Letters to the Mayor

Throughout history, architects have engaged with the structures of economic, political and cultural power in different ways.

Over the last two decades, the role of the architect in the political arena has often been reduced to answering questions that others have asked. On exceptional and rare occasions, the architect has been able to push her own agenda through design decisions that test the boundaries and constraints outlined by a client.

Letters to the Mayor presents 50 letters written by a group of international architects to the political leaders of 10 cities around the world. Each letter expresses some of the concerns and desires that architects around the world possess. Addressed to a prominent political figure in the author’s city, each letter provides a space of reflection for the architects to bring ideas, desires and methodologies that might contribute to action within political spheres around the world.

Letters to the Mayor also presents the 18 finalists of the Competition of Competitions , an international call launched in 2013 which invited architects, artists, economists, philosophers, writers, and citizens at large to create interdisciplinary teams to formulate their visions of the future in the form of a competition brief. With the intention to provoke long-standing conventions of the architecture competition, the Competition of Competitions attracted more than 100 entries, which were reviewed by a jury of professionals and visionaries including Amale Andraos (Architect, Work AC), Paola Anotonelli (Architecture Curator, MoMA), and Michael Sorkin (Architect and architecture critic).

Letters to the Mayor is thus a compilation of briefs, facts, desires and dreams for the construction of our cities, and for future foundations and horizons. All competition briefs and letters will be sent to the Mayor after being presented at the gallery.

The winners of the Competition of Competitions will be announced at the public opening of the exhibition on April 29 at 7pm.

Participating Architects

Ellie Abrons, Emilie Abruzzo, Nora Akawi, Azra Aksamija, Zahra Ali Baba, Arielle Assouline-Lichten, Browyn Breitner, Alessandra Cianchetta, Sonja Duempelemann, Keller Easterling, Frida Escobedo, Yvonne Farrell, Daisy Froud, Rosalie Genevro, Cristina Goberna, Selva Gürdoğan, Greta Hansen, Joyce Hwang, Catherine Ingraham, Catherine Johnson, Julia King, María Langarita, Alexandra Lange, Ana María León Crespo, Ariane Lourie Harrison, Jing Liu, Yeoryia Manolopoulou, Mpho Matsipa, Mitch McEwen, Shelley McNamara, Meredith Miller, Elizabeth O'Donnell, Marina Otero, Mariana Pestana, Rocío Pina, Anna Puigjaner, Danielle Rago, Suchi Reddy, Dagmar Richter, Florencia Rodríguez, Rebecca Rudolph, Saskia Sassenm, Deborah Schneiderman, Annabelle Selldorf, Maria Smith, Michael Sorkin, Esther Sperber, Martha Thorne, Nathalie de Vries, Sarah Whiting, Mabel Wilson, Kim Yao, Marisa Yiu, Alejandro Zaera Polo, Mimi Zeiger, Zoka Zola, and more.

Competition of Competitions Finalists

Taking Buildings Down by INC_A

The Discreet Architect by Local Provision Studio Valeria Federighi Janet Yoon

Open Source Open Space: Hacking the Built Environment by Boot/Trunk: Nicole Lindahl, Louise Mackie and Samantha Senn

The City is The Room. The Room is The City. by FormFictionFormat

NO TITLES, A Campaign for Illegal Architecture by GroundLAB (Sean Billy Kizy, Sara Lum, Rakia Seaborn, Nicholas Sharma)

Nature, Error, Babies by Metonymy's Architecture: Tom Nurmi, Jeffrey Dunn, Meagan Lehr, Erika Wilder

Deploy Yourself, Not Your Designs by The Coalition for the Improvement of Refugee Camps (Mary Monroe & Lee Dykxhoorn)

dePOLITIsign: An open call for the redesign of a USCIS office by Min Chen & Kristin Enright

Amazonia 2020 by Civic Projects (Kati Rubinyi, Deborah Richmond , Michael Powell, Ewan E. Branda)

The Next Suburb by The Thirteenth Hour

Off-the-Radar: The Architecture of Non-Existing Space by Mitnick-Roddier

Labyrinth by grey_matter(s)

ReDesign the Discipline of Architecture by The Architecture Lobby

BLISS: Better Living through Intuitive Soft Surveillance by Yeadon Space Agency

Future Factory by Gretchen Wilkins

Rezoning the 5th Façade: Redefining New York's City Roof Scape by normaldesign

Second Nature by El Corbusier

Into the Void: An Architectural Competition on Emptiness by Felipe Orensanz + Rodrigo Duran / Zooburbia