High Moments You Could Have Missed From Design Weeks Throughout the Nation This 12 months
Chicago Architecture Biennial (September 17–December 18)
Chicago’s long-standing legacy of architectural innovation continues with the ongoing 2021 edition of its biennial, themed around curator and designer David Brown’s “Available City” concept. In partnership with a host of community organizations and like-minded architects (totaling 80 contributors from more than 18 countries), the “Available City” reimagines currently vacant urban lots by proposing new ideas for how architecture and public policy can better serve the public. (Ideas range from landscaped parks to architecturally inviting gathering places.) Hood Design Studio, Studio Barnes, Borderless Studio, and more contributed to the site-specific projects that foster play and community interaction, making this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial an example of the outsize impact that small changes to the built environment can have when applied on a citywide scale.
“This edition was a major departure from an exhibition model to a more direct engagement with the built environment and local audience,” says Rachel Kaplan, director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. “Local communities have come together to engage with the possibilities for space in their neighborhood with incredible energy and enthusiasm.”
Following five days of events, attendees gather at a wrap party for Nashville Design Week.
Photo: Daniel MeigsNashville Design Week (November 1–5)
Returning for its fourth installment, this year’s Nashville Design Week was an interdisciplinary exploration of transition. With help from what director of programming Maria Meyer describes as a team of “artists, chefs, furniture makers, musicians, architects, designers, [and] urban planners,” 18 events examined design’s role in everything from affordable housing and social justice to the culinary arts and the growing “metaverse.” Along the way, hands-on events provided opportunities to design furniture and explore virtual landscapes. Among the attendee favorites? A curated community art exhibition examining both the pandemic’s impact and local hopes for the future.
NYCxDesign Festival (November 11–18)
The 2021 edition of the NYCxDesign Festival returned with a focus on designing for a more equitable, accessible, and inclusive New York in the wake of the pandemic. Industry trade shows International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), WantedDesign Manhattan, and Boutique Design New York (BDNY) served as anchor events at Javits Center, while makers and shops hosted satellite events throughout the five boroughs. A long-awaited collective show at Colony, a student design competition in collaboration with DeMuro Das, and showroom celebrations for Emblem Paris and Hem were among the week’s highlights.
B&B Italia tapped multimedia artist Shantell Martin to enliven the showroom windows with her signature black-and-white artwork during Miami Art and Design Week.
Photo: Emilio CollavinoMiami Art and Design Week (December 1–5)
The design industry descended on Magic City earlier this month for Miami Art and Design Week, upheld by cornerstone fairs Art Basel and Design Miami. To commence the event, AD hosted a star-studded affair in celebration of the newly unveiled 2022 AD100. On the gallery front, Converso exhibited a widely buzzed-about suite of pieces from John Dickinson’s famous 1963 Firehouse, while the Future Perfect showed new works from Chris Wolston and others. And a visit to the Miami Design District presented a specially commissioned Mario Bellini sofa, an array of Vladimir Kagan reintroductions, and more.
