10 can't-miss architecture & design events to see this October in NYC, LA, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Liverpool, and Palm Springs

Kick off the fall right by exploring the diverse range of architecture and design events, exhibitions, conferences, tours, and festivals on display this October.

From the roster of ongoing and upcoming events listed on Bustler, here is a brief curated selection of recommendations worth checking out this October.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Archtober 2025 | October 1–31, New York City

"Archtober is a NYC-based platform that promotes the discovery of architecture and design through experiences and content, culminating in a month-long festival every October. Through collaborations with hundreds of partners, Archtober presents tours, lectures, workshops, panels, exhibitions, and more that are accessible to all. Since 2011, the Center for Architecture has worked with some of the most talented graphic design firms in New York City to craft an identity for the Archtober festival that year. With Pentagram's original design for the Archtober logo, every year is a new adventure!"

Design Philadelphia 2025 | October 1–12, Philadelphia

"For twenty one years our annual festival has been an explosion of activities showcasing the Philadelphia design community while demonstrating the impact of design to the public. October 1-12, 2025 (observing Yom Kippur)"

Searching for Superpublics | October 3 – March 28, New York City

"Searching for Superpublics explores current directions in the design of New York City’s public space. The work on view introduces a search for additions to city life that overcome the boundaries of neighborhoods, communities, boroughs, and typical public spaces. While not necessarily square, central, or as lush as some of the parks and plazas that predate them, the selected projects are super. They exceed the boundaries of traditional public spaces and neighborhoods by working together across the city, inventing new tools for participation, and occupying resources and infrastructure. In a city as dense as New York, these projects emerge as opportunistic and strategic sites of intervention that weave through the city’s fabric."

Architecture After the Fires: LA in Progress | October 3–5, Los Angeles

"SCI-Arc's Resilient Futures Task Force is opening a call for submissions of architectural plans and concepts in the zones recently affected by wildfires. The multi-day event showcases the current state of architectural adaptation as it unfolds under conditions of heightened fire risk. Works of any typology are accepted, and we invite submissions of in-progress projects as well as speculative or research-oriented works."

CTBUH 2025 International Conference: From the Ground Up: Tall Buildings and City-Making | October 6–9, Toronto

"From the Ground Up: Tall Buildings and City-Making explores the multifaceted approach required to grow and transform cities, emphasizing that meaningful urban development transcends physical structures. [...] The conference will delve into the impacts of gentrification, the collaborative approach to urban policy, and the essential role of citizen and community engagement in the planning and design of cities. Through this lens, the event highlights how successful urban development must integrate material and social initiatives, ensuring that cities evolve to meet the needs of all their inhabitants."

Home Ground: The architecture of football | October 15 – January 25, Liverpool

"Home ground: The architecture of football, highlights the history of football stadium design from the 1890s to the present day, exploring some of the game’s most iconic grounds. Inspired by Everton FC’s forthcoming opening of the new Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, the exhibition features more than 50 stadiums from around the world. Through architectural models, photographs, and archive material, visitors will gain insight into how architecture plays a pivotal role in the stadium experience, not only serving as a venue for sport but as a cultural landmark and focal point for the local community and fans alike."

Modernism Week — October | October 16–19, Palm Springs

"The event features midcentury modern architecture, art, interior design, landscape design and vintage style. The annual Fall festival features over 50 exclusive activities that include architecture tours, social events, and unique experiences unique to Modernism Week and Palm Springs. All activities are open to the public. A portion of ticket proceeds benefit Modernism Week (a non-profit organization) and other local preservation, neighborhood, and community groups."

How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949–1979 | October 23 – March 15, Montreal

"The exhibition takes the multimedia documentation of architectural production under the socialist Chinese regime as a point of departure, illuminating specific social and cultural microhistories that are not evident in purely textual historical sources. These social biographies of projects—characterized by material and technical inventiveness, continuities and discontinuities with social, economic, and political inclinations, and direct and indirect influences from within and beyond the Eastern bloc—challenge prevailing assessments of design and architectural practice in Mao’s China as monolithic, hermetic, and autocratic."

ONGOING EVENTS

In Common: Sites of Encounter Exhibition | Until December 31, Boston

"The Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) is proud to announce the opening of In Common: Sites of Encounter, an exhibition exploring the spaces—both intentional and improvised—where people come together. Spanning civic buildings, skateparks, dormitories, and stairwells, In Common examines how design influences connection, belonging, and public life. Some spaces are carefully planned; others evolve through daily use. Together, they illustrate how the built environment supports and shapes community. The exhibition features work by architects, designers, and collaborators from across Greater Boston, presented through drawings, models, and photographs."

The ReImagined City: San Francisco 2000-2025 | Until January 19, San Francisco

"Imagine a San Francisco where Crissy Field is off-limits to the public. Downtown’s towers stop at Mission Street, the Ferry Building sits empty and the largest cultural facilities in Golden Gate Park – the California Academy  of Sciences and the de Young Museum are housed in seismically suspect structures cobbled together over time. The differences between then and now are startling but this was our city as the new millennium approached in 1999. Which makes 2025 a fitting vantage point from which to contemplate the rebuilt urban landscape, and how it reflects the region’s shifting cultural currents."

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