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NYCxDESIGN is set to return this year from May 15 to 23, featuring a wide-ranging and ambitious lineup. Over 280 events, including exhibitions, product launches, gallery shows, and guided tours, will take place throughout the city during the week.

Typically, NYCxDESIGN is celebrated for its grandeur; however, this year’s exhibitors are adopting a more thoughtful approach. The schedule highlights brands, designers, and artists who are opening their spaces and sharing their work in a manner that emphasizes the experience of design rather than mere display. Visitors can explore studios, kitchens, and furnished interiors, with some exhibits showcasing the production processes and materials used. The focus is on immersing visitors in the design experience.

Ilene Shaw, Executive Director of NYCxDESIGN, expressed, “This year’s NYCxDESIGN Festival feels especially energetic — full of new ways to connect, learn, and meet first-time participants. We’ll experience parks, revitalization and new infrastructure projects, and connect with the great minds that actually shaped them.

You can walk through MADE’s Building A with nARCHITECTS and see adaptive reuse in action. Go behind the scenes at the transformed Davis Center at Harlem Meer in Central Park. Tour the stunning public art program at the new Grand Central Madison Terminal — 17 stories below ground.

One of the most meaningful experiences we have organized is a high school student tour to the end-of-year design school exhibitions at a number of NYC design schools. Throughout the city, the festival opens doors — quite literally— inviting you into studios, exhibitions, tours and installations that celebrate the full spectrum of New York’s creative energy. It’s design up close, in context, and in conversation.”

This shift is timely. As design culture often focuses on hyper-realistic imagery and staged photography, the intimate experiences offered at NYCxDESIGN provide something tangible and necessary. It emphasizes access over aesthetics and tactile experiences over narratives, allowing architects and designers to engage directly with the work and its creators.

Architizer is excited to highlight the creative forces shaping this year’s festival, showcasing a selection of events that encourage closeness and intimacy, presenting real and meaningful experiences.

Tour of Building A at the MADE Bush Terminal Campus

• MADE Bush Terminal, 13 42nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232
• Saturday, May 17, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
  Free with registration via Eventbrite

This exclusive tour, hosted by nArchitects and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), explores the completed Building A and sections of the public campus at the MADE Bush Terminal, highlighting modern manufacturing and artisan workshops within one of NYC’s most ambitious industrial transformations.

Espasso presents: Take A Seat by Carlos Motta

• Espasso New York, 38 N Moore Street
• Opening: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 6:00 – 9:00 PM (cocktail and book launch)
  Exhibition: May 15 – June 9, Monday–Friday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Espasso hosts a major retrospective on Brazilian designer and master woodworker Carlos Motta, showcasing four decades of his work in furniture and architecture, with a focus on his celebrated seating designs.

Grand Central Madison – A New Landmark and Cultural Corridor

• Grand Central Madison LIRR Terminal, Madison Avenue from 42nd to 48th Streets, New York
• Tour date and time: May 18, 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Grand Central Madison, spanning five city blocks beneath Midtown, is the largest transit terminal built in the U.S. in decades. This cultural corridor features permanent works by prominent artists and offers a guided tour with insights into the intersection of art and architecture.

Design Pavilion by Lexus at Hudson Yards

• Hudson Yards Public Square and Gardens, 11th Avenue and Hudson Blvd East
• May 10–19, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM daily

Returning to NYCxDesign, Design Pavilion presents “Lexus Ambiance,” an interactive installation by artist Nick Thomm, inviting visitors to create personalized light environments through movement.

Davis Center at the Harlem Meer Tour

• Central Park, enter at 110th Street and Lenox Avenue
• Tour date and time: May 16, 3:00 – 4:30 PM

Designed by the Central Park Conservancy, the Davis Center redefines Central Park’s northern edge as a civic landmark and ecological restoration site, offering a guided tour of its new facilities and green initiatives.

Design Legacy: The Poul Kjærholm Collection

• Fritz Hansen New York Showroom, 22 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013
• May 15–21, 2025, Monday–Friday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
  Free, open to the public

Fritz Hansen presents a focused exhibition of Poul Kjærholm’s work, showcasing his refined designs that merge craftsmanship with modernist principles.

HUNDŌ by Emily Thurman Studio

• 86 Walker Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013
• Opening Reception: May 14, 2025, 7:00 – 10:00 PM
  On view May 15–21, by appointment, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Emily Thurman presents her debut furniture and lighting collection in a multi-sensory installation showcasing collaborative works with various artists.

TM Italia NYC Showroom First Look

• 20 West 20th Street, Floor 5, Suite 502, New York, NY 10011
• Open Hours: May 17–18, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

TM Italia’s showroom offers a fully realized domestic interior, showcasing bespoke cabinetry designed for various kitchen uses, providing tactile insights into their craftsmanship.

Known Work

• Multiple locations including Love House, ZAROLAT, Host on Howard, Luisaviaroma, and Simple Flair Apartment
• May 9–30, 2025 (dates vary by venue)

Design studio Known Work presents new pieces across five exhibitions citywide, featuring their latest designs in context-rich settings.

Oui Design! Festival 2025

• Various locations across New York City
• Pop-up at Payne Whitney Mansion
  May 15, 11 AM – 5 PM (Registration via villa-albertine.org )

The annual festival of French craftsmanship features open studios and exhibitions, starting with a pop-up at the Payne Whitney Mansion that includes live craft demonstrations.

Birth of the Polar at Royère Gallery

• 315 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013
• On view: May 7–30, 2025
  Open House: Friday, May 16, 2:00 – 5:00 PM (as part of Oui Design!)

This exhibition contextualizes Jean Royère’s Ours Polaire sofa, showcasing its craftsmanship and historical significance.

Cornell Tech and FDR Four Freedoms State Park

• Bloomberg Center Lobby, Cornell Tech, 2 West Loop Road, Roosevelt Island
• Tour date and time: May 20, 4:00 – 6:00 PM

This two-part walking tour explores Roosevelt Island’s architectural ambitions, featuring highlights from Cornell Tech’s campus and Louis Kahn’s Four Freedoms Park.

School of Constructed Environments: End of Year Exhibition 2025

• Parsons, The New School, Starr Foundation Hall, 63 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011
• Opening: Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
  On view through May 19, 2025

Parsons presents its annual graduate showcase, highlighting innovative responses to contemporary spatial challenges through architecture and design.

Architizer Source: https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/industry/nycxdesign-2025-schedule-what-to-see/ Inspiration and Tools for Architects. Celebrating the world’s best architecture and design through projects, competitions, awards, and stories.