Jacob R. Moore is Executive Director of The Architectural League of New York. He previously worked at Columbia University’s Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, The Avery Review, and Princeton Architectural Press.

The Architectural League of New York is a nonprofit that supports critically transformative work in the allied fields that shape the built environment. As a vital, independent forum, the League stimulates thinking, debate, and action on today’s converging crises of racism, inequity, and climate change, in service of a more livable and just world. Their annual Beaux Arts Ball, a celebration for New York City’s architecture and design community, is this Friday, September 20, at Powerhouse Arts. This year's theme “HEAT” acknowledges the relationship between climate justice and the built environment, affirming and celebrating the community's shared commitment to serving our planet and each other as we strive toward a more caring coexistence. A limited number of tickets are still available!

Take a look at what Moore is excited for during the 2024 festival, and start planning your own itinerary!

‍

1. Tours of Alice Austen House (October 3, 10, 17, 24, or 31). Moore says:‍

"Ever since learning about this through the NYC LGBT Historic Sites project (which I interviewed Jay Shockley about for Urban Omnibus in 2018), I've been keen to visit. More and more house museums are critically reimagining their roles and responsibilities, and the Alice Austen House is squarely in the middle of that renaissance. And who doesn't love a boat ride?"

‍

‍

2. n+1's Why is Everything So Ugly? Talk (October 8). Moore says:

"I get this question—in particular about architecture—a lot, and the answers aren't easy. I'm excited to hear my colleague (Urban Omnibus editor-in-chief) Mariana Mogilevich discuss their contours on a stellar panel, including with our friends at n+1."

‍

3. Screening of Story of the BQE (October 10). Moore says:

"The Institute for Public Architecture has been shepherding and elevating possible (necessary!) futures for the BQE for years, and I'm eager to see this documentary that places today's challenges in a historical context. At The Architectural League we're currently working on a series of projects about infrastructure, class, and who gets to be ambitious (and how) when it comes to the design and planning of the built environment (starting with another familiar albatross: The Cross Bronx Expressway)—and I'm excited to learn more about local infrastructural histories as we do that work."

‍

4. Building of the Day Tour of Nine Chapel (October 16). Moore says:

"The housing crisis is an all-hands-on-deck emergency, and SO-IL's hands are certainly on deck. Of course the most crucial need is for deeply and permanently affordable—and I would argue public—housing production. Nipping at that need's heels, however, is the related need for imaginative, climate-conscious, collectively-oriented approaches to residential architecture to meet up with that (hopeful) increased production. Together with the developer Tankhouse, SO-IL are doing their part, and Nine Chapel shows off some of these hopefully soon-to-spread approaches. Though I won't be able to buy a unit anytime soon, I'm eager to get inside, while I can."

‍

‍

5. Open House New York (October 18). Moore says:

"Urban Omnibus is currently celebrating its 15th Anniversary—a huge achievement for a little publication doing big things! As part of that celebration they're teaming up with Open House New York (OHNY) for a special series during OHNY weekend to present an Omnibus-eye view of the city and tours of some of the places and projects they’ve been exploring, led by the people most involved. Not to be missed."