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This October, New York City’s Archtober festival returns with a wealth of events to explore. Image: Veronika Bykovich/Unsplash.
October is here, and architecture and design fans have plenty to discover this month: exhibitions, film festivals, biennales, home tours, conferences, talks, and more.
From Bustler’s roster of ongoing and upcoming events, here are 10 curated picks worth checking out.
UPCOMING EVENTS
ADFF:NY 2026 | October 13–17, New York
“The Architecture & Design Film Festival celebrates the creative spirit that drives architecture and design. Through a curated selection of films, events, and panel discussions, ADFF creates an opportunity to educate, entertain, engage, and inspire audiences of all backgrounds. The 2026 slate of films explore the reuse of old buildings, the important figures written out of legacy movements, and social housing as an active experiment across eras — with two world premieres, including MUNDO FRÁGIL, a portrait of 2026 Pritzker laureate Smiljan Radić and Five Living Buildings (by Renzo Piano), a study of the life within five RPBW buildings across four continents.
ADFF:NY 2026 will open on October 12 with a special Opening Night at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). All other festival screenings and events, from October 13–17, will take place at Village East by Angelika.”
NOMA 2026 Annual Conference: Leading Edge | October 14–18, Miami
“The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) will convene its 2026 Annual Conference, The Leading Edge, October 14–18, 2026, at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura, Florida, bringing together almost 2,000 architects, designers, students, educators, planners, and industry leaders from across the country for five days of programming focused on design justice, leadership, resilience, and community. […] Attendees can expect workshops, keynotes, student programming, career development opportunities, and networking events that spotlight diverse voices in design and reinforce NOMA’s mission of equity and justice in the built environment.”
Open House Chicago 2026 | October 17 & 18, Chicago
“Every October, the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) is proud to host Open House Chicago (OHC) — a free public festival that instills civic pride through providing access to places of architectural, historical and cultural significance, and highlights businesses, organizations and creative leaders making positive impact in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods.
OHC remains one of the largest events of its kind in the world.”
Monterey Design Conference 2026 | October 23–25, Monterey
“Every two years, the Monterey Design Conference (MDC) brings together a diverse blend of globally recognized speakers to inspire and educate — all in a scenic and vibrant location that delivers a unique communal experience. Everyone — speakers and attendees — sees talks together, eats together, and encounters each other in amidst a wooded, beachside retreat setting. […] Renowned designers are, of course, at the heart of MDC. Yvonne Farrell, FRIAI, Hon. RIBA; Kazuyo Sejima; Thom Mayne, FAIA; Frank Gehry, FAIA; and Rem Koolhaas have spoken. Each conference delivers a unique global line-up who share their paths, showcase innovative projects, discuss design philosophy, encourage risk-taking, explore cross-disciplinary collaboration, and address societal challenges. They catalyze new ideas, passion, and purpose.”
Designart Tokyo 2026 | October 30 – November 8, Tokyo
“Unheard echoes gather in Tokyo. Senses are awakened. Design and art have become the rhythm of our lives. It is a pulse only felt in the human heart. DESIGNART TOKYO, now in its 10th year, invites you to listen to it closely. Experience the creativity that echoes within us all and the creations that will outlive us all. […] DESIGNART TOKYO began in 2017 as a design and art festival based on the theme ‘INTO THE EMOTIONS.’ Eminent creatives from around the world converge in Tokyo, one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities, to hold various exhibitions across the city and in various genres, including interior design, art, fashion, technology, and food.”
ONGOING EVENTS
Archtober 2026 | Until October 31, New York
“The 2026 Archtober festival is upon us — over 100 cultural institutions across New York City will delight in architecture and design talks, tours, and programs across the five boroughs (and even across the tri-state). […] As civil society faces pervasive uncertainty and polycrisis, Archtober’s 2026 theme invites us to realign ourselves towards community and optimism: In Our Hands. Encapsulating a need for togetherness, In Our Hands offers a sense of grounded fortitude amid climate change, rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, and divisive policies. This theme and the festival’s programming celebrate a collective desire for sensorial, inclusive design, handcrafted practices, and resilient structures. It is also a reminder of our agency and responsibility as architects, designers, and citizens in fostering a more just and joyful living environment. The future, after all, is In Our Hands.”
DesignPhiladelphia 2026 | Until October 11, Philadelphia
“This year, DesignPhiladelphia is stepping into the 2026 theme: DESIGN REVOLUTION. Revolution: What must change. Creativity: What could exist instead. Beauty: Why it matters, and what keeps us human. This is not just a theme. It is an invitation. To challenge assumptions. To rethink systems. To design events that move people and shift perspective.”
HANDLE WITH CARE – 6th Swiss Architecture Biennial | Until November 28, Lugano
“The 6th biennale svizzera del territorio, Switzerland’s biennial dedicated to architecture, landscape and territorial transformation, is organized by the International Institute of Architecture under the direction of architect Ludovica Molo. It opens at Villa Saroli in Lugano with a multidisciplinary reflection on architecture as a practice of care, maintenance and territorial regeneration. […] ‘HANDLE WITH CARE’ invites us to rethink architecture as a responsible practice — one that listens to places, preserves their resources and fosters new relationships between communities and the built environment.”
Paul R. Williams standing with two men at Compton Imperial Housing Project site, ca. 1952. Merge Studios. Gelatin silver print. Sheet: 8.125 x 10 in. Image: 7.375 x 9.25 in. Jointly owned by the Getty Research Institute and the University of Southern California School of Architecture. ©Merge Studios.
Paul R. Williams: An Architect Considered | Until March 13, 2027, Los Angeles
“Organized jointly by the USC School of Architecture and the USC Fisher Museum of Art, this exhibition examines Paul R. Williams’ major contributions to modern multifamily housing. It pairs original archival drawings with newly commissioned works by contemporary artists and architects. Highlighting 35 housing projects from Williams’ 60-year career, the show emphasizes the designer’s sustained commitment to innovative, dignified solutions for collective living during a period of rapid urbanization. Seven new commissions — by Edgar Arceneaux; Current Interests (Matthew Au and Mira Henry); enFOLD Collective (Dana McKinney White and Megan Echols); Darell W. Fields; David Hartt; Cory Henry; and Amanda Williams — extend Williams’ legacy into the present, offering fresh perspectives on his influence on architectural history and modern housing.”
Still from “Archive 3,” as part of Reframing the American Landscape by Andy Lu Lee, 2026. CCA © Andy Lu Lee
Reframing the American Landscape | Until January 3, 2027, Montreal
“A vast collection of documents, surveys, maps, photographs, and films in the US National Archives and Records Administration defines and codifies the territory of the United States. Produced and collected by the state, these materials have long played a role in constructing, reinforcing, and circulating a mythical image of US American culture on a global scale. Among these holdings is a series of documentaries produced by the US Department of the Interior in the 1950s that portray the transformational role of infrastructure in reshaping landscapes according to US American values. Screened across the Global South during the Cold War as part of large-scale, US-funded development initiatives, these films functioned as propaganda to advance an environmental imaginary of the modern landscape, while obscuring the impact on communities and setting aesthetic grounds for decades of enclosure, displacement, and dispossession that persist today.
Reframing the American Landscape revisits this environmental imaginary by re-presenting a selection of these now-disintegrating films along the paths of their circulation and consequence […].”
Some current competitions on Bustler that may interest you…
Museum of Emotions #9
Register by Thu, Nov 12, 2026
Submit by Mon, Feb 22, 2027
Vancouver Tall Challenge
Register by Thu, Oct 29, 2026
Submit by Mon, Nov 30, 2026
The Oak Moon Pavilion
Register by Thu, Nov 5, 2026
Submit by Mon, Mar 1, 2027
The Quiet Tower
Register by Thu, Oct 15, 2026
Submit by Mon, Feb 15, 2027
Dining and Cooking