AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE ANNOUNCES 2022 SHORTLIST

20 projects in 16 countries, from Indonesia to Cape Verde

Geneva, Switzerland, 2 June 2022 – The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) today announced 20 shortlisted projects for the 2022 Award cycle.  The projects will compete for a share of the US$ 1 million prize, one of the largest in architecture.

The 20 shortlisted projects were selected by an independent Master Jury from a pool of 463 projects nominated for the 15th Award Cycle (2020-2022).

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence.  Since it was launched 45 years ago, 121 projects have received the award and nearly 10,000 building projects have been documented.  The AKAA’s selection process emphasises architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs, but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural aspirations.

Photographic representations of the 20 shortlisted entries will go on display in an exhibition in King’s Cross, London from 2 June to 30 June, as part of the King’s Cross Outdoor Art Project, coinciding with the London Architecture Festival.

Bahrain

  • Rehabilitation of Manama Post Office, Manama, Bahrain, by Studio Anne Holtrop: Built in 1937, the Post Office was rehabilitated to its original form and role as a functioning post office, and added a new wing to the existing building. 

Bangladesh

  • Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee ResponseTeknaf, Bangladesh, by Rizvi Hassan, Khwaja Fatmi, Saad Ben Mostafa: Sustainably built structures in the world’s largest refugee camps, which occurred collaboratively in the field without drawings or models.
  • Urban River Spaces, Jhenaidah, Bangladesh, by Co.Creation.Architects / Khondaker Hasibul Kabir, Suhailey Farzana: A community-driven project providing public spaces in a riverine city with 250,000 residents, offering walkways, gardens and cultural facilities, as well as environmental efforts to increase biodiversity along the river.

Cape Verde

  • Outros Bairros Rehabilitation ProgrammeMindelo, Cape Verde, by OUTROS BAIRROS / Nuno Flores: An urban rehabilitation and redesign of a public space allowed residents to execute works in their own neighbourhoods and enhance their sense of belonging.

India

  • Lilavati Lalbhai Library at CEPT University, in Ahmedabad, India, by RMA architects / Rahul Mehrotra: The library, a living case study of passive climate mitigation strategies, integrates seamlessly into the existing campus while forging its own distinct identity.

Indonesia

  • Blimbingsari Airport, Banyuwangi, Indonesia, by andramatin: Serving more than 1,100 domestic passengers per day, the airport’s roofs indicate a clear division between departure and arrival halls.
  • Expandable House, Batam, Indonesia, by ETH Zurich / Stephen Cairns with Miya Irawati, Azwan Aziz, Dioguna Putra and Sumiadi Rahman: This new sustainable dwelling prototype is designed to be flexibly configured around its residents’ (often) precarious resources over time.

Iran

  • Aban House, Isfahan, Iran, by USE Studio / Mohammad Arab, Mina Moeineddini: On a narrow rectangular site in Isfahan’s historic centre, the three-storey house is arranged around three open courtyards.
  • Argo Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre, Tehran, Iran, by ASA North / Ahmadreza Schricker: Distinct materials differentiate new additions from the brick-built historic fabric in this contemporary art museum housed in an abandoned 100-year-old brewery.
  • Jadgal Elementary School, Seyyed Bar, Iran, by DAAZ Office / Arash Aliabadi: An elementary school, managed by villagers and teachers and funded by tourism and needlework from local women, is a sustainable development centre for surrounding areas.

Lebanon

  • Renovation of Niemeyer Guest House, Tripoli, Lebanon, by East Architecture Studio: Designed by Oscar Niemeyer but abandoned when civil war erupted in 1975, the guest house has been transformed into a design platform and production facility for the local wood industry.

Kuwait

  • Wafra Wind Tower, Kuwait City, Kuwait, by AGi Architects: The 13-storey building conceived as a wind tower features a central, vertical courtyard that provides natural ventilation to each apartment unit.

Morocco

  • Issy Valley Improvement, Ait Mansour, Morocco, by Salima Naji: While improving the palm orchards and water reservoirs, trails and facilities for tourists were also upgraded in the first phase of a larger project for the valley.

Niger

  • Niamey 2000, Niamey, Niger, by united4design / Yasaman Esmaili, Elizabeth Golden, Mariam Kamara, Philip Straeter: As a response to a housing shortage amid rapid urban expansion, this prototype housing of six family units seeks to increase density while remaining culturally appropriate.

Palestine

  • Tulkarm Courthouse, Tulkarm, Palestine, by AAU Anastas: Featuring two buildings, one for administration and the other containing 10 courtrooms, the Courthouse is anchored to its urban context by a public space.

Senegal

  • CEM Kamanar Secondary School, Thionck Essyl, Senegal, by Dawoffice / David Garcia, Aina Tugores: For this secondary school, volunteers, using local techniques, produced vault modules from clay which (with lattices) act as evaporating coolers.

Sri Lanka

  • Lanka Learning Centre, Parangiyamadu, Sri Lanka, by feat.collective / Noemi Thiele, Felix Lupatsch, Valentin Ott and Felix Yaparsidi: A multifunctional cultural centre and adult school where locals learn craftsmanship creates a multi-ethnic meeting point.

Tunisia

  • Le Jardin d’Afrique, Zarzis, Tunisia, by Rachid Koraïchi: An ecumenical cemetery provides a sanctuary and dignified place of final repose for the hundreds of unburied bodies that had been washing ashore.

Turkey

  • Rehabilitation of Tarsus Old Ginnery, Tarsus, Turkey, by Sayka Construction Architecture Engineering Consultancy: Adaptive reuse of an abandoned 19th century ginnery allows the operation of a contemporary centre for archaeological research and public engagement.

United Arab Emirates

  • Flying Saucer Rehabilitation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, by SpaceContinuum Design Studio / Mona El Mousfy: The Flying Saucer, a 1978 Brutalist-style building that was fully restored as a community art space, contributes to Sharjah’s collective cultural memory.

The shortlisted projects have undergone rigorous reviews, at the site of each project, by independent experts, including architects, conservation specialists, planners and structural engineers. The Master Jury meets again this summer to examine the on-site reviews and determine the final recipients of the Award.

The nine members of the independent Master Jury who selected the 20 shortlisted projects are: Nada Al Hassan, an architect specialising in the conservation of architectural and urban heritage; Amale Andraos,Professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Kader Attia, an artist who explores the wide-ranging effects of western cultural hegemony and colonialism; Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, director-general of Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Sibel Bozdoğan, a Visiting Professor of Modern Architecture and Urbanism at the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, Boston University; Lina Ghotmeh, a French-Lebanese architect who leads a practice where every project learns from a vernacular past to build a new “déjà-là”; Francis Kéré, an AKAA laureate and internationally renowned Burkinabè architect who received the Award in 2004 for his first project, an elementary school in Gando, Burkina Faso; Anne Lacaton, founder of Lacaton & Vassal in Bordeaux in 1989, who focuses on the generosity of space and economy of means;Nader Tehrani, founding principal of NADAAA, a practice dedicated to design innovation, collaboration and a dialogue with the construction industry. For more information, please see the biographies of the Master Jury.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. The other members of the Steering Committee are Sheikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa,President, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Manama; Emre Arolat, Founder, EAA – Emre Arolat Architecture, Istanbul; Meisa Batayneh, Principal Architect, Founder, maisam architects and engineers, Amman; Sir David Chipperfield, Principal, David Chipperfield Architects, London; Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Director, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University, New York; Nasser Rabbat, Aga Khan Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Marina Tabassum, Principal, Marina Tabassum Architects, Dhaka; and Sarah M. Whiting, Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge. Farrokh Derakhshani is the Director of the Award.

For the full AKAA press announcement & links to all the project go to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Link.

MANIFESTA 14 PROJECT SUPPORTED BY CREATIVE EUROPE

Kosovo Architecture Foundation is pleased to be a partner in the Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project: Co-Producing Common Space and Shaping Formations of Solidarity in the Western Balkans and Beyond, co-funded by the European Union.

The International Foundation Manifesta, the initiator of Europe’s only nomadic cultural biennial and initiator of the Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project, is collaborating with the City of Prishtina, Kosovo to develop Manifesta 14 Prishtina which will open its doors from the 22nd of July to the 30th of October 2022. 

Organised for the occasion of the biennial, the International Foundation Manifesta has set up the Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project which aims to enlarge the outreach and duration of the European Nomadic Biennial by developing a cross-regional collaborative platform including a vast array of cultural and civic activities across the region. An integral objective of the project is to open up the Western Balkan to create a project that breaks the confines of isolated cultural infrastructures and networks. 

Liking architecture, urban planning, human rights, arts and culture, the Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project proposes a plethora of diverse activities in 2021 and 2022 ranging from in-depth cultural research, expert talks and conferences to exhibitions and events across the region. 

The partner network of the Manifesta Western Balkans Project promotes a politics of care between different communities in the Western Balkans and aims to stimulate broader cross-border network structures, where knowledge production and local expertise can thrive. 

The activities in the development process will be the result of close collaborations between the International Foundation Manifesta, The Netherlands and nine partners from the Western Balkans: Kosovo Architecture Foundation (KAF); Post-Conflict Research Center Sarajevo (PCRC); RRITU (Termokiss) Prishtina; Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Skopje; Quendra Harabel Tirana; APSS Institute Podgorica; NGO Aktiv Kosovo; Meydan D.O.O. (Hestia) Belgrade; Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Sofia; European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) Berlin.

The Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project has been awarded a Creative Europe Western Balkans grant by the European Union. 

More information on the project and activities will follow.

See: 

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS / THIRRJE PËR VULLNETAR KAF 2021

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Fondacioni Kosovar i Arkitekturës fton studentët dhe gjithë ata të interesuar në arkitekturës nga Kosova dhe jashtë saj për të kontribuar në organizimin e Festivalit të Arkitekturës në Kosovë që këtë vit do mbahet nga 13 Shtatori deri me 03 Tetor 2021.

Gjithë të interesuarit duhet dërguar një email të shkurtër me kontaktet e tyre në events.kaf@gmail.com deri me daten 3 Shtator. 

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Kosovo Architecture Foundation calls all students and interested in architecture 

from Kosovo and beyond to contribute in organizing the Kosovo Architecture Festival, which will be held from the 13th of September till the 3rd of October 2021.

All interested should send a short email with their contact details by the 3rd of September on events.kaf@gmail.com.

KAF 2021 STARTS ON SEPTEMBER 13TH 2021

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Under the theme of “Alter-Nation” the 9th edition of the Kosovo Architecture Festival will start on September the 13th. As in the past editions the biggest event of its kind in the region will present before the local and international audience visionary professionals, up and coming architects, planners, designers, as well as Future Architecture creatives. The list of keynotes and the full program will be announced end of August. 

Due to Covid-19 restrictions the event will be partially held online and all on site events will require for the audience members to be vaccinated or offer proof of compliance according to the Kosovo Ministry of Healthcare Covid-19 guidelines in effect from the 20th of August 2021. 

The Kosovo Architecture Festival is jointly organized by the Kosovo Architecture Foundation and the biggest pan-European design platform the Future Architecture Platform

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Nen temen e “Alter-Nation” edicioni i 9-te i Festivalit te Arkitektures ne Kosove do filloj me 13 Shtator. Sikurse ne edicionet e kaluara ngjarja me e madhe e llojit te vet ne regjion do prezentoj para audiences lokale dhe asaj globale profesionist vizionar, arkitekt te te ri dhe ne ngritje, planifikues urban, dizajner, si dhe aplikues te perzgjedhur nga platforma Future Architecture. List a ligjeruesve kryesor si dhe programi i plot do behet publik ne fund te muajit Gusht. 

Pershkak te restriksioneve per parandalimin e Covid-19 nje pjese e eventit do mbahet ‘online’ kurse te gjitha ngjarjet tjera qe do organizohen me prezencen e publikut do ju kerkohet deshmia e vaksinimit apo deshmi tjera ne pajtueshmeri me udhezimet per Covid-19 te Ministrise se Shendetesise me efekt nga 20 Gusht 2021. 

Festivali Kosovar i Arkitektures eshte organizim i perbashket i Fondacionit Kosovar te Arkitektures dhe platformes me te madhe Evropjane te dizajnit Future Architecture Platform.

21 CALL FOR IDEAS: LANDSCAPES OF CARE

2021 Call for Ideas: Landscapes of CarePresent your newest work and ideas at the events that form the core of the 2021 European Architecture Program.

Future Architecture Call for Ideas is more than a competition; it’s a platform, providing practitioners and conceptual thinkers with the opportunity to express their ideas and to be both seen and heard. A successful application would mean the opportunity to begin exchanging your projects and proposals with peers from all over the world, as well as with high-profile institutions including museums, galleries, publishing houses, biennials and festivals, all to assist you with finding avenues toward international recognition. Apply, and let the Future Architecture platform support you in elevating and sharpening your practice.

This year, we are inviting multi-disciplinary emerging professionals from all over the globe to apply with transformative projects related to our built environments. Send us your completed projects, your theoretical or conceptual propositions for spatial, social or cultural innovation, and join our discussion about the Landscapes of Care.

We welcome projects that address systemic change (prototypes and systems), site-specific cases (projects customized and adapted for certain contexts and tasks) and new alliances (cross-, trans- and multi-disciplinary projects exploring new design processes and methodologies).

Landscapes of Care

Contemporary societies face dynamically changing challenges. The extractive and consumptive logics of the system create globalised issues, impacting different regions in real time. Geopolitical boundaries protect economic returns above and beyond protecting social interests while the recent pandemic spreads, and new territories and ecologies are rearranged according to logics of migration which are inextricably connected to the flow of financial wealth. Confronting this scenario, new regional initiatives question political divisions and corporate interests. Fluid boundaries traced by local organisers and citizens emerge to fill  the spaces as yet un-commodified by the free market; spaces of exception free from the control of policy. The flow of persons generates new modes of neighbourhood living and political commitments that demand care, empathy and awareness of the other. The recent health crisis has challenged entire societies, demonstrating how they can effectively, rapidly and mostly peacefully take action. Designers, architects and urbanists see themselves handling social and political issues, rather than simply the spatial and formal aspects of a project; facing up to the challenge of transforming decades of self-complacency into active practices dealing with the politics of relations, of local communities, of energy flows, and of ever-changing urban dynamics. 

“Landscapes of Care”, the proposed theme for the 2021 edition of Future Architecture platform, will explore the dynamics of solidarity and collective self-organisation, the networks of trust working at the neighbourhood scale, and transitional common spaces and activities. The edition aims to trigger dialogues around the challenges of a society facing up to the myths of endless growth, the glorification of borders and national identity, and the hardships labelled as austerity by capitalism.

Future Architecture’s board will invite selected applicants to present their projects at the annual Creative Exchange event in February 2021. The CEx2021 will take place via the online format of the Future Architecture Rooms within the Common Room – an unconventional virtual environment for presentations, lectures and matchmaking. The platform will cover the cost of the preparation and delivery of video content for 25 selected applicants. Selected applicants will then be invited to participate in activities within the European Architecture Program, implemented by the institution members of the platform across Europe. The platform will cover the costs of travel (from within Europe) and accommodation needed for engagement in public events, or production costs for online events, and will provide an honorarium to the participants that they invite to contribute to their events.

All applications will be published on the website of the Future Architecture platform. The applications will be judged by the Future Architecture board of members, the Future Architecture alumni, and members of the public through online voting.

Timetable and Deadlines

  • Publication of the Call for Ideas: 17 November 2020
  • Deadline for submitting applications: 6 January 2021
  • Announcement of the selected 25 ideas: 15 January 2021
  • Creative Exchange: 17 – 19 February 2021
  • European Architecture Program: 1 March – 31 October 2021

Eligibility

The call is open to emerging architects, landscape architects, urban planners, designers, engineers, artists, curators, people involved in architectural communication and anyone whose professional work is focused on the future of architecture and living environments. 

To be eligible as an emerging creative for the Future Architecture Platform, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • The applicant’s independent work(s) related to architecture or city development must have been created after graduation and within the last two years;
  • The applicant must have publicly presented or published their independent work(s);
  • The applicant must not yet have attained recognition through the publication of a body of critically recognized work, or through the work of major and/or established institutions; 
  • The applicant must not have participated in previous Future Architecture Platform activities;
  • The applicant may be an individual or a collective.

The open call starts at 12.00 am CET on 17 November 2020, and all entries must be received by 6 January 2021. Multiple entries are permitted as an individual or as a collective.

Call for Ideas application >>

Future Architecture 2021 Program >>

Call for Ideas general inquiries

info@futurearchitectureplatform.org

Call for Ideas press inquiries

Maša Špiler, PR manager 

masa.spiler@mao.si

KAF 2021 PROGRAM

KAF AT BIENNALE SNEAK PEEK

The Prishtina Public Archipelago study and installation done by the Kosovo Architecture Foundation & OUD+Architecture was featured at the Biennale Sneak Peek. The short video explains more about the work that is being done for the biennale which this year will open its doors to the general public on the 22nd of May, with vernissage on the 20th & 21st of May 2021. 

The Prishtina Public Archipelago will be located in Arsenale and is part of the “co-habitats” section of the main exhibition curated by Hashim Sarkis. 

For more info go to the sneak peek page of the Biennale.

ORIS DAYS OF ARCHITECTURE

Days of Oris is an international architectural symposium organized by Oris magazine from Croatia, which has been held since 2001. Every year it gathers more than 2000 participants – architects and professionals from the related fields. So far, more than 300 leading experts and speakers from all over the world have participated in Days of Oris. 

As 2020 is special in many ways, so is the jubilee 20th edition of the 20 x 20 Days of Oris Festival, which will be held on 10 – 12 December 2020. The Festival is planned as 20 20-minute long lectures and includes live streaming from the Oris House of Architecture, but also interaction among speakers, audience and our partners.

The speakers at the 20×20 Days of Oris Festival are:   

Sou Fujimoto – established Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000. Awarded with the Golden Lion for National Participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012; 

Smiljan Radić & Marcela Correa – Radić received the Best National Architect Under 35 award by the Chilean Architects Association in 2001. In 2008 Radić and Correa held lectures at Harvard. In 2020 Radić was elected a corresponding member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts; 

RCR Arquitectes – Ramon Vilalta Pujol, Rafael Aranda Quiles, Carme Pigem Barceló. Winners of the 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize;

Darko Radović – Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Keio University, Tokyo, where he heads co+labo radović, research laboratory which focuses on the concepts of urbanity and sustainable development across scales;

Tadao Ando – one of the most renowned contemporary Japanese architects, winner of the 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize and an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London;  

Idis Turato – represented Croatia at the Biennale di Venezia; one of the authors of the Rijeka European Capital of Culture programme;  Bevk Perović Architects – authors of key projects of contemporary Slovenian architecture, winners of the 2020 Piranesi award;Thom Mayne – an internationally recognized American architect, founder and director of the interdisciplinary architectural office Morphosis. Winner of the 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize;Boonserm Premthada – award-winning Thai architect and founder of the Bangkok Project Studio office;Anna Heringer – German architect whose work is marked by social engagement, sustainable development and a transdisciplinary approach;

Barclay & Crousse – awarded with the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize 2018, the Oscar Niemeyer Prize 2016, the Peruvian National Prize of Architecture in 2014 and 2018 and the Latin America Prize 2013;

Bernard Khoury – co-founder of the Arab Center for Architecture, co-curator and architect of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national pavilion at the Venice Biennale’s 14th International Architecture Exhibition in 2014; Jordi Badia – founder and director of the BAAS architectural studio, one of the key names in contemporary Catalan architecture;

 Ivan Đikić – an elected member the EMBO, the German Academy Leopoldina and the European Academy, as well as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences;

Zlatko Ugljen – professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Architecture and the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, winner of numerous awards including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture;  Mirko Ilić – designer, illustrator, activist, whose works are represented in the collections of institutions such as the Smithsonian Museum, SFMOMA in San Francisco, MoMA New York;  Aires Mateus – Portuguese architect, professor at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, Switzerland since 2001 and professor at the Autonomous University of Lisbon since 1998.Kengo Kuma one of the most prominent internationally recognized Japanese architects, a professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Tokyo;Alberto campo Baeza – award-winning Spanish architect, member of the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts, one of the most prestigious Spanish cultural institutions.

Moderators: Dinko Peračić and Maroje Mrduljaš. 

Patrons: City of Zagreb, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb

You can see the photographs of the speakers here and visit our new website for more details www.daysoforis.com

BEKIM RAMKU NAMED AS BIGSEE 2020 ARCHITECTURE VISIONARY

In an online ceremony held in Ljubljana, Slovenia on the 21st of October Kosovo Architecture Foundation founding director was named as the 2020 BigSEE Architecture Visionary

Andrija Rusan the founder of Oris Days of Architecture, Oris Magazine and Oris House of Architecture had these words to say about Bekim

If one studies in Kosovo, continues his education at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then returns to Kosovo, it is a clear indication that one has a vision.

Bekim established KAF – the Kosovo Architecture Foundation. KAF is the generator of new ideas consistently emphasizing the need for constant change and development. KAF is an organiser of an annual festival presenting the key names from the world of architecture, design, film and other art disciplines. The thoughts and opinions of these creative individuals may have an important impact on the local environment. KAF abounds in ideas and actions resulting in their annual workshops, lectures, Venice exhibitions …etc. KAF activities are supported by the Getty Foundation, and they have also attracted much attention of the EU MIES Award and AGA Khan Award organisers.

Bekim is one of the founders of the Future Architecture Platform which represents a network for the exchange of ideas and aims to provide answers to many difficult questions that the society is facing nowadays.

He does all that from his home in Prishtina in cooperation with the important global network that he has managed to establish. Their activities are based on the following vision: Things can change for the better by encouraging the participation of the local community in the planning and implementation processes.

Bekim Ramku is a man of strength and knowledge. He knows what he is doing, he believes in his goals and eagerly pursues them, even though they might sometimes seem unattainable.

Bekim, you should never stop!

Curator of the award: Andrija Rusan

In the online ceremony held on the 21st of October Ramku thanked the BigSEE jury, curators and the BigSEE community for the honor bestowed on him and in his reception speech spoke of the great creative potential of the SEE region.

To read the BigSEE interview with Bekim Ramku visit the following link: Bekim Ramku, Kosovo – BigSEE Visionary 2020

WE’RE IN DEZEEN EVENTS GUIDE!

We’re super excited to inform you that Kosovo Architecture Festival made it to the Dezeen Events Guide for the second year in a row. Go to Dezeen Events Guide website to learn more on all the events that made it to the 2020 list.

Dezeen Events Guide is a listings guide to architecture and design events around the world. It contains all the key fairs, conferences, design weeks and biennales that take place each year.

Created by Dezeen, the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design magazine, the guide will grow in future to include smaller events such as exhibitions, talks and events that take place as part of bigger citywide events.