Archtober 2026: New York City’s Architecture and Design Month

Archtober 2026, New York City’s annual architecture and design month, returns from 1 to 31 October 2026. For the whole of October the festival brings together architecture activities, programmes and exhibitions across the city, organised around this year’s theme, In Our Hands, with more than 100 cultural institutions hosting talks, tours and programmes across the five boroughs and the wider tri-state area.

The 2026 theme: In Our Hands

According to the organisers, the theme responds to a time of uncertainty, from climate change and rapidly evolving artificial intelligence to divisive policies, and calls for community and optimism. It celebrates a shared desire for sensorial and inclusive design, handcrafted practices and resilient structures, and is a reminder of the agency and responsibility that architects, designers and citizens have in shaping a fairer and more joyful environment. Partner events are grouped under five topics: Nature, Media, Culture, History and Education.

The programme spans exhibitions, talks, tours and screenings, including architecture boat tours with AIA New York and behind-the-scenes visits to new and innovative spaces across the five boroughs and beyond. At the Center for Architecture the festival opens with three exhibitions: Humanist Modernity, on Stanisława Sandecka-Nowicka and Maciej (Matthew) Nowicki; Dark Matter U: Justice, Pedagogy, Design, the first major US exhibition of and by the Dark Matter U network; and Why Design?, which shows K-12 student work from the Center’s education programmes. Other initiatives include a newsstand installation with Data Vandals on the 51st Street downtown 6 train platform.

About the festival

Archtober grew out of Architecture Week, which AIA New York hosted each October after opening the Center for Architecture in 2003, and became a month-long festival in 2011. Since then the Center for Architecture has run Building of the Day tours of notable contemporary and historic buildings led by architects, and each year a New York graphic design firm creates the festival identity, building on Pentagram’s original logo.

Archtober presents itself as a New York-based platform for discovering architecture and design, working with partners from museums and consulates to parks and advocacy groups. Its full calendar of events, partners and exhibitions is published on the festival website.