Building Tours

The Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the great resources in the world for research into the history of art manifested as printed matter. It is also public, open to anyone who wishes to access the collection and spend time in the shared space of the library. As such the reading rooms form a crucial hinge joining the public experience of research exploration with the curated maintenance of the library’s collection. The last manifestation of these spaces was built in 1964 at the height of New York City’s enthrallment with mid-century modernism in architecture and design. This legacy is acknowledged by the redesign of the Watson Library Study rooms, but also transformed materially and aesthetically into a unique shared space for the public, both for individual research as well as workshops, seminars, and small events. The existing wood shelves of the library are reused to clad the walls as a paneling. The surfaces of the shelves are CNC milled with a pattern allusive to the symmetries and techniques of book marbling and book matching. The new shelves are aluminum recesses into these thickened wall cavities. The modernist dropped ceiling is reimagined as a luminous surface transforming the space into a glowing box for the shared study of the library’s collection.

Designer: Young & Ayata

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

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This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

The new Green-House at Green-Wood centralizes and expands programs previously housed in disparate buildings at The Green-Wood Cemetery into one accessible location to orient visitors before they chart their own paths through the main entrance across the street. Designed by Architecture Research Office, the new L-shaped volume nestles around a restored historic Victorian greenhouse and features galleries, staff offices, a community classroom, and an archive. The contextual design celebrates Green-Wood’s iconic landscape and history.

Architect: Architecture Research Office

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

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This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

This public restroom serves a recently renovated playground in Staten Island’s Park Hill neighborhood. Designed as a modular prototype for citywide use, the building is constructed off site and delivered in three modules, reducing onsite construction time. A durable exterior of glazed tile and a compact, efficient layout support long term maintenance. The project offers a practical and repeatable solution to improving restroom access in New York City’s public spaces.

Architect: 1100 Architect

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

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This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

An afternoon at Forge Project, hosted by Dr. Sarah Biscarra Dilley, Candice Hopkins, Michael K. Chen, & Dominic Leong.

Saturday, October 17, 3:30–6pm, please join us at Forge Project for a special afternoon at Forge Project and an intimate conversation with Michael K. Chen, Dr. Sarah Biscarra Dilley (yaktitʸutitʸu yaktiłhini [Northern Chumash]), and Dominic Leong (Kanaka ʻOiwi) about the interdependence of architecture, land justice, and Native sovereignty.

Candice (Carcross/Tagish First Nation), Executive Director and Chief Curator at Forge Project, will lead a special tour of Forge’s residence, including the two buildings designed by Ai Weiwei in collaboration with HHF architects, our premier collection of contemporary Native art stewarded by Forge, and the 38-acre remediated meadow.

Michael K. Chen, principal of Michael K Chen Architecture, Sarah Biscarra Dilley, Director of Relational Education at Forge Project, and Dominic Leong, founding partner of Leong Leong, will lead a conversation that explores what shifts when committing to a relationship with the place and space we inhabit.

Seasonal refreshments will be served on the back porch at sunset.

The Condé M. Nast Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are designed to accommodate diverse rotating exhibitions, in particular The Costume Institute’s annual spring show—one of the Museum’s most visited presentations. The enclosing walls of the galleries conceal what were previously the exterior facades of historic Met buildings from the 1880s and 1890s, a unique condition that exposes and celebrates layers of the Museum’s architectural history while establishing a distinctly contemporary gallery environment.

Architects: Peterson Rich Office, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

Designed by Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu, the new ISSEY MIYAKE / NEW YORK Flagship puts forward a flexible and transparent platform with its discreet architecture for the innovative fashion brand. Located on the ground-floor of 45 Madison Avenue—within the iconic New York Life Building designed by architect Cass Gilbert—the store honors both the location and the brand’s commitment to architectural collaborations, and is dedicated to continued cultural placemaking at the intersection of design and commerce.

Architect: Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu (SO–IL)

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

The transformed NYPL Melrose Library restores and expands this historic 1914 Carnegie branch with a new light-filled third floor and welcoming spaces for children, teens, and adults. Balancing preservation with contemporary design, Mitchell Giurgola Architects revitalized the library into a fully accessible, technology-enhanced community resource that supports education, inclusion, and community life in the Bronx for many decades to come.

Architect: Mitchell Giurgola Architects

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

Curtis + Ginsberg Architects’ Marcus Garvey Revitalization and Expansion is a comprehensive preservation and redevelopment initiative at a historic affordable housing community in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The Ken Frampton 1970’s low-rise campus introduced a high-density model centered on pedestrian streets and shared open spaces. The two-phase project combined the rehabilitation of the 99-building Marcus Garvey Village, including sustainability and landscape upgrades, with the completion of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects’ 2013 master plan, transforming parking lots into affordable housing and creating a mixed-use town center. The result integrates the Village with 637 new affordable homes, creating a more vibrant and connected neighborhood.

Architect: Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

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This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

110 Boerum Place reimagines the Brooklyn brownstone for contemporary living, with 21 residences designed from the inside out by Brent Buck Architects. Moving beyond the traditional apartment “rectangle,” each home features multiple exposures, abundant natural light, private outdoor space, and thoughtful transitions between living areas. More than 11,000 square feet of amenities support wellness, work, and community, while a landscaped courtyard by Brook Landscape brings nature and light into the heart of the building.

Architect: Brent Buck Architects

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

Malabar Residences reimagines Midtown residential living through ODA’s signature approach to massing, porosity, and experience. The 28-story tower is articulated as a series of cascading volumes, creating private terraces and loggias while bringing light and outdoor space deep into the residences. Visitors will explore the building’s distinctive façade, five-story arrival sequence, landscaped courtyard, interiors, and interconnected amenities—all designed to foster a sense of community within the vertical city.

Architect: ODA Architecture

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour.

[Please note: this tour is not accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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.

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

The first purpose-built, all-electric academic research lab building in New York City, the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories expands Columbia University’s research capacity with laboratory and office space. Designed to use significantly less energy than similar buildings of its kind, the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories performs 30% more efficiently than the ASHRAE 90.1 2010 standard and outperforms the emission limits set by New York City’s Local Law 97. The project aligns with the University’s Plan 2030 climate goals to introduce no new fossil fuel infrastructure into campus buildings. Rising eight stories, the building houses biomedical research and lab facilities, as well as symposium and community engagement spaces.

Architect: KPF

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.

Brooklyn Community District Garage 3 is a 220,000 sf DSNY facility in Bedford-Stuyvesant that houses 68 sanitation vehicles and 120 workers behind facades of glass and faceted precast concrete, topped with a 46,000 sf green roof and PV canopy.

Dattner Architects brings its long-standing expertise in the design of essential architecture to a project that treats infrastructure as civic space—meeting DSNY's operational demands while offering a materially considered, transparent presence within its residential context.

Architect: Dattner Architects

Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour. 

[Please note: this tour is accessible by wheelchair.]

—

This program is organized in conjunction with Archtober. 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. 

All Archtober sales are final. No refunds available.