From innovative gate technology to beautifully custom-made ornamental iron and long lasting composite and vinyl decking to traditional wood pickets, the world’s top fence, deck, railing, and security professionals will find the industry’s newest products at Fencetech ‘09 and Decktech ‘09. At the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. For more information, visit www.fencetech.com or call 800/822-4342 or 630/942-6598.

The Design Build Architect Conference
Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami
January 17, 2009 and March 28, 2009
The Design Build Architect Conference is a program developed for architects by architects. The conference strives to motivate design professionals to achieve greater degrees of success through the addition of deliverables. Incorporating ‘build’ services into an existing design practice has the potential to better serve the client, fortify the practice, and revitalize the role of architect.  At Harvard University, Northwestern University, Georgia State University, and Florida International University.  For more information visit www.TheDesignBuildArchitect.com.

The Urban Divide in Latin America: Challenges and Strategies for Social Inclusion
Gainesville, Florida
January 28-30, 2009
The central theme for the 58th Annual Latin American Conference is social inclusion in Latin American cities. These issues comprise social and spatial equity, informal economies, access to employment and services, economic expansion and capacity building, crime and violence, supportive urban systems, political representation, and sustainable development practices. At the University of Florida’s Center for Latin American Studies Annual Conference.  Additional information visit www.conferences.dce.ufl.edu/LAS/.

Indiana Building Green Symposium
Indianapolis, Ind.
January 31- February 1, 2009
In Indiana, the green building movement is just beginning to take shape and gain momentum. Therefore, continuing upon the success of last year’s inaugural symposium, the Indiana Building Green Symposium will emphasize green building economics, technology, and operational strategies that enable designers, builders, and owners to build green and maximize both financial and environmental performance, contributing to an improved bottom-line as well as an improved quality of life. The program will include educational workshops and informative sessions intended to benefit a diverse audience including building-related professionals, corporate leaders, real estate developers, local & state policymakers, educators and students. At University Place Hotel and Conference Center. Visit www.bsu.edu.

International Icon Expo: Concrete Exposition
Indianapolis, Indiana
February 26-28, 2009
At the Indiana Convention Center. For more information about Icon Expo 2009, please visit www.iconexpo.org

47th International Making Cities Livable Conference on True Urbanism: Cities for Health and Well-Being
Portland
May 10 – 14, 2009 
Call for Papers Deadline: October 15, 2008
An international conference for city officials, practitioners and scholars in architecture, urban design, planning, landscape architecture, transportation planning, health policy and social sciences from many parts of the world to share ideas, and establish working relationships. For more information, visit www.LivableCities.org.

China Eco Expo:  The International Marketplace for the Environment
Beijing
June 18-20, 2008
Held in conjunction with the China Ministry of Construction’s 14th Annual Trade, this expo is a high level and highly promoted showcase for advanced green products, technologies and services from around the world. At the Beijing International Exhibition Center. The MOC show is the premiere Industry event in China, with 30,000 Sq meters of exhibit space, a professional audience of over 50,000 and extensive media coverage. Visit www.ecoexpo.com.

National Preservation Institute: Professional Seminars in Historic Preservation & Cultural Resource Management
Various locations
Ongoing
Various seminars with distinguished faculty highlighting state-of-the-art practice in important areas of historic preservation, protection, and interpretation of historic, archaeological, architectural, and cultural resources. For more information, call 703/765-0100 or visit www.npi.org.

 

Discarded Dreams: Used Mattress Design Competition
Deadline: December 5, 2008
Architecture for Humanity and Rubicon National Social Innovations invite entrants to create innovative ways of converting used mattresses into useful products. The competition aims to encourage entrants to form groups capable of creating a consumer product, instructions detailing how to make the product, and a plan for production on a larger scale. Entrants must create designs that take into account the volume of mattress waste generated each year. Groups are encouraged to utilize local resources, including existing manufacturing facilities and other waste products. Visit www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/mattress for further information.

INDEX: AWARD 2009
Deadline: December 8, 2008
This award acknowledges designs that contribute to improve life for people. This internationally recognized design award accepts nominations from all design disciplines, including industrial design, service design, architecture and graphic design. The nominated design must be dated later than 2004. Life improvements for everyday life as well as global issues can be considered for an INDEX: AWARD. Previous winners of INDEX: AWARD include Architecture for Humanity (Siyathemba – field of hope), Tesla Motors (Tesla Roadster), OLPC (XO1) and Vestergaard Frandsen (LifeStraw). Visit www.indexaward.dk.

2009 Rudy Bruner Award for Excellence
Deadline: December 15, 2008
The purpose of the award is to discover places that embody excellence, not just in design, but in social, economic, and environmental contributions to the urban built environment. For further information, visit www.bruenerfoundation.org or www.bruenerloeb.org.

32nd Annual SOURCE Awards: National Lighting Design Competition
Deadline: January 1, 2009
The competition is open to all lighting designers, architects, engineers, professional designers, and consultants who have used Cooper Lighting fixtures in a completed interior or exterior lighting design project. Call 630/513-8625 or visit www.cooperlighting.com.

From the Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes
Deadline: December 15, 2008
The goals of the competition are to foster the most advanced thinking about design, sustainability, and cost-effective building practices for the single-family house, and to elicit proposals that can be built based on the $150,000 construction budget. Call 315/443-2256 or visit www.soa.syr.edu/competition.

Design for the Children Competition: Pediatric Health Clinic
Deadline:  January 15, 2009
Open to students and professionals, this international design competition asks participants to explore the potential of future pediatric and prenatal clinics for East Africa.  Entry is free and our goal is to use the winning design as the base for a pediatric and prenatal health center in Rwanda.  Visit www.designforthechildren.org for additional information and registration.

USITT 3rd Annual Student Architectural Design Competition
Deadline: January 15, 2009
The Architectural Commission of the United States Institute for Theatre & Technology (USITT) has announced calls for entries for its 3rd annual student Architectural Design Competition to design an “Ideal Theatre” on an academic campus. The competition is open to any U.S. or International architecture and theater student at an accredited college or university. Visit www.usitt.com.

2009 Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition
Deadline: January 30, 2009
This competition challenges designers to fix our energy addiction and the winning design will be awarded $10,000. Visit www.metropolismag.com/nextgen.