The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit group “for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related fields.”
Origins
In 1881, Cass Gilbert got young architects together at the Salmagundi Club to start the league. Members took turns giving each other sketch problems whose solutions were then judged by well-known architects. In 1886, architect Russell Sturgis brought the Architectural League of New York back to life with exhibitions, lectures, dinners, tours, and juried annual shows.
Twentieth Century
In 1934 women were allowed to join the league, and Nancy Vincent McClelland was the first of many.
George B. Post, Henry Hardenbergh, Grosvenor Atterbury, Raymond Hood, Ralph Walker, Wallace Harrison, and, more recently, Ulrich Franzen, Robert A.M. Stern, Frances Halsband, Paul Byard, Walter Chatham, Frank Lupo, and Billie Tsien have all been presidents of the group. In 2018, Paul Lewis was chosen president. The Architectural League of New York encourages artists to work together. Members can be muralists or sculptors. The annual shows have landscape architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts sections.
Emerging Voices
Emerging Voices is an annual juried series featuring North American architects and designers. These professionals have “a significant body of realised work that not only represents the best of its kind but also creatively addresses larger issues of architecture, landscape, and the built environment.”
The Architectural League Prize
The Architectural League Prize is among North America’s most prestigious awards for young architects and designers. The Prize, which was started in 1981 and was called the Young Architects Forum from 1981 to 2009, is given to young architects whose work is outstanding and thought-provoking. It also gives them a public place to talk about their ideas. The Architectural League of New York hosts the prize, and the Young Architects and Designers Committee, which is made up of past winners of the League Prize, puts on a portfolio competition with a theme every year. Six winners, who haven’t been out of school for more than ten years, are then asked to share their work in lectures, an exhibition, and on the League’s website, among other places.
The League’s headquarters at 594 Broadway in New York City is a hub for various events and exhibitions. The building’s design reflects a commitment to architectural excellence, providing a space that fosters creativity and collaboration.
Sources
Architectural League of New York. (n.d.). The Architectural League of New York. Retrieved January 30, 2025, from https://archleague.org/
Architectural League of New York. (2022, July 31). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_League_of_New_York
L. M. (1910). Architectural League Exhibition. Art and Progress, 1(6), 163–166. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20560059
Year Book of the Architectural League of New York, and Catalogue of the … Annual Exhibition. (1899). United States: Secretary of the Architectural League of New York.
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