Bid for unique Van Alen "Art + Design Experiences" with famous architects

Bidding is open for the Van Alen Institute's 2015 Auction of Art + Design Experiences, organized in collaboration with online auction platform Paddle8. This isn't your typical auction in terms of what's being sold. Instead of material objects, bidders can auction for one-of-a-kind experiences with an international star-studded list of 24 creatives including Charles Renfro, Bjarke Ingels, Jeanne Gang, Barry Bergdoll, Norman Foster, Michael Maltzan, Trey Trahan, and more.

Proceeds from the Auction of Art + Design Experiences will benefit Van Alen's cross-disciplinary research, public programs, and design competitions. The auction also accompanies Van Alen's annual Spring Party on May 13 at The Surrogate's Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

Bidding closes on May 20.

Check out some of this year's experiences that are up for auction below.

• Fire Island hot tub roundtable with architect Charles Renfro at his mid-century modern beach house.
• Meet menswear designer Patrik Ervell in his NYC studio for a private fitting, and admire your new look as he shakes a round of his favorite cocktails.
• Take a Pacific coast hike with Airbnb co-founder and green design guru Joe Gebbia as the RISD grad shares his next-big-idea watch list.

• Test the smoke ring generator at Copenhagen's new waste-to-energy power plant with Bjarke Ingels and BIG partner Jakob Lange.
• Enjoy brunch at the Paris studio of architect and artist Didier Faustino and make an excursion to the stunning property and art collection of gallerist Natalie Seroussi in Meudon.
• Talk books and develop a custom reading list at the Harlem or Orient home libraries of architectural historian and former MoMA chief curator of architecture and design Barry Bergdoll

• Join architect Jeanne Gang for a birdwatching expedition in an iconic urban park.
• Navigate the disappearing Mississippi River Delta from a small plane with architect Trey Trahan.
• Join designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg in the home they designed for themselves in one of the Richard Meier towers on Manhattan's West Side for a dinner and design trend discussion with Interior Design magazine editor-in-chief Cindy Allen.

• Join architect Michael Maltzan on his weekly cycling excursion through Los Angeles. Together you'll pass some of the city’s iconic mid-century and contemporary architecture before arriving at a Maltzan-designed private residence in Beverly Hills for a well-earned lunch.
• Pen your own persuasive newspaper op-ed with seasoned writer Fred Bernstein.
• Join Sotheby's chairman and social savant Lisa Dennison for her daily salon blowout ritual as she offers tips on building a bluechip art collection, followed by a personalized tour of MoMA's permanent holdings.

• Architect Norman Foster offers a helicopter ride along the River Thames from a helipad in Southwest London to view the British capital's transforming skyline.
• Be the Art Vandelay of UNStudio for a day. Ben van Berkel will welcome you into his studio for a day of work and design in Amsterdam.
• Get a tutorial on how to document the city digitally from some of the most closely-followed Instagrammers on the scene: art director and Thom Browne collaborator Matthew Foley and designer Eric Petschek.

Find more of the experiences here.