10 must-see architecture & design events to see this May in NYC, Venice, Montreal, Bilbao, Melbourne, and Weil am Rhein

If you're in search of exciting architecture and design events to add to your calendar this May, check out our curated selection of exhibitions, festivals, and conferences taking place across the U.S. and abroad.

From the roster of ongoing and upcoming events listed on Bustler, here are a few featured picks worth checking out this month.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Gerrit Rietveld: Wealth of Sobriety | May 7 – September 2, New York City

"The Center for Architecture is excited to present Gerrit Rietveld: Wealth of Sobriety, opening Thursday, May 7, 2026. Curated by Arjan Bronkhorst and Barry Bergdoll, Hon. AIANY, this exhibition showcases a selection of projects from Bronkhorst’s 2018 photography volume of the same name, revealing stories about the lesser-known houses by Dutch architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld (1888–1964)."

CFA Lab: Repair – Democracy and Urban Spaces | May 7 – September 2, New York City

"The 2026 Lab cohort will respond to the prompt of 'Repair – Democracy and Urban Spaces.' Residents will address the urgent need to repair not only the physical infrastructure of our environments but also the political and social inequities embedded within them. The open call invited architects, urban planners, designers, artists, cultural conservationists, and community activists to examine how the concept of repair can serve as a lens to reimagine democratic, equitable spaces."

Venice Art Biennale 2026 | May 9 – November 22, Venice

"The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh, will run from Saturday 9 May to Sunday 22 November 2026 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and in various locations around Venice. The pre-opening will take place on May 6, 7, and 8, while the awards ceremony and inauguration will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026."

The World Around Annual Summit 2026 | May 9, New York City

"The World Around is proud to collaborate with the Department of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art to present its annual Summit, a flagship convening dedicated to the now, near, and next of contemporary architecture and design. Now in its seventh iteration, the Summit has become a vital international platform, bringing together architects, designers, artists, thinkers, researchers, and community leaders from across geographies and disciplines. Together, they share urgent ideas, emerging practices, and built work that meaningfully expands the field’s social, cultural, and ecological impact."

NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026 | May 14–20, New York City

"The 2026 NYCxDESIGN Festival, New York City’s official celebration of design, returns with hundreds of events citywide. The Festival brings together global creatives, leading brands, institutions, and the public for a vibrant program of exhibitions, keynotes, installations, tours, and neighborhood activations. The full festival schedule will be announced at nycxdesign.org and through the NYCxDESIGN mobile app, enabling visitors to easily navigate events across the city."

Melbourne Design Week 2026 | May 14–24, Melbourne

"Melbourne Design Week (MDW) is Australia’s leading design festival, held annually over 11 days in Melbourne and regional Victoria. Driven by ideas, MDW provides a platform for designers, thinkers, educators, businesses, and enthusiasts to come together to share perspectives, showcase new work, and consider how design can be a force for good in an increasingly complex world. The program features talks, tours, dinners, exhibitions, launches, and workshops, and will run from 14–24 May in 2026. Events take place across a wide range of venues across the state – studios, retail spaces, universities, galleries, gardens, sports courts, restaurants and public spaces – celebrating Melbourne’s identity as Australia’s design capital."

ICFF 2026 | May 17–19, New York City

"With its emphasis on original and sustainable design, ICFF presents a broad range furnishing product for residential, contract and hospitality environments to an audience of 10,000 architects, interior designers, retailers, distributors, developers, and press. ICFF brings together over 450 established and emerging design brands from more than 35 countries. On the show floor, attendees will also have opportunities to find inspiration through ICFF Talks, a focused lineup of panel sessions, keynote presentations, and intimate conversations led by the most iconic names in the industry."

Verner Panton: Form, Colour, Space | May 23 – May 9, 2027, Weil am Rhein

"He designed living landscapes and suspended chairs from the ceiling: Danish architect Verner Panton (1926–1998) is one of the twentieth century’s most influential designers. His work – from furniture, fabrics, and lamps to sculptures, buildings, and interiors – radically redefined form, colour, and space. In 2026, Panton would have turned 100. The exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum’s Schaudepot presents a part of his work chronologically and thematically, with chapters dedicated to key creations such as the Panton Chair (c. 1956–1967) and the 1970 Visiona II installation."

ONGOING EVENTS

Montréal Design Week | Until May 7, Montreal

"Spring 2026 marks a milestone for Montréal’s design community with the inaugural edition of Montréal Design Week, conceived by Index-Design, organized by Archi-Design QC, and presented by Tafisa Canada. From April 28 to May 7, 2026, Montréal will transform into a design capital, also celebrating 20 years as a UNESCO City of Design within the Creative Cities Network. This first edition expands the Index-Design professional trade show (formerly Complètement Design) into a unifying event that brings together the entire design and built environment industry. It unfolds as a constellation of events and destinations for both the curious public and industry insiders, most of which are free."

Denise Scott Brown. City. Street. House | Until May 31, Bilbao

"The exhibition is the first major retrospective held on the architect focusing exclusively on her. Curated by the architects Maria Pia Fontana and Miguel Mayorga and organised into three sections—city, street, house—it displays from a hundred works (drawings, photographs, posters and scale models) made by Scott Brown and her partners for the first time with the goal of showcasing her enormous contribution to contemporary visual culture. The show includes around twenty artworks and furnishings from the architect’s private collection (by Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichenstein, Andy Warhol and others)."

Do you have an architecture or design event you want to promote? Submit it to our event calendar via Bustler for review and a potential feature.