RECORD’s monthly list of upcoming and ongoing exhibitions, events, and competitions.

Ongoing Exhibitions

He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model
New York City
Ongoing
Currently on view at the Museum of the City of New York’s Dinan Miller Gallery, this exhibition is dedicated to Joe Macken’s monumental model of the Big Apple. The artist, a native New Yorker, began constructing the project in 2004 while working as a delivery truck driver. Over the next 21 years, working first in Middle Village, Queens, and later in the upstate town of Clifton Park, Macken devoted himself to crafting a vast architectural portrait of his hometown. Built entirely by hand using everyday materials—including balsa wood, cardboard, and glue—the model spans 50 by 27 feet and comprises over 340 individual sections. Visitors are encouraged to use the provided binoculars to see the model in greater detail and to watch the video highlighting Macken's hand-carved buildings. See mcny.org.

Brooklyn NOW!
Brooklyn
Ongoing
Presented at the Brooklyn Public Library for Arts & Culture, Brooklyn NOW! highlights how architects, builders, and visionaries are reimagining Brooklyn’s streets, homes, and civic spaces. The exhibition will be accompanied by five in-person public programs where participants will be encouraged to engage directly with the ideas and people behind the work. See aiabrooklyn.org.

Liminal Fields
New York City
Ongoing
Liminal Fields is an exhibition of recent oil paintings by James Bertucci that uses construction sites across New York City as source material, reconstructing these spaces through layered processes and assembled imagery. This show is on view at the Manhattan office of Morris Adjmi Architects. See ma.com.

M+Mx25 Media + Modernity: 25 Years of Thinking Through Mediation
Princeton, New Jersey
Through May 1
This exhibition marks the 25th anniversary of the Program in Media + Modernity (M+M) at Princeton University, an intiative that promotes the interdisciplinary study of the unique cultural formations that came to prominence during the last century, with special attention paid to the interplay between culture and technology, centering on architecture, art, film, photography, literature, philosophy, music, history, and media from radio to information technology. This show is designed by Agency—Agency, and curated by Beatriz Colomina, Foivos Geralis, and Antonio Cantero at the Princeton University School of Architecture. See soa.princeton.edu.

Foster + Partners | Future Proof
Iași, Romania
Through May 3, 2026
On view at Romania’s national Palace of Culture, this exhibition features models and photographs highlighting the Foster + Partners’ longstanding approach to designing for the future, tracing ideas that have shaped its work since the 1970s. Future Proof is supported by the IULIUS Foundation, an initiative of real estate developer IULIUS. Foster + Partners is currently working on several projects in Romania for IULIUS, including the reimagining of the Palas Iași mixed-use development, located in the immediate vicinity of the historic Palace of Culture. See more at fosterandpartners.com.

Public Pools
New York City
Through May 3, 2026
The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union presents Public Pools, an exhibition that explores the history, architectural form, and social and cultural significance of swimming pools in New York City. Through detailed drawings and photographs, the Public Pools highlights five distinct pool types: former bathhouses, WPA-era pools, mini pools, vest-pocket pools, and atypical pools. Each type is paired with a speculative design or programmatic proposal that amplifies the potential of this existing civic infrastructure and promotes bathing culture. Research, drawings, and design are by Karolina Czeczek of Only If Architecture. Photography and visual research are by Anna Morgowicz. See cooper.edu.

En Caminos 
Plano, Illinois
Through June 14, 2026
This exhibition introduces a new body of work by 2026 artist-in-residence Noel Mercado that engages directly with the interior of the Edith Farnsworth House through reworking and craft, using furnishings designed by its architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Mercado replaces the upholstery of select pieces with textiles and leather brought from his family’s home state of Jalisco, Mexico, drawing from tablecloths, repurposed bags, belts, and leather remnants shaped by traditions of domestic making and repair.  See edithfarnsworthhouse.org.

Stock: Architectures of Survival and Transmission
Paris
Through June 28, 2026
Using maps, statistics, and video installations, Stock, on view at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, offers an overview of contemporary warehouses. Through a selection of 18 architectural types—presented in the form of models—it highlights those forms that in the past served to store, pass on, and ritualize the restocking of supplies. See pavillon-arsenal.com.

Latinitudes: A Collection of Latin American Modern Architecture
Chicago
Through July 18,  2026
Showing at the Graham Foundation, Latinitudes is a photographic survey of modern architecture across 12 Latin American cities, including Mexico City, São Paulo, Bogotá, and Buenos Aires. Featuring more than 100 photographs by Brazilian photographer Leonardo Finotti, the exhibition presents modern architecture across Latin America from a new perspective. For more information, see grahamfoundation.org.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Architects of Liberation: Modernism in West Africa
New York City
July 5, 2026–Jan 2, 2027
During the unprecedented period of decolonization across Africa, many dreamed of a continent with a boundless future. Ghana gained independence from British rule in 1957, and in 1960—often called the Year of Africa—17 nations struggling for self-determination achieved political autonomy. This upheaval ushered in a boom in cultural production and experimentation in visual art, dance, and music. This summer, New York’s Museum of Modern Art will present the first major museum exhibition to examine the role of architecture in shaping this era. Architectural drawings, models, and archival images, as well as newly commissioned site-specific photographs and videos, are among the exhibition’s 400 objects. Architects of Liberation is organized by Martino Stierli, Ikem Stanley Okoye, and Mallory Cohen. See moma.org.

Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses
Weil am Rhein, Germany
September 9, 2026–February 28, 2027
With a creative period of over 50 years and more than 200 projects realized, Geoffrey Bawa (1919–2003) is one of the most influential architects in Asia of the 20th century. In September, the Vitra Design Museum, in collaboration with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, will present the first comprehensive retrospective of the Sri Lanka-born architect in two decades. Through an unprecedented wealth of drawings, models, furniture, photographs, and films, it brings to life the captivating, sensory quality of Bawa’s enduring legacy. See design-museum.de.

Events

Our World  in Ten Building: Archetypes of Form and Practice 
New York City
April 21, 2026
The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union welcomes Michael P. Murphy and Billie Tsien for a conversation on how the forms and frameworks of architecture shape the ways we live, gather, and care for one another. The discussion will explore how practices can become more responsive, exploratory, and engaged with the realities of cultural production today; architecture as an agent for change; and the complex relationships between memory and the built environment. This talk aligns with the release of Michael Murphy’s new book of the same name. See cooper.edu.

The Haptic Realm
New York City
April 27
The second annual Emilio Ambasz “Architecture as Poetry” Lecture at the Asia Society will be delivered by the renowned architect and Columbia University professor, Steven Holl.  This lecture is presented by the Columbia University Department of Art History and Archeology, and is free and open to the public. See arthistory.columbia.edu.

International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF)
New York City
May 17–19, 2026
The ICFF—an annual trade show dedicated to furniture and interior design—returns to the Javits Center this May. Guided by the theme Common Ground: A Global Dialogue on Design and Shared Values, this year’s exhibitors represent a cross-section of furniture, lighting, materials, and artistic innovation. The programming will address a variety of related topics, including how both the home and the city are changing; what New York City’s new mayoral administration might signal for its design economy; and how both the proverbial “printed page” and social media “feed” are rapidly evolving. See icff.com.

NeoCon
Chicago
June 8–10, 2026
Held at the Merchandise Mart, NeoCon is North America’s leading trade fair for the commercial sector. The industry’s major manufacturers as well as the latest emerging companies will showcase thousands of new products and services in categories including furniture, fabrics, flooring, interior building products, and interior finishes and technology. This year’s keynote speakers include Jessica O. Matthews, the founder and CEO of Lived Labs; Nick Foster RDI, the former head of design at Google X; and David “Shingy” Shing, the former “Digital Prophet” at AOL. See neocon.com.

AIA2026: Conference on Architecture & Design
San Diego
June 10–13, 2026
Hosted by the American Institute of Architects, AIA2026 is a purpose-built four-day conference for architects, design professionals, firm owners, emerging professionals, interior designers, landscape architects, engineers, general contractors, and more. AIA2026 offers keynote speeches; expert-led sessions offering HSW, GBCI, RIBA, and AIA LU credits; architectural tours of San Diego; and networking opportunities. This year’s confirmed speakers, with more to come, include Charlene Li, an expert on digital transformation and disruption; 2026 AIA Gold Medalist Shigeru Ban; and Roy Decker and Anne Marie Duvall Decker, founders of 2026 AIA Architecture Firm Award winner, Jackson, Mississippi-based Duvall Decker.   See conferenceonarchitecture.com.

Competitions

Future Courts Student Design Competition
Registration ends July 1, 2026
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has launched a national challenge that encourages students to bring fresh, innovative ideas for future tennis courts and play models, focusing on sustainability, durability, visual quality, and cost. Contestants must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled for the Spring 2026 semester. Submissions can be made by individuals or teams, with a maximum of four members per team. Bonus: The three winning teams will receive cash prizes and 2026 US Open Grounds Passes for each team member to the US Open in New York City during the first week of the tournament. See usta.com.