New York’s Center for Architecture has announced the launch of the Center for Architecture Lab – a digital residency dedicated to promoting new voices and ideas in architecture. Created in response to major destabilizing forces, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the racial justice movement in the United States, the program will invite a diverse, multi-disciplinary field of professionals to engage with important issues through the lens of architecture and design. Through this, it hopes to encourage the architectural community to consider outside perspectives, critical questions, and innovative solutions to problems within and beyond the architectural profession.

The multi-month residency program will see a series of individuals, institutions, and organizations contribute their expertise to important questions in the built environment. The program will offer residents full authorship over dedicated areas of the Center for Architecture’s digital platforms, where they will publish compelling, provocative content through the Center’s social media, website, and email.

The program’s first residents will be the Indigenous Scholars of Architecture, Planning and Design (ISAPD) at the Yale School of Architecture. From May 10th to July 23rd, the collective student group will share their mission of increasing knowledge, consciousness, and appreciation for indigenous architecture. Through the Center’s social media platforms, and a dedicated digital exhibition, the group will aim to reach Indigenous students and professionals in architecture, planning, and design across the United States.  

Under the theme of “Indigenous Futurism,” the ISAPD’s residency will see explorations of architectural sovereignty through the lens of technology, alternative worlds, science fiction, and temporality. In collaboration with Indigenous leaders, they will present best practices for designing with Indigenous communities and highlight the work of Indigenous architects. The work will share an overarching goal of investigating architectural issues unique to Indigenous communities, and understanding their future.

The group’s findings will be shared by the Center for Architecture throughout the coming months. The Center for Architecture Lab’s second residency will be announced in June 2021.

The launch of the Center for Architecture Lab comes soon after the AIA announced that their 2021 Conference on Architecture will take place online this summer. You can find a comprehensive list of virtual events taking place within the architectural community on our Virtual Events page.