President’s Circle

A Message from 2026 AIA New York President Mark Gardner, AIA, NOMA

AIA New York stands at a pivotal moment in its 168-year history, as national and municipal milestones prompt us to reflect on the intersection of democracy and the built environment. In 2025, we commemorated the 400th anniversary of New York City’s founding; in 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary as a nation. Our cities, particularly New York, are living examples of our civic ideals, yet they also reveal deep fractures in accessibility, mobility, participation, and equity.

The 2026 Presidential Theme, “Repair: Democracy and Urban Space,” is a call to action for architects and allied professionals to serve as design citizens, advocates, connectors, and environmentalists. In architecture and public space, repair means more than fixing what is broken—it is an act of care, restoration, and renewal. Repair addresses social, ecological, and spatial inequities through design that heals communities, restores ecological balance, and strengthens the civic fabric. This remediation of the built environment is both a physical and moral project—one that requires listening, stewardship, and collaboration to mend the fractures of our cities and our democracy. The work we do for our clients, the public, and our ecology is how we reconfigure a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future.

In conjunction with the theme of repair, I am focused on elevating underrepresented voices to think more holistically about the American Experiment. I am excited to support the 2026 Center for Architecture Lab program, a multidisciplinary residency that empowers emerging voices in architecture and design with full creative authorship across the Center for Architecture’s exhibition spaces and digital platforms. This spring, two Lab 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.

In a moment defined by fractured civic trust and emerging urban challenges, the act of repair becomes both metaphor and mission. My 2026 theme seeks to guide us toward a future where design rejuvenates not only our buildings, streets, and parks, but also our sense of communal belonging. Architecture alone cannot fix democracy. But without it—without intentional spaces that welcome us in—we cannot fully practice democracy. We must advocate for the spaces which bring us together—and which allow us to convene, protest, celebrate, and participate in an open society. The late Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes wrote in “Freedom’s Plow” about the builders of community:

“Thus, the dream becomes not one man’s dream alone
But a community dream.
Not my dream alone, but our dream.
Not my world alone, but your world and my world,
Belonging to all the hands who build.”

I invite you to participate and contribute to “Repair: Democracy and Urban Space” and support the Center for Architecture Lab by joining the 2026 AIANY President’s Circle. Joining the 2026 AIANY Presidents Circle provides you a range of benefits, including opportunities for recognition, the chance to forge meaningful connections, and the ability to directly influence initiatives that shape our daily lives and our city. For details, please contact the Development Office at 212-358-6117 or email development@aiany.org.