As the global architecture and design community continues to navigate evolving urban landscapes, environmental challenges, and cultural shifts, RECORD presents its monthly curation of upcoming and ongoing exhibitions, major events, and prominent student competitions. From sweeping retrospective exhibitions of renowned high-rise architects to localized investigations into zero-waste villages and the burgeoning movement of hip-hop architecture, this month’s selections offer profound insights into the ways professionals and thinkers are shaping the built environment.
Beyond Territories: Made. Make. Making
The Hong Kong Institute of Architects has officially organized an expansive, four-city traveling exhibition designed to showcase the work of both local and international architects who have fundamentally shaped the built environment of Hong Kong over the past 25 years. Carefully curated and divided into three distinct zones—Made, Make, and Making—the exhibition aims to construct a comprehensive chronology of the city’s past trajectory and future urban development. Visitors are invited to explore this narrative through a compelling display of important architectural innovations alongside forward-looking conceptual projects. Further details and updates regarding the traveling itinerary can be found by visiting m3beyond.hk.
Ole Scheeren: Spaces of Life
In Karlsruhe, Germany, the ZKM Center for Art and Media is preparing to host the first comprehensive solo exhibition dedicated to high-rise architect Ole Scheeren. Founded in 2010, Scheeren’s eponymous firm has earned international acclaim for monumental and experimental projects. The German-born architect, who originally hails from Karlsruhe and began his illustrious career at the OMA office in Rotterdam, became widely known for helming groundbreaking structures such as the award-winning China Central Television (CCTV) Station in Beijing and the innovative Interlace residential building in Singapore. Running from December 10, 2022, to June 4, 2023, the exhibition, titled Ole Scheeren: Spaces of Life, provides a deep dive into his visionary approach to urban density and human habitation. Additional information is available at zkm.de/en.
Ongoing Exhibitions
Model Behavior
Presented by the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at Cooper Union in New York City through November 18, 2022, the Model Behavior exhibition features an impressive collection of more than 70 works created by 45 diverse artists and architects. Among the notable participants whose works are on display are Olafur Eliasson, Peter Eisenman, Eyal Weizman, and Greg Lynn. Curated by the collaborative group Anyone Cooperation, the exhibition addresses a fundamental question within the discipline: How do architectural models actively reflect and contribute to changing social and spatial behaviors far beyond the traditional realm of design? More information can be accessed via cooper.edu.
N*thing is Possible
Over the past 12 years, the Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak, Bali, has undergone a remarkable transformation from a traditional resort into a vibrant, modernist creative village operating under a strict zero-waste mission. This transformation was achieved with the vital assistance of AMO, the dedicated research and design studio of Rem Koolhaas’s renowned firm, OMA. Currently on display at the National Design Centre of Singapore through December 15, 2022, the exhibition Nthing is Possible* is designed and curated by AMO/OMA to explore these complex zero-waste journeys. By highlighting both operational failures and ultimate successes, the exhibition demonstrates how a truly regenerative blueprint for hospitality and architecture is entirely possible. Further details are hosted at link.potatohead.co.
With Intention to Build
At the Boston Architectural College, Safdie Architects is currently presenting a unique exhibition dedicated to the 55-year-old practice’s unbuilt designs. Running through January 2, 2023, With Intention to Build offers an intimate look into the firm’s creative process by showcasing a rich array of models, preliminary drawings, and hand-drawn sketches. These materials are thoughtfully paired with historical news articles, documentary photographs, critical commentary, and physical artifacts to provide a broader cultural context, ultimately revealing the untold stories and hidden decisions behind some of the practice’s most ambitious unbuilt concepts. More information is available at the-bac.edu.
Housing Unlocked
Addressing one of the most pressing socio-economic challenges of our time, Housing Unlocked is a collaborative exhibition organized by the Irish Architecture Foundation and Ireland’s national housing agency. On display at the Science Gallery Dublin through January 21, 2023, the exhibition highlights eight innovative, architect-led proposals formulated to tackle critical housing-related issues such as affordability, structural resiliency, density, and overall quality of life. Among the featured proposals are “Eco:Cube,” a modular housing concept utilizing interlocked cubes that can be stacked and rotated to configure one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes, and “Start Spreading the Mews,” which investigates methods for generating vital new housing supply by exempting suburban laneways from overly restrictive planning codes. Additional resources can be found at housingunlocked.ie.
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture
Hip-hop architecture represents a rapidly expanding design movement spearheaded by a loosely organized coalition of creators who deliberately integrate the principles, rhythms, and ethos of hip-hop culture into their approaches to the built environment. Currently on view at the Museum of Design Atlanta through January 29, 2023, this exhibition features a curated selection of works drawn from a rich design canon that has emerged over the past quarter-century. Spanning experimental installations, visionary building designs, and radical urban-development proposals, the show is curated and designed by architect Sekou Cooke—whose work was notably included in the 2021 Museum of Modern Art exhibition Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America. Together, the works present a compelling collective vision for alternative forms of architectural expression and professional practice. Further details are accessible through museumofdesign.org.
What’s Going On
Collectors Don and Mera Rubell have spent decades building one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive private collections of contemporary art, having begun their acquisitions in 1965. Following the 1993 opening of their inaugural museum in Miami, the Rubell Museum is expanding its national footprint this month with the opening of a brand-new, 32,000-square-foot space in Washington, D.C. Housed in a historic former public high school that was meticulously renovated by architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the institution’s inaugural exhibition pays homage to Marvin Gaye, a celebrated alumnus of the school, taking its title from his legendary 1971 album. The expansive show features over 200 works created by 40 artists, including a remarkable 20-part ink-and-gouache series by Keith Haring, which the artist completed in a single sitting while listening to the music of Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley. More information can be found at rubellmuseum.org/dc.
New Practices New York
At the Center for Architecture in New York, a new exhibition celebrates the innovative talents recognized in AIA New York’s 2020 New Practices New York competition. Running through February 25, 2023, the exhibition highlights six emerging firms chosen for their fresh perspectives and boundary-pushing approaches: BRANDT: HAFERD, Byrony Roberts Studio, City-group, GRT Architects, New Affiliates, and ANY. Each of these practices has demonstrated a deep, active engagement with the fabric of New York City and its residents. Additional information is available at centerforarchitecture.org.
The Architecture of Collage: Marshall Brown
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is currently hosting the first-ever solo exhibition of work by award-winning architect Marshall Brown. On view through January 7, 2023, the exhibition features 25 of Brown’s striking architectural collages. These artworks—which the architect playfully refers to as "chimeras," drawing inspiration from the mythical lion-goat-snake creature of ancient Greek folklore—are constructed by utilizing photographs of existing buildings and seamlessly recombining their discrete elements to generate entirely new architectural forms and spatial typologies. Further details can be found at sbma.net.
After Modernism: Through the Lens of Wayne Thom
Over a prolific 50-year career, architectural photographer Wayne Thom captured more than 2,600 individual projects across Southeast Asia, Hawaii, and the Western United States. Raised in Hong Kong, Thom relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where his career took off after receiving his first major professional break from late-modernist architect A. Quincy Jones. He quickly established himself as the preferred photographer for many of Southern California’s leading architectural practices. Currently on display at the University of Southern California Pacific Asia Museum—which acquired his extensive archive in 2015—is a carefully curated selection of Thom’s photographs documenting 50 iconic projects through January 22, 2023. Additional details are accessible at pacificasiamuseum.com.
The Energy Show—Sun, Solar, and Human Power
Presented at the Het Nieuwe Instituut as a prominent component of Rotterdam’s inaugural Solar Biennale, this exhibition explores the vast design potential of solar power. Curated by Berlin-based designer Matylda Krzykowski, the exhibition brings together works from an international cohort of architects, designers, and thinkers—including Mária Telkes, Michael Jantzen, and architecture firm Jessen Vollenweider—to construct a tangible, inspiring vision of a future world fully powered by solar energy. Running through March 4, 2023, the exhibition website provides further insights at energyshow.hetnieuweinstituut.nl/en.
Events
Design Miami
The 18th edition of the prominent Miami Beach-based design fair is scheduled to run from November 30 to December 4, 2022. This year’s iteration is curated around the overarching theme The Golden Age: Looking to the Future, which intentionally celebrates both real and imagined eras of historical prosperity alongside a forward-thinking, sustainable vision for tomorrow. International galleries including AGO Projects, Friedman Benda, and Diletante42 will exhibit exceptional collections of contemporary furniture, lighting fixtures, and collectible art objects. An accompanying series of lectures and panel discussions will further explore broader critical themes in contemporary architecture and design. Additional event details are hosted at designmiami.com.
Driving the Human: Seven Prototypes for Eco-Social Renewal
Driving the Human is an artistic and scientific collaborative established in 2020 with financial and institutional support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. Taking place from November 25 to 27, 2022, in Berlin, a major three-day festival will mark the culmination of three years of intensive, transdisciplinary collaboration, research, and design focused directly on addressing the global climate crisis. The event centers around seven realized prototypes that respond to complex contemporary scenarios, investigating topics ranging from the potential of artificial intelligence-driven design to cooperative human-bacteria relationships designed to mitigate environmental degradation. Further information is available at drivingthehuman.com.
Competitions
2023 FORM Student Innovation Competition
Leading surfacing manufacturer Formica has officially launched its annual international student competition, establishing a submission deadline of March 6, 2023. This year’s design challenge invites eligible students to submit a detailed color rendering and comprehensive project statement for an original furniture design heavily informed by the bold aesthetic concept of maximalism. Entrants are required to incorporate three or more Formica- or FENIX-brand products into their submissions, including at least one designated material from the SurfaceSet 2022 collection. Full competition guidelines and submission portals can be found at formica.com.
