1. ArchDaily
  2. The Architectural League

The Architectural League: The Latest Architecture and News

Winners of the 2022 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announced

The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of the 41st cycle of the annual Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. Open to young architects and designers ten years or less out of a bachelor’s or master’s degree program, the award seeks to recognize visionary work by young practitioners and encourage the development of talented young architects and designers.

Winners of the 2022 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announced - Image 1 of 4Winners of the 2022 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announced - Image 2 of 4Winners of the 2022 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announced - Image 3 of 4Winners of the 2022 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announced - Image 4 of 4Winners of the 2022 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers Announced - More Images+ 7

Top Young North American Firms Win The Architectural League's 2018 Emerging Voices Awards

The Architectural League of New York has announced the recipients of its 2018 Emerging Voices awards, spotlighting individuals and firms “with distinct design voices and the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape design, and urbanism.”

Aga Khan Awarded The 2017 Architectural League President's Medal

The Architectural League of New York has announced the recipient of its 2017 President’s Medal: His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam (Spiritual Leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Aga Khan Award in Architecture – an annual award established to celebrate building concepts that have successfully addressed the needs of Muslim communities from around the world.

The Architectural League’s highest honor, the President’s Medal is awarded annually to recognize individuals for an extraordinary body of work in architecture, urbanism, art, or design. The medal will be presented by League President Billie Tsien at a May 18 dinner in New York.

The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2017

Each year, The Architectural League of New York awards its prestigious Emerging Voices award to eight practices across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, whose work “represents the best of its kind, and addresses larger issues within architecture, landscape, and the built environment."

This is Emerging Voices' 35th year running, with the competition organized by League Program Director Anne Rieselbach and reviewed by an esteemed jury.

"The 2017 Voices personify the versatility of contemporary practice. Many firms take on multiple roles of designer, developer, and/or builder to address pressing issues in housing, institutional design, and the public realm. They embrace material experimentation, challenging sites, and an economy of means within budgetary constraints to create exemplary architecture," said Rieselbach.

This year’s recipients are…

The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2017 - Image 1 of 4The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2017 - Image 2 of 4The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2017 - Image 3 of 4The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2017 - Image 4 of 4The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2017 - More Images+ 4

Watch Prominent Architectural Lectures and More from The Architectural League of New York

From architectural lectures to coverage of local projects and events, The Architectural League of New York presents a wide range of topics through its video series to further its goal of advancing the art of architecture. Through this presentation of some of the world’s most interesting and influential architects, designers, and works, The Architectural League draws international audiences to help shape the future of the build environment by stimulating discussion and provoking design-based thinking.

Watch some of The Architectural League’s videos—like a lecture by Annabelle Selldorf or Bjarke Ingels, documentation of a miniature library installation, or a musical heart sculpture in Times Square—after the break.

The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2016

Eight practices from the US, Canada and Mexico have been selected to receive The Architectural League of New York’s 34th annual Emerging Voices award - one of the most coveted awards in North American architecture. Each recipient was selected for being a “distinct design voice” with the “potential to influence" disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism.

“The 2016 ‘Voices,’ each responding to distinct geographic sites and typologies, all compellingly address the relationship between architecture and place by resourcefully synthesizing programmatic invention with computational production and the craft of building,” said Program Director Anne Rieselbach. 

Beaux Arts Ball 2015: Threshold

Gather this Friday, September 18, for Threshold, the 2015 Architectural League Beaux Arts Ball at the Knockdown Center, a former doorframe factory turned artist/performance space in Queens.

This year’s theme, Threshold, celebrates the building’s specific industrial history, while nodding to the Ball as a kick-off to the cultural year, not only for The Architectural League, but for the entire New York design community. Inside the restored factory’s 50,000 square foot, 40-foot high spaces, the design teams of Alibi Studio, MODU, and Moorhead & Moorhead will create site-specific “threshold” installations. The Ball will take place 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. with drinks, light fare, and dancing. Proceeds from the event help to support the League’s annual series of programs.

How The Architectural League Gave a Platform to 30 Years of Emerging Voices

Since 1982, The Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices awards have helped to launch hundreds of careers and consistently picked out the best and brightest in architecture. To highlight the release of a new anthology of the work of Emerging Voices' luminaries, Metropolis Magazine spoke with the League’s director, Rosalie Genevro, and the program director, Anne Rieselbach, about the mission of the Emerging Voices awards. The interview covers the changing criteria and contexts of the awards, adapting to a new form of voice in the information age and some of the award's most successful alumni. Read the full interview, including inside information on how the selection process works, over at Metropolis Magazine here.

How the Architectural League's "Emerging Voices" Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development

How the Architectural League's "Emerging Voices" Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development - Image 10 of 4
Tarlo House, Sagaponack, NY, 1979 by Tod Williams Associates (EV 1982). Image © Norman McGrath. Courtesy Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

For over 30 years, the Emerging Voices prize given by the Architectural League of New York has offered the architecture world a glimpse into the future, showcasing radical ideas from architects at a crucial stage in their career development. In this excerpt, the opening to her essay "Idea: Claiming Territories" in the newly-released book "Thirty Years of Emerging Voices: Idea, Form, Resonance," Ashley Schafer discusses how the prize has acted as a litmus test for architectural culture, with laureates often presaging trends and sometimes even singular projects years or decades before they occurred in the profession at large.

How the Architectural League's "Emerging Voices" Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development - Image 1 of 4How the Architectural League's "Emerging Voices" Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development - Image 2 of 4How the Architectural League's "Emerging Voices" Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development - Image 3 of 4How the Architectural League's "Emerging Voices" Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development - Image 4 of 4How the Architectural League's Emerging Voices Award Predicted 30 Years of Architectural Development - More Images+ 8

Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015

Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015 - Featured Image
Besler & Sons, The Entire Situation. Image © Joshua White

The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of its 2015 Prize for Young Architects + Designers. Launched in 1981 and organized by a committee comprising League Programs Director Anne Rieselbach and a selection of winners from last year, the Architectural League Prize is one of the United States' most prestigious awards for young architects, recognizing provocative work and offering a platform for the winners to disseminate their ideas. This year's theme, "Authenticity," asked designers how technological changes in computation, visualization, material intelligence, and fabrication technologies are altering our perception of design and the role of the architect.

The jury for the prize consisted of Keller Easterling, Sanford Kwinter, Michael Meredith, Lyn Rice, and Billie Tsien, as well as previous winners Carrie Norman, John Rhett Russo, and Jenny Sabin. As part of their prize, in June the six winning practices will present a series of lectures, and their work will be on display in an exhibition during the summer.

Read on for the complete list of winners.

Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015 - Image 1 of 4Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015 - Image 2 of 4Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015 - Image 3 of 4Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015 - Image 4 of 4Six Young Practices Selected As Winners Of The Architectural League Prize 2015 - More Images+ 8

Henry N. Cobb Awarded Architectural League President's Medal

The Architectural League of New York has awarded its President's Medal to Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects. The League's highest honor, the medal was awarded to Cobb “for the truly consequential work he has created as designer, educator, thinker, writer, and leader,” says the jury citation.

"We are inspired by his decades-long passion for the art of architecture; by his analytic rigor, manifest in subtle and articulate buildings and penetrating readings of history and place; by the broad and profoundly informed humanist culture that suffuses his writings and approach to education; and by the unbounded curiosity and delight he takes in new ideas, new work, and new talent. Henry N. Cobb embodies that combination of capability and conviction—artistic, intellectual, practical, and civic—that defines the ideal architect.”

The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2015

The Architectural League Announces Emerging Voices of 2015 - Featured Image
MANUEL CERVANTES CESPEDES / CC ARQUITECTOS, Equestrian Project | photo by Rafael Gamo

Eight practitioners from the US, Canada and Mexico have been selected to receive The Architectural League of New York’s 33rd annual Emerging Voices award - one of the most coveted awards in North American architecture. Each recipient was selected for being a “distinct design voice” with the “potential to influence" disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism.

“This year’s Voices critically re-envision solutions for contemporary design concerns—programmatic, typological, and tectonic—that have the potential to inspire new approaches to building and form,” says program director Anne Rieselbach.

This year’s emerging voices are…

Five Design Teams Re-Envision New York's Public Libraries

There are 207 branch libraries in the city of New York, each providing a number of services to city residents. From the simple lending of books to adult technical literacy classes, these institutions are as vital as they were before the advent of the internet, and their attendance numbers prove it. Between the years of 2002 and 2011, circulation in the city’s library systems increased by 59%. Library program attendance saw an increase of 40%. In spite of this, library funding was cut by 8% within this same timeframe, which has made it difficult to keep many of the system’s buildings in good repair. To spark interest and support from city leaders, The Architectural League, in collaboration with the Center for an Urban Future, instigated the design study Re-Envisioning New York's Branch Libraries.

Sponsored by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the study is the effort of five design teams chosen by the League. These teams - including MASS Design Group and SITU STUDIO - were charged with proposing exciting new library designs that follow the League’s themes of “integrating libraries into the city’s housing and community development goals, reconfiguring libraries to meet community needs, and developing new ideas for expanding the impact of branch libraries.” The teams presented their work at a January 4th symposium. See each of the proposals, as well as video footage of that symposium, after the break.

Five Design Teams Re-Envision New York's Public Libraries - Image 1 of 4Five Design Teams Re-Envision New York's Public Libraries - Image 2 of 4Five Design Teams Re-Envision New York's Public Libraries - Image 3 of 4Five Design Teams Re-Envision New York's Public Libraries - Image 4 of 4Five Design Teams Re-Envision New York's Public Libraries - More Images+ 10

Open Call: 2015 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers: Authenticity

Young architects and designers are invited to submit work to the annual Architectural League Prize Competition. Projects of all types, either theoretical or real, and executed in any medium, are welcome. Established in 1981 to recognize visionary work by young practitioners, the Architectural League Prize is an annual competition, lecture series, and exhibition organized by The Architectural League and its Young Architects + Designers Committee.

Call for Proposals: Folly 2015

The Architectural League and Socrates Sculpture Park invite emerging architects and designers to submit proposals for Folly, an annual design/build studio program during March and April 2015 leading to a public exhibition at Socrates opening in early May 2015.

Emerging Voices: Estudio Macías Peredo

Estudio Macías Peredo is led by Salvador Macías Corona and Magui Peredo Arenas and is based in Guadalajara, Mexico. In their lecture as one of the winners of the Architectural League’s annual Emerging Voices awards, Corona and Arenas reveal the ways in which the local conditions and building traditions of their country have become creative drivers for their contemporary practice of architecture. They have a shared interest in primitive buildings, seeking to incorporate some of the inherent abstract qualities of primitive structures in ways that address contemporary issues.

Emerging Voices: Joyce Hwang of Ants of the Prairie

Joyce Hwang founded Buffalo-based firm Ants of the Prairie in 2004 as an architecture and research practice “dedicated to developing creative approaches in confronting the pleasures and horrors of our contemporary ecologies,” according to the Architectural League. In her lecture as one of winners of the Architectural League’s annual Emerging Voices awards, Hwang explains her fascination with the conflicted perceptions of urban wildlife, and discusses a series of projects that aim to incorporate diverse animal habitats into the built environment.

Emerging Voices: David Benjamin of The Living

In his lecture as one of winners of the Architectural League’s annual Emerging Voices awards, David Benjamin discusses his unique approach to environmental and computational design and how it manifests itself in the work of The Living, a firm he founded in 2006.

Throughout the lecture Benjamin discusses projects that are fundamentally linked to the natural environment and ideas related to sustainability. To introduce how the firm generates new ideas, Benjamin describes a method of experimentation developed in their practice called flash research: beginning with the idea that architecture could be dynamic and responsive, these are prototypes that operate under self-created constraints such as a budget of $1000 or less and a required time span of three months or less.

Read on after the break for further synopsis of the lecture.