A note from Marc Kushner, CoFounder of Architizer

My cousin just graduated from Fordham Law School in New York City. I nearly fell off my chair when he told me that he had an entire course devoted to interviewing for a job. The professor would tape-record mock interviews—held in front of the whole class—and then the “job applicant” would be critiqued on his or her performance.

I studied architecture for eight years, first at The University of Pennsylvania, then at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and I never encountered a course that was so elementally… errrrr… useful!

It is well-trod territory—and frankly boring—for an architect to gripe that architecture school is broken, so I am going to skip that part. Instead I am going to go straight to the part where we do something to fix our profession’s fractured education system.

Today I am proud to announce the latest Architizer partnership in our quest to break architecture out of its echo chamber. Architizer is proud to partner with Skillshare to introduce a series of courses targeted at the contemporary architect. Actual information that actual architects need to function in the world today.

We are going to skip the Bauhaus, gloss over the ancient orders, and go straight to topics like how to render, how to get a client, how to talk to a contractor and lots more …

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A note from Marc Kushner, CoFounder of Architizer and a practicing architect.

Last night we threw a party for architecture. Architecture needed a good party.

At a venue on the West Side of New York City we had entrepreneurs, developers, fashion designers, the CEO of a major sports team and the President of a nation. All of them at an architecture event.

Bjarke Ingels at the Architizer A+ Awards Gala

We had our partners from the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Coolhunting there, along with our sponsors, Emirates Airline, Audemars Piguet, Audi and Perrier Jouet. All there to celebrate architecture.

Of course we also had architects: 55 of the 87 Architizer A+ Award winners flew in from all corners of the world to be with us at the the first ever Architizer A+ Awards gala. This party was for them, to celebrate the inaugural year of the Architizer A+ Awards.

12 months ago we launched the Architizer A+ Awards to change the game, to break architecture out of its echo chamber and to change how architects are rewarded for their hard work. 1,500 entries from 100 countries, 200 jurors, and 50 categories later we succeeded.

Last night two people said things to me that made me realize we are on the right path:

First it was Thom Browne, the fashion designer, who said to me that he was so happy to attend an architecture event because all of his fashion is inspired by architecture. He never goes to architecture events because he had never been invited before!

Shame on us architects! We have fans out there that want to love us. Last night we broke architecture out of its shell and invited everyone to come and celebrate architecture with us.

Fashion designer Thom Browne at the Architizer A+ Awards Gala

The second person was President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia who said to the 400 guests that taking risks is the only way to build good architecture. He told the room proudly that he had been criticized for commissioning progressive architecture. He advised every architect that if you aren’t being criticized then you aren’t real.

President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili with Architizer Co-founder Marc Kushner

Last night we took a risk. We put architecture on a stage that it was unaccustomed to. We put it in a global spotlight.

Last night we broke out of the echo chamber where architects speak exclusively to architects, and we reminded the public how important our profession is.

Last night we held our heads up proudly and said to the world: We are architects! We design every space you live in, work in and play in. We are the people that design the backdrop to everyday life.

Last night we told the world that architecture is ready to be recognized for its contribution.

Congratulations to all of our winners. Congratulations to every architect in the world. This is just the beginning.

Stay tuned for more coverage and make sure to sign up to be a beta tester for the New Architizer, launching this summer

Photo credits: Matteo Prandoni/BFAnyc.com 

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For design enthusiasts, New York City is like candy land at the moment. Exhibitions, studio tours, panel discussions, book launches, ICFF, the A+ Awards gala, and an endless stream of cocktail parties—we’ve ruled out sleeping for most of the week.

For those in town for NYCxDesign, here’s something you should add to your calendar: WantedDesign, a fair held this Friday to Monday at the historic Terminal Stores building in Chelsea. Now in its third year, the event features installations, workshops, film screenings, a “Conversation Series,” and more.

We’re especially psyched to scope out Launch Pad, where 28 emerging designers from around the globe will showcase market-ready prototypes of furnishings and decor (including the Giacomo Rocker by Michael Yates, above). Their goal: to find a manufacturer or distributor. Who knows—the next Charles and Ray Eames may be discovered here! To get a sneak peak, click on through…

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Architects know how to party. Seriously! In preparation for our A+ Gala on Thursday, we’ve looked at some notorious architecture bashes throughout history, and—let’s just say we have a lot to live up to! From a country happening with a special performance by the Velvet Underground to a Bauhaus party featuring a tinfoil slide, here are some historic architecture fetes we wish we could have attended! 

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This is part of an ongoing series in which we explore critical issues facing emerging and established architects. Past stories include “Why Architecture Firms Should Use Pinterest” and “15 Tips For Starting A Firm.”

Whether you’re just starting out or have been nurturing your own practice for a few years, you struck out on your own because you wanted to do your own work, not someone else’s. But, if you’ve been following our coverage of Mark Cavagnero’s Growing a Small Firm panel discussions at AIA San Francisco, by now you’ve heard several veteran designers recommend teaming with a larger practice. “Teaming is a good way to expand the breadth of your experience,” says Paulett Taggart, principal of Paulett Taggart Architects, who spoke at the fourth installment of the AIASF series. (In addition to our recaps here, you can find video of past panels at aecKnowledge.)

So how does teaming actually work? And why would a big practice want to take on a young upstart?

When you’re a small firm, the power differential between you and the established players may seem insurmountable. But larger offices can benefit from a collaboration, too. “We’re now seeing a time where a lot of younger firms are teaming with bigger firms,” says Marc L’Italien, design principal at EHDD and another of our panelists. “Sometimes the bigger firms are carrying more of the executive role, and the younger firms are bringing some of the creative energy.” Ahem, that’s you! Read more.

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NYCxDESIGN’s 800+ events include a tour of New York’s Battery Park City. Photo: courtesy of NYCxDESIGN

NYCxDESIGN launches today, and if you’re in a tizzy over which of the 800+ events to attend, fear not! We’ve got the ultimate guide to the architecture installations, tours, parties, and talks that you can’t miss—or the ones we’ll be checking out anyway. Click through for our picks!

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“Bag-ette,” by Steven Ehrlich (above and below). Photo courtesy of Steven Ehrlich

Tomorrow night the A + D Architecture + Design Museum in Los Angeles is holding its annual fund-raising gala. In honor of this year’s theme, “The Journey,” the museum enlisted dozens of architects to tackle the problem of the carry-on bag—specifically, its failure to surprise, delight, or be shaped like a baguette. More after the jump!

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By Sabrina Wirth, a candidate for the M.S. Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices degree in Architecture at Columbia University’s GSAPP.

New Yorkers by definition are creative people; they’re also ambitious, and a little bit competitive. First, New York challenged Paris as the Center of the Art World at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Then during the 20th century, it surpassed London as the Center of the Financial World (though the UK capital has since caught up). And for the past decade, the Big Apple has been steadily competing with Silicon Valley for the Center of Innovation. But now New York is staking its claim for a new title: Center of Design. So, if you’re planning on spending a quiet time in the city this month, fuggedaboutit—New York is about to get very busy.

Bookended between the Frieze Art Fair and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the first annual NYCxDESIGN festival officially kicks off tomorrow (May 10), with hundreds of events celebrating architecture, art, fashion, and design taking place throughout the five boroughs through May 21. (Including the Architizer A+ Awards gala on May 16!) The celebration aims, as Speaker Christine C. Quinn announced last February, to “demonstrate that New York City is the design capital of the world.” The event is organized by the New York City Council along with NYC & Company and a 33-person Steering Committee made up of leaders within the local arts community.

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Photo: Christopher Barley

Talk about breaking out of the echo chamber! Design enthusiasts lined up around the block Friday night to hear—and vote on—five amazing ideas to hack New York City as part of our first Pitch the City event, organized with MASNYC. Five architecture teams had 5 minutes to present their transformative visions (and their fancy multimedia slides) before facing our (very tough) jury of designers, city employees, and reporters for some rapid-fire questioning. At the end, the public—who packed the historic Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral—whipped out their phones to choose their favorite project, via text. It was, as one of our friends put it, “sort of like architecture was entering the 21st century.” (Wait till he sees what we have in store for our A+ gala!) And the winner is …

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Nearly three decades ago, the visionary architect Richard Saul Wurman started a series of elite conferences meant to bring together leaders in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design (TED). For the intellectual set, getting an invite was akin to being asked to dine with the president or the pope.

The almighty TED organization has evolved considerably since its founding. Its (mostly) inspiring talks are now filmed and widely shared online; it offers an annual $1 million prize (past recipients include Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity!); and last year, it started City 2.0, an initiative to facilitate urban innovation and action. TED speakers have included architects such as Bjarke Ingels (above), Liz Diller, Frank Gehry, and many others. Read more!

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