As the seasons shift, the architectural and design communities worldwide are preparing a robust calendar of exhibitions, high-profile events, and international competitions. From retrospective explorations of mid-century masters and avant-garde urban movements to forward-looking sustainability expos and park bench prototypes, cultural institutions and organizations are offering deep dives into how the built environment shapes human experience. Finland’s Design Museum is leading the autumn lineup with a major exhibition dedicated to two iconic creators, while institutions across Europe and North America roll out immersive showcases, international film festivals, and critical design dialogues.
Fall Exhibitions
For its main exhibition this fall, Finland’s Design Museum is presenting the compelling work of the renowned designer couple Antti Nurmesniemi and Vuokko Nurmesniemi. Antti made his mark as a visionary interior designer, while Vuokko achieved international acclaim as a textile artist. Working both separately and together across the expansive fields of architecture, fashion, and interior design, the husband-and-wife duo were widely influential in driving the rapid development and modernization of the Finnish design industry throughout the late 20th century. Their collaborative and individual efforts helped define the clean, functional aesthetic that became synonymous with Nordic design globally. Visitors can explore their enduring legacies and multidisciplinary output by visiting designmuseum.fi/en.
Looking ahead to the winter season, the ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, is preparing to host the first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to high-rise architect Ole Scheeren. Founded in 2010, Scheeren’s eponymous firm has pushed the boundaries of vertical urbanism. The German-born architect, who originally began his illustrious career at Rem Koolhaas’s OMA office in Rotterdam, became renowned for his monumental and experimental projects that redefine density and community. Among his most celebrated works are the award-winning China Central Television (CCTV) Station in Beijing and the interlocking residential volumes of the Interlace building in Singapore. Titled Ole Scheeren: Spaces of Life, the exhibition runs from December 10, 2022, through June 4, 2023, offering a comprehensive look at his visionary approach to architecture. Further details are available at zkm.de/en.
Several major ongoing exhibitions continue to draw crowds and critical acclaim. In Los Angeles, the iconic West Hollywood home designed by R.M. Schindler in 1922 is celebrating its centenary. Over the past 100 years, the residence has served many roles, originally built as an experimental commune for Schindler, his wife Pauline, and their friends Clyde and Marian Chace. Since 1994, the property has operated as the headquarters of the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) Center for Art and Architecture, an independent satellite of the MAK Museum in Vienna. To commemorate the landmark’s 100th anniversary, MAK has mounted an exhibition titled Schindler House: 100 Years in the Making, running through September 25, 2022. Curated by MAK Center director Jia Yi Gu alongside architectural historians Gary Riichirō Fox and Sarah Hearne, the exhibition presents a "gentle timeline" of the house’s making and unmaking. Rare historical materials are displayed alongside contemporary artistic interventions by Carmen Argote, Kathi Hofer, Fiona Connor, Julian Hoeber, and Peter Shire. More information can be found at makcenter.org.
In Milan, the Museo del Novecento is currently hosting a massive retrospective featuring over 350 works by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Aldo Rossi. Running through October 2, 2022, Aldo Rossi: Design 1960–1997 highlights the legendary architect’s profound innovation and his high-profile commercial collaborations with prominent brands such as Designtex, Artemide, Alessi, and Up&Up. Curated by Chiara Spangaro with exhibition layouts and interior designs conceived by Morris Adjmi Architects, the showcase spans nine galleries. It illuminates how Rossi’s experimental use of color, geometric forms, and industrial materials continues to exert a powerful influence on contemporary design. Visitors can learn more at museodelnovecento.org.
Vienna’s MAK Exhibition Hall is currently offering the first comprehensive retrospective of the avant-garde architecture group Missing Link, active between 1970 and 1980. Founded by Angela Hareiter, Otto Kapfinger, and Adolf Krischanitz, the group’s eclectic body of work ranged from utopian proposals for collective living arrangements to rigorous research studies mapping urban networks across Vienna. Running through October 2, 2022, the exhibition also features contextual works by contemporaries such as Hans Hollein and Joseph Beuys, while delving into the rich history of Viennese coffeehouse culture and the progressive municipal housing initiatives known as Red Vienna. Additional information is available at mak.at/en.
In Almere, Holland, the once-in-a-decade international horticultural exhibition, Floriade Expo 2022, is running through October 9, 2022. The massive six-month event features temporary pavilions demonstrating the latest sustainable horticultural developments from around the globe. Architecture firm MVRDV was selected to design the expansive 60-hectare master plan, conceptualizing the site as a living model for sustainable urbanism anchored by an underlying arboretum framework. An alphabetical library of trees and plants is arranged in a strict grid, dictating the underlying layout for the international pavilions. Following the close of the expo, the site will transition permanently into a verdant new residential neighborhood for the city. Further details can be found at floriade.com.
In Scotland, the Isle of Bute is hosting the Sitting Pretty exhibition through October 15. Last September, Design Exhibition Scotland launched an open call inviting architects, designers, and artists from across the country to conceptualize innovative new prototypes for the public park bench. The selected designs—created by Rekha Maker, C.A. Walac, Chris Dobson, and the collaborative team of Dress for the Weather and Stefanie Cheong—are installed on the historic grounds of Mount Stuart, a magnificent 19th-century mansion. Utilizing a diverse array of materials including local sandstone, marble, regional timber, and recycled plastics, the benches pay direct homage to the rich material history and palatial architecture of the estate. More details are available at designexhibitionscotland.co.uk.
London’s Building Centre is presenting The Garden of Privatised Delights through October 15, 2022. Originally commissioned by the British Council for the Venice Architecture Biennale and curated by Madeleine Kessler and Manijeh Verghese of the London-based practice Unscene Architecture, the exhibition takes its name from Hieronymus Bosch’s famous triptych. The show investigates the proliferation of privately owned public spaces throughout the United Kingdom, issuing a vital call for fresh approaches to resolve the persistent tension between private commercial interests and the collective public good. Participating British architecture practices, including the Decorators, Studio Polpo, and vPPR Architects, present seven inclusive conceptual redesigns of privatized public domains, reimagining high streets, pubs, playgrounds, and public restrooms. Additional information can be found at buildingcentre.co.uk.
In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is staging a major retrospective featuring more than 200 works by the celebrated German photography duo Bernd and Hilla Becher. Running through November 6, 2022, the exhibition marks the first major posthumous presentation of the artists, who dedicated their lives to documenting the rapidly disappearing industrial architecture of the mid-20th-century postwar era. Utilizing large-format view cameras to capture grain silos, blast furnaces, water towers, and gas tanks—structures they affectionately termed "anonymous sculptures"—the Bechers meticulously arranged their photographic findings into grids known as "typologies," typically comprising between four and thirty images. Further information is available at metmuseum.org.
Events
The event calendar kicks off with LightSPEC West in Los Angeles on September 21–22, 2022. The inaugural event is designed to highlight cutting-edge design and technological innovation in lighting specifically tailored for the built environment. Over the course of two intensive days, the program addresses a broad spectrum of critical topics for building designers, owners, and operators, featuring site tours, curated product showcases, and continuing education units (CEU) accredited through panel discussions and individual presentations. Keynote addresses will be delivered by Lawrence Scarpa of the architecture firm Brooks + Scarpa and Thomas Paterson of lighting design studio Lux Populi. The event is free to attend, with registration available at lightspecwest.com.
In Portugal, the ninth edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival is scheduled from September 27 to October 1, 2022, shifting its venue from Lisbon to the historic city of Porto. Festival organizers have curated a slate of projects ranging from animated shorts to feature-length documentaries under the guiding theme "Slow Down!"—a call to examine architectural practices centered on "reducing, reusing, demolishing, or subtracting." This year’s festival emphasizes the vital role of the moving image in expanding public discourse and deepening community understanding of the interdisciplinary design field. Award categories include documentary, fiction, experimental works, new talent, social awareness, and an audience choice award. Further details can be found at arquiteturasfilmfestival.com.
Scandinavia’s largest architecture gathering, the Copenhagen Architecture Festival, will run from October 6 to 16, 2022. Under this year’s overarching theme, "Sense of Place," the festival challenges architectural professionals to investigate the critical transition point "where physical space becomes ‘place’ and the built becomes more than mere construction." The sprawling program encompasses lectures, public exhibitions, dynamic debates, and film screenings hosted at various cultural venues across Copenhagen. Additionally, the festival is collaborating closely with the Danish Architects Association to host parallel programming exploring the same thematic inquiry at cultural institutions throughout Denmark. Information and schedules are accessible at en.cafx.dk/festival.
In Las Vegas, Duck Duck Shed: Celebrating Las Vegas Architecture, Design, and Culture will take place from October 27 to 30, 2022. Hosted at the Neon Museum—housed in a pavilion designed by Paul Revere Williams and dedicated to preserving the city’s iconic neon signage—the four-day event honors decades of radical architectural innovation, particularly within the hospitality sector. The program features prominent speakers such as urban planner Alan Hess and architect Jon Sparer, the creative forces behind major resort destinations including the Mirage, Paris Las Vegas, and the Bellagio. Inspired by Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, and Steven Izenour’s seminal 1972 book Learning From Las Vegas, which categorized buildings into expressive "ducks" and utilitarian "decorated sheds," the event is officially sponsored by the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial. Registration and event details can be found at duckduckshed.com.
Competitions
Real estate development group 4th Quadrant in the Czech Republic is currently inviting architectural and design teams to participate in an international competition to redevelop the area surrounding Victory Square in Prague. The brief asks competitors to address a notable local deficit of civic amenities, retail shops, and essential services for surrounding residential communities while carefully respecting the historic 1924 master plan designed by Antonín Engel. An initial round of portfolio submissions will narrow the field to between six and 10 finalist firms. These selected teams will then develop comprehensive design proposals in close collaboration with 4th Quadrant, the City of Prague, and the Prague University of Chemistry and Technology. Competing practices will receive financial compensation across three distinct design phases. Further information is available at 4kvadrant.cz/en.
