Archtober's Festival Itineraries offer a curated selection of festival events, hand picked by a thought leader, editor, or creative mind that we admire in New York City. Our first itinerary is from writer and editor Jennifer Krichels, editor in chief of Oculus, the quarterly publication of AIA New York. With a focus on architecture, design, and urbanism, she has collaborated on several books and monographs and has been published in Architectural Record, Financial Times, Interior Design, Metropolis, and MOLD, among others. She was previously an editor at The Architect’s Newspaper. As founder of the consultancy Project 2900, she works with architecture firms and organizations to produce publications, educational events, and research.

Take a look at what Krichels is looking forward to at the 2025 festival, and plan your own itinerary!

‍1. Building of the Day: Manresa Wilds on Oct 4, and Manresa Wilds and Beyond on Oct 8.

As a relatively new neighbor of Norwalk, CT, I am watching the Manresa Wilds project very closely, and these two events both offer opportunities to see behind the scenes at this moment in its evolution. I think all of us love seeing industrial relics transformed into civic and ecological focal points, and I appreciate that Archtober continues to broaden its reach outside the five boroughs. Learn more and register: Building of the Day: Manresa Wilds and The Glass House's Manresa Wilds and Beyond.

‍

2. OHNY's tour of Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility on Oct 19.

This is a fun one for waste-infrastructure nerds and kids as well. I had the opportunity to tour and write about the facility when it opened more than 10 years ago and it will be interesting to see how it has settled into its role as both a community resource and a key element in the shifting way the city handles waste. We can take a canoe tour on the Gowanus afterwards! Learn more and register: Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility.

‍

3. New Hudson Valley Houses on view through December

As if anyone needs an excuse to hop on a train to the Hudson Valley in the fall! I look forward to combining apple picking at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook with a trip to this exhibition at the beautiful ‘T’ Space in Rhinebeck. The pandemic brought a new architectural boom to this area and this exhibition should be a contemplative look (10 houses, presented through models and drawings) at the design considerations and processes shaping the area. Learn more and register: New Hudson Valley Houses exhibition. In partnership with Archtober, there will be two guided tours offered at the Archive and Ex of In House in Rhinebeck, NY on Saturday, Oct 4, and Sunday, Oct 5, at 10:30am.

‍

4. Building of the Day: Beach Green Dunes III on Oct 5.

It goes without saying that New York needs more affordable housing in all of its boroughs, so this is an important project typology within the Averne East neighborhood, the nature preserve development of which we featured in the Winter 2024 issue of Oculus. I look forward to learning more about how Bernheimer Architecture dealt with the flood-prone site and other environmental and community considerations to bring 146 affordable apartments to the area. See Beach Green Dunes III event page.

‍

5. What Could Mamdani's New York Look Like? on Oct 14.

Wherever we sit politically, it is always useful to situate the practice of architecture in relation to broader political, social, and ecological forces. This panel with n+1 Magazine includes voices from environmental sciences, urban planning and policy, and criticism, so it should allow architects to witness some fertile cross-pollination: understanding where their own work sits in the larger context of the city’s challenges and possibilities. See What Could Mamdani's New York Look Like? event page.