10 must-see architecture and design events to check out this January

DesignTO Festival 2024 | January 19–28, Toronto

Toronto's gearing up to host the annual DesignTO Festival, Canada's premier showcase for design and art. Now in its 14th year, the program promises over 100 free exhibitions, installations, and events at venues across the city.

Interior Design Show: IDS 2024 | January 18–21, Toronto

And while in TDot, head over to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where the Interior Design Show (IDS) returns for the 25th edition with a packed schedule. Keynote sessions include a look at the circular economy & product design, followed by a conversation with London-based Canadian architect Alison Brooks. 

ADFF:Chicago - Architecture & Design Film Festival  | January 31 – February 4, Chicago

The Architecture & Design Film Festival makes a stop in Chicago at the end of the month, offering a five-day program of film screenings and panel discussions with noteworthy speakers. The Chicago Architecture Center will be hosting the events.

Maison&Objet Paris | January 18–22, Paris

In Europe, meanwhile, Maison&Objet will welcome visitors from the decoration, design, and lifestyle industry to its January event at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre. Under the banner of TECH EDEN, this edition promises "reinvented feature spaces oriented toward the retail, residential, or hospitality industries."

Oslo Design Fair 2024 | January 21–23, Oslo

Head north to Scandinavia, and you'll catch the opening of Oslo Design Fair, an important gathering in the region for design, architecture, and craft. Besides nearly 400 scheduled exhibitors, the event offers workshops, talks, and exhibitions.

Building Stories | January 21, Washington, D.C.

Back in the U.S., the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. will open the new exhibition Building Stories, an "immersive exploration of the world of architecture, engineering, construction, and design found in the pages of children’s books."

Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist | January 13 – June 3, Palm Springs

On the American West Coast, the large-scale retrospective Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist will explore the work of the Swiss-born Desert Modernism pioneer at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

ONGOING EVENTS

Long Life, Low Energy: Designing for a circular economy | Until January 14, 2024, Liverpool

Selected highlights of circular economy applications in architecture are currently on display in the Long Life, Low Energy exhibition from RIBA North and the Tate Liverpool. Launched in October, the event still runs through January 14.

Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 | Until March 10, 2024, Sharjah

Architecture and urbanism of the Middle East, North and East Africa, and Asia are the focus of the ongoing in the United Arab Emirates. Curated by Tosin Oshinowo, the event offers exhibitions, installations, and workshops under this year's theme, "The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability."

Homeplace – A Love Letter | Until March 24, 2024, Munich

In Munich, finally, the collective Matri-Archi(texture) recently opened the site-specific installation "Homeplace – A Love Letter" inside the Pinakothek der Moderne rotunda at the Architekturmuseum der TUM. The piece invites visitors to discourse on "the nature of spatial design and human habitation via different African and other diasporic rituals, expressions, and forms of construction."

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