Events

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An exhibition and event series celebrating 25 years of the CCCB European Prize for Urban Public Space

The Spitzer School of Architecture joins the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) in celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the European Prize for Urban Public Space, a biennial competition organized by the CCCB that, since 2000, has recognized projects that create, transform, and recover public spaces understood to be clear indicators of the democratic health of cities within Europe. With a robust exhibition documenting a quarter-century of exemplary design focused on urban public space, and a robust program of public events, the Spitzer School and the CCCB insist that design matters and that dialogue about cities and public space is both possible and necessary in our increasingly urbanized and fractured world.
 

Exhibition

The exhibition starts from the premise that design shapes the conditions of everyday life in cities. It positions design as a critical form of inquiry that engages questions of equity, governance, ecology, and collective well-being, and tackles design in relationship to ten themes.

• Memory: Overlapping Times
• Mobility: Sharing Movement
• Hybrids: Fostering Complexity
• Waterfront: Living with Water
• Naturalization: Activating Ecologies
• Recycle: Revitalizing Urban Fabrics
• Marketplace: Exchanging Wealth
• Participation: Being Together
• Housing and Public Space
• Childhood and Care

The solutions exhibited offer examples of best practices at every possible scale of intervention: a bench, a playground, a waterway, a public square.
 

Public Events

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Spitzer School and the CCCB will convene a robust program of public events, hosting conversations between colleagues from different parts of the world.

Practitioners, teachers, and thinkers will reflect on the expanded role of design in contemporary society and examine how architectural and urban practices can respond to complex, often conflicting demands ranging from public accountability and environmental resilience to cultural specificity and global interdependence. The discussions will foreground design not as a neutral act, but as a situated and ethical practice with material consequences.
 

Colloquium: Why Design Matters? In Favor of Urban Public Space

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 4:00 PM

Introduction: Prof. Fabian Llonch

Moderator: Prof. Julio Salcedo-Fernandez, Director, Graduate Program in Urban Design

Panelists (15-minute presentations):

Maria Buhigas, Chief Architect of the City of Barcelona

Josep Ricart, Principal, Harquitectes

Claire Weisz, Principal, WXY, New York

How can design respond to urgent challenges without reinforcing existing inequalities? What does it mean to design for resilience in a rapidly changing world? How can diverse voices shape the outcomes of design processes? What responsibilities do designers hold in shaping these futures? How might design move beyond problem-solving to become a tool for collective imagination and transformation?
 

Exhibit Opening and Reception

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 6:00 PM

Welcome remarks:

Dr. Vince Boudreau, President, The City College of New York

Dr. Marta Gutman, Dean and Professor, Spitzer School of Architecture

Judit Carrera, Director, CCCB

In addition to Judit Carrera Escudé, Pilar Soldevila i García, CCCB Executive Director, Mario Corea Delepianne, Infrastructures and Technical Production Section, and Elisabet Goula Sardà, Head of the Debates Service, will join the opening.
 

Colloquium: Why Care Matters

Thursday, October 8, 2026, 2:00 PM (tentative)

Introduction: Marina Correia, Architect, historian, adjunct assistant professor, Spitzer School of Architecture

Moderator: Dr. Marta Gutman, Dean and Professor, Spitzer School of Architecture

Panelists (15-minute presentations):

Dr. Zaida Muxi, Architect, City Planner, Distinguished Professor in Architecture for the School of Architecture, Art and Design, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico

Prof. Sasha Topolnytska, Architect, Adjunct Lecturer, Spitzer School of Architecture

Annya Ramirez-Jimenez, AIA, Partner, Marvel Designs

What infrastructures are in place to sustain care? How can cities and institutions better support those who give and receive it? How might care reshape our understanding of independence and interdependence? What would it mean to design with care at the center? How might prioritizing care transform our environments, our policies, and our collective futures?
 

Colloquium: Why Housing Matters

Thursday, November 5, 2026, 2:00 PM (tentative)

Introduction: Prof. Kaja Kuehl

Moderator: Prof. Laura Wainer

Panelists (15-minute presentations):

Mimi Hoang, Architect and Principal, nARCHITECTS, New York

Jing Liu, Architect and Principal, SO-IL, New York

Cassim Shepard, Distinguished Lecturer, Spitzer School of Architecture

What defines “secure” housing today? Who has access to it, and who is left out? How do policies and markets shape these conditions? What role can design play in addressing displacement and affordability? And how might housing respond to climate realities while remaining equitable? What would it mean to treat housing as a right rather than a privilege? How can we imagine new models of living that support both individual dignity and collective well-being?
 

Mumford Lecture 2027

Save-the-date: Monday, February 22, 2027

Location: Great Hall of Shepard Hall at The City College of New York

Lecturer: Dr. Eleni Myrivili

Dr. Myrivili’s talk will be related to the exhibit; the title and abstract are to come.

Dr. Myrivili is Chief Heat Officer for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Leading figure in urban climate resilience, recognized among Nature’s 10 people who helped shape science in 2023, as well as Earth.org’s Ten Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change, and PlanetMark’s 10 Inspirational Female Voices in the Climate Race in 2024. Today, she serves as Global Chief Heat Officer for UN-Habitat and the Atlantic Council’s Climate Resilience Center and as Strategic Advisor for the Global Covenant of Mayors. As elected deputy Mayor for the City of Athens (2014-2019) she spearheaded the city’s Urban Resilience, secured 55m from EIB for its implementation. Recognition for this work led to engagement with multiple cities and organizations worldwide, as she focused on building resilience to rising temperatures. Eleny Myrivili was member of the Jury of the European Prize for Urban Public Space in 2022.

This lecture series was founded by the late Michael Sorkin, distinguished professor, former director of Spitzer’s Urban Design Program, and one of the most incisive voices in the critical discourse on cities. Named in honor of Lewis Mumford, the influential writer, critic, and urbanist who attended City College, the series invites figures whose work reshapes how we think about cities, offering impactful visions for the future of urban life.

Spitzer School Atrium Gallery 141 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031

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