The Monterey design conference (MDC) celebrated a milestone in October, presenting its 25th edition. The biennial event, with its oceanfront location, is a favorite among architects from California and across the country, this time drawing over 950 design professionals.

Despite the crowds, the weekend-long conference remains a casual and intimate affair, with ample opportunity to mingle—including fireside at a bluegrassfest—with both presenters and colleagues. This year’s speakers included Yvonne Farrell of Dublin-based Grafton Architects, Mexico City–based Alberto Kalach, Nova Scotia architect Brian MacKay-Lyons, Chinese husband-and-wife team Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Greg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects in New York, and local heavyweight Mark Cavagnero, who spoke about his architectural influences growing up around Marcel Breuer buildings in Litchfield, Connecticut. As always, MDC, for which RECORD is a media partner, mixed those thought-provoking presentations with equally engaging ones by California-based emerging professionals, including two of the magazine’s former Design Vanguard firms.