Looking for exciting things to do in New York City this month? Lucky you, Archtober is back for another year with a rich program of engaging exhibitions, lectures, conferences, films, tours, parties, and other activities to celebrate the value of architecture and design in everyday life!

From the long, long list of Archtober events, we have picked some exciting highlights to add to your calendar in the first week, Oct. 1-8:

• Dwell on Design New York | Oct. 2-4
  Dwell on Design New York upends the standard “design show” format with a forum that inspires new ideas & a fresh point of view. Designers, architects, manufacturers, makers, and you, come together to evaluate design, solve problems and uncover innovations.
   

• Designers & Books Fair: 2015 | Oct. 2-4
  The Designers & Books Fair is the only book fair in the world that focuses on architecture, fashion, graphic design, interior design, product design, and all the other allied design disciplines. Publishers of new books and also rare and out-of-print dealers will be exhibiting and selling. An extensive schedule of programs will be presented in the auditorium adjacent to the exhibition hall.

• Designing Affordability Symposium | Oct. 3
  The symposium will present case studies alongside presentations by innovators in housing construction. Case study presenters and innovators will be paired in conversation with a moderator. Together, they will examine new developments in building innovations, living situations, and progressive partnerships that may bring down the cost of housing and design affordability into these systems.

• West Side Story: The Evolution of Lincoln Center | Oct. 3
  Discover the evolution of this pioneering cultural complex of the mid-20th Century. Explore its origins as a Robert Moses urban renewal project announced in 1956, through its design and construction by some of our most iconic Modern architects in the turbulent 60s, to its reimagining by Diller, Scofidio and Renfro in this past decade for the New York of the 21st Century.

• Kahn’s Monument Through the Lens | Oct. 4
  Photographers ages 16+ will explore Louis Kahn’s architectural masterpiece, Four Freedoms Park. Experiment with light, shadow, and DIY filters to capture Kahn’s monument, and the unparalleled views of the New York City skyline. Bring your camera or photo-capable device to review photography principles and enhance your skills. Registration required.

• Modern FiDi: Expanding and Renovating the Financial District | Oct. 4
  While the Financial District is widely known for its historic architecture, it also boasts a variety of distinctive Modern buildings, many of them linked to urban design initiatives of the 1960s and ‘70s. The tour will focus on “Skid(more) Row” (Chase Manhattan Plaza, 140 Broadway and One Liberty Plaza) and the Water Street corridor, once planned to be the route of the Second Avenue Subway.

• World Habitat Day 2015 Public Spaces for All | Oct. 5
  The UN-Habitat, the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization and the American Institute Architects New York join to host a high-level discussion, which will cover key developments in the area of public space design.This event will bring together high-level experts and representatives from national and local governments, NGOs, institutes, foundations and industry, who will present case studies from around the world.

• Learning Spaces | Oct. 6
  A successful educational building enriches its users, fosters community and improves the daily enterprise of students and teachers. On October 6, Parsons the New School for Design will host “Learning Spaces”, a discussion on how we create the schools of tomorrow. Speakers include Louis Becker of Henning Larsen Architects and Executive Dean at Parsons, Joel Towers.

• Women in Architecture Forum and Awards | Oct. 6
  Architectural Record will present the magazine’s second annual awards program to recognize and promote women’s design leadership. Join us for a morning symposium followed by a luncheon ceremony honoring this year's award winners.

• Coworking and the Future of Architecture | Oct. 7
  As the landscape of work shifts to accommodate more mobility and flexibility, co-working has become more and more popular, changing the traditional way we look at the relationship between space and professional communities. This session will explore the evolution of co-working and its impact on both what and how we might be designing in the future.

• Short Films Walk | Oct. 7
  Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) will present its 2nd Annual Short Films Walk on October 7. The ADFF Short Film Walk takes place at many SOHO area design showrooms. Each showroom will screen a unique selection of curated shorts screened from 6:00 – 9:00pm. Guests can wander from showroom to showroom and enjoy great films as well as food and drink.

• SHELTER: On Housing | Oct. 7
  “SHELTER” will focus on Housing | Speculation. Our most basic need. Resiliency. Solving the housing crisis at various scales and wide range of contexts. Areas devastated by natural or man-made disaster. Cities devoid of their vital mix of economic diversity and the re-introduction of low income housing in first world city centers. At our most basic responsibility, what are the contributions architects are making in fulfilling this need?

• Current Work: Thomas Heatherwick | Oct. 8
  Heatherwick Studio’s integrative approach to practice addresses the relationship between form, context, and making, frequently incorporating new materials and innovative technology in its designs. The firm works in a broad range of scales, from product design and temporary structures to infrastructure and large-scale architectural projects.

• Inventing Preservation | Oct. 8
  Historic preservation activism in New York City did not begin in the 1960s with the fight to save Penn Station and the effort to pass the Landmarks Law—it began in the late 19th century. Join us to recount the triumphs, failures, and tactics of these early preservationists, and discuss what they might teach us moving forward.

• Bespoke and Archinect present: abc/nyc | Oct. 8
  New York City features many striking spaces and structures created by local talented professionals. In partnership, Bespoke and Archinect will celebrate our local architecture and design community in absolute style. From a terraced venue overlooking Central Park South, we invite you to relax, sip on a cocktail, and enjoy an evening with friends and colleagues.

Make sure to check back for week 2 recommendations.

For the complete list of events from October 1st through 31st, head over to the Archtober online calendar, like the Facebook page, or follow Archtober on Twitter, Instagram, and its blog.