Institute for Public Architecture

Institute for Public Architecture The Institute for Public Architecture uses design to challenge social and physical inequities in the city. We address urgent issues of design and policy by

09/24/2026

Thank you for joining us on Saturday September 19th for the first Open [Block] House of the Fall Residency. Over the residency’s duration, Governors Island becomes a living laboratory for testing, prototyping, and imagining methods that bring art, architecture, and design to public spaces. ⁠

Beth Ferguson presented ‘Tools for a Warming Planet’, Tosin Omojola displayed a catalog of island materiality, Gabriel Gonzalez Depalo dives deeper into the q***r history of Governors Island, Stephanie Lee Yeung and Hermano Luz Rodrigues explore inflatable futures, Massimiliano Malagò imagines new public housing typologies, and Susan Isawi investigates the walkability of New York City and Rome…

📍Mark your calendars for our next Open [Block] House on October 10th and join us for studio visits, workshops, and more.

09/18/2026

Stop by the Block House tomorrow from 12-4pm for a special Climate Week installation of ‘Tools for a Warming Planet’ presented by current IPA Fellow Beth Ferguson, created with Sara Dean (IPA Fellow, Summer 2026).

Tools for a Warming Planet is a collection of everyday and speculative tools that engage our changing world. The collection weaves together various approaches–scientific research, design prototyping, community activism, and artistic intervention. As the climate becomes more volatile and unpredictable, new ways of collaborating with our planet are urgently needed. This project celebrates the hands-on work already underway in local communities rather than hoping for a single, global fix. Around the world, communities are adapting and responding to climate change in exciting ways, and Tools for a Warming Planet serves as a living library, collecting these local innovations.

Visitors will be invited to nominate new Tools for the collection and a new online database.

Learn more about the project here:
https://warmingplanet.org/

📣Special Screening Announcement! 📣⁠Join us on Tuesday October 6th for a screening of The Story of the BQE documentary at...
09/16/2026

📣Special Screening Announcement! 📣⁠

Join us on Tuesday October 6th for a screening of The Story of the BQE documentary at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The program starts at 6:15pm and will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A about alternatives to freight on the BQE, including the proposed “Blue Highways”.⁠
⁠
Panelists include Renae Reynolds, Executive Director of Tri-State Transportation Campaign; Sandra Rothbard, Founder and Principal of Freight Matters; and Dr. Rachel Weinberger, Peter W. Herman Chair for Transportation at Regional Plan Association; with moderator Adam Paul Susaneck, Filmmaker of The Story of the BQE and Founder of Segregation by Design. This event is free and open to the public. ⁠
⁠
Register at the link in bio!⁠
⁠
Archival Image: BQE construction progress, 1940s. Credit: MTA archives.

This Fall, the IPA welcomes seven Fellows to the Block House on Governors Island! ⁠Through a creative live-in residency ...
09/04/2026

This Fall, the IPA welcomes seven Fellows to the Block House on Governors Island! ⁠
Through a creative live-in residency framework situated in public space, the program invites practitioners across disciplines to live and work during an 11-week period, and encourages Fellows to collaborate across the island. IPA Fellows are among the first to stay overnight on the Island since the Coast Guard’s exit in 1996 and are immersed in the interdisciplinary culture of the program. ⁠
⁠
The 2026 Fall cohort brings a diverse set of projects, featuring topics in urbanism, sustainability, q***r theory, ecology, dance, and more. ⁠
⁠
Visit us on Saturday, September 19th from 12-4pm for the first Open [Block] House of the fall season.⁠
⁠
Meet the Fellows:⁠
⁠
Beth Ferguson⁠
Sustainable Design⁠
Emeryville, California⁠
⁠
Tosin Omojola⁠
Architecture⁠
New York, New York⁠
⁠
Gabriel Gonzalez Depalo⁠
Architecture⁠
Gainesville, Florida⁠
⁠
Really Not Really⁠
(Stephanie Lee Yeung and Hermano Luz Rodrigues)⁠
Art, Architecture & Technology⁠
Brooklyn, New York and Galway, Ireland⁠
⁠
Susan Isawi⁠
Landscape Architecture⁠
Rome, Italy⁠
⁠
Massimiliano Malagò (Visiting Fellow)⁠
Architecture⁠
New York, New York⁠
⁠
Learn more at the link in bio.

This Fall, the IPA welcomes seven Fellows to the Block House on Governors Island! ⁠Through a creative live-in residency ...
09/04/2026

This Fall, the IPA welcomes seven Fellows to the Block House on Governors Island! ⁠
Through a creative live-in residency framework situated in public space, the program invites practitioners across disciplines to live and work during an 11-week period, and encourages Fellows to collaborate across the island. IPA Fellows are among the first to stay overnight on the Island since the Coast Guard’s exit in 1996 and are immersed in the interdisciplinary culture of the program. ⁠
⁠
The 2026 Fall cohort brings a diverse set of projects, featuring topics in urbanism, sustainability, q***r theory, ecology, dance, and more. ⁠
⁠
Visit us on Saturday, September 19th from 12-4pm for the first Open [Block] House of the fall season.⁠
⁠
Meet the Fellows:⁠
⁠
Beth Ferguson⁠
Sustainable Design⁠
Emeryville, California⁠
⁠
Tosin Omojola⁠
Architecture⁠
New York, New York⁠
⁠
Gabriel Gonzalez Depalo⁠
Architecture⁠
Gainesville, Florida⁠
⁠
Really Not Really⁠
(Stephanie Lee Yeung and Hermano Luz Rodrigues)⁠
Art, Architecture & Technology⁠
Brooklyn, New York and Galway, Ireland⁠
⁠
Susan Isawi⁠
Landscape Architecture⁠
Rome, Italy⁠
⁠
Massimiliano Malagò (Visiting Fellow)⁠
Architecture⁠
New York, New York⁠
⁠
Learn more at the link in bio.

07/24/2026

🔊Party at the Block House TOMORROW!🔊
Thank you The Architect's Newspaper for the shoutout - did you buy your tickets yet?

ACCESS:
Your IPA Friends Party ticket purchase includes -
⛴️Free Gov. Island Ferry access via the Battery Maritime Terminal until 8PM (does not apply to the Brooklyn ferry)
🎟️ 1 free drink + meal ticket
✅ Additional party tickets can be purchased at the Governors Island Ferry terminal check-in and at the Block House. Check in will remain open until 8pm.

Music starts at 3pm, food and bar open from 5-9pm.

Music by bridgestreetsound
Film Program by The Film-Makers’ Cooperative, curated by Zacarías González
Stage design by Xavi Laida Aguirre

Jams:
Bereket
S E V Y N
donis.bk
Julien

Food and beverage:
Pablo’s Mate
YOLA MEZCAL
Pizzeria Fantastica

SEE YOU ON THE ISLAND! 🏝️

07/17/2026

🏝️🔊Island Throwback: IPA Friends Party 2025🔊🏝️

It’s 10pm. Do you know where your Friends are?
They’re at the Block House!

Looking back on our 2025 Friends Party - a night of dancing and celebration, vibrations provided by a prolific sound system designed by Bridge Street Sound!

Don’t miss this year’s round 2!

🔊Line-up:
Bereket
S E V Y N
donis.bk
Julien

🎥 Film program by The Film-Makers’ Cooperative, 🛞mobile stage design by Xavi Laida Aguirre.

Tickets include:
⛴️ 1 Free Governors Island Ferry Access Pass
🍕1 Free Meal + Drink Ticket

Music starts at 3PM, with food and bar open from 5-9PM (until supplies last). BYOB - Bring Your Own Blanket, and enjoy a beautiful day on the island!

All your friends are going to be there - did you buy your tickets yet?

LINK IN BIO!

📸 Video of last year’s impeccable vibes by Zacarías González

Open [Block] House: Tomorrow 12-4pm!!🔊🔊Did you know the IPA runs one of the few architecture-focused creative residencie...
07/10/2026

Open [Block] House: Tomorrow 12-4pm!!🔊🔊

Did you know the IPA runs one of the few architecture-focused creative residencies in the US, and the only overnight arts program on Governors Island? Fellows live at the Block House and are amongst the first to stay overnight on the Island since the Coast Guard’s exit in 1996.

Once a month, during the duration of the residency program, the Block House opens its doors to the public- allowing visitors to experience the Block House energy firsthand. A home for artists and designers, that operates as a living laboratory for design research and exploration. A place where domestic and artistic life collide. Sometimes a kitchen becomes a lab, the library a darkroom, a public parks as a front yard…

Take a 6-minute ferry ride from lower Manhattan, enjoy a day on the island, and visit our unique homebase at Building 9 in Nolan Park ✨🏡✨

📸 by Cameron Blaylock, capturing a moment in the Dining Room-Turned-Screening Room with 2025 Spring Fellow Josue Bessiake I make stuff

🔊Meet the Fellows!🔊⁠⁠This summer, the IPA welcomes eight Fellows to spend eleven weeks living and conducting research at...
06/15/2026

🔊Meet the Fellows!🔊⁠
⁠
This summer, the IPA welcomes eight Fellows to spend eleven weeks living and conducting research at the Block House located on Governors Island in New York City. Representing a range of disciplines including architecture, literature, technology, ecology, inclusive innovation, social infrastructure, and design - the 2026 Summer Fellows will engage with the island as a living laboratory to develop projects and ideas. IPA Fellows are among the first to stay overnight on the island since the Coast Guard’s exit in 1996 and are immersed in the interdisciplinary culture of the program. ⁠
⁠
📍Visit us on Saturday, June 20th from 12-4pm for the first Open [Block] House of the summer. Meet the Fellows, learn about their research, and view in-progress work.⁠
⁠
Amelyn Ng⁠
Architecture⁠
New York City, New York⁠
⁠
Sara Dean⁠
Architecture⁠
Ann Arbor, Michigan
⁠
Finn Brunton⁠
Literature/History⁠
Berkeley, California⁠
⁠
Ann Dinh⁠
Multi-Disciplinary Design⁠
New York City, New York⁠
⁠
Martin Rodriguez Jr⁠
Architecture/Technology⁠
Detroit, Michigan⁠
⁠
Susana Chinchilla⁠
Architecture/Social Infrastructure⁠
New York City, New York⁠
⁠
Jahlik Parkes⁠
Urban Design/Ecology⁠
Queens, New York⁠
⁠
Amanda Ramos (2026 Visiting Fellow)⁠
Inclusive Innovation⁠
New York City, New York

🔊Meet the Fellows!🔊⁠⁠This summer, the IPA welcomes eight Fellows to spend eleven weeks living and conducting research at...
06/15/2026

🔊Meet the Fellows!🔊⁠
⁠
This summer, the IPA welcomes eight Fellows to spend eleven weeks living and conducting research at the Block House located on Governors Island in New York City. Representing a range of disciplines including architecture, literature, technology, ecology, inclusive innovation, social infrastructure, and design - the 2026 Summer Fellows will engage with the island as a living laboratory to develop projects and ideas. IPA Fellows are among the first to stay overnight on the island since the Coast Guard’s exit in 1996 and are immersed in the interdisciplinary culture of the program. ⁠
⁠
📍Visit us on Saturday, June 20th from 12-4pm for the first Open [Block] House of the summer. Meet the Fellows, learn about their research, and view in-progress work.⁠
⁠
Amelyn Ng⁠
Architecture⁠
New York City, New York⁠
⁠
Sara Dean⁠
Architecture⁠
Ann Arbor, Michigan
⁠
Finn Brunton⁠
Literature/History⁠
Berkeley, California⁠
⁠
Ann Dinh⁠
Multi-Disciplinary Design⁠
New York City, New York⁠
⁠
Martin Rodriguez Jr⁠
Architecture/Technology⁠
Detroit, Michigan⁠
⁠
Susana Chinchilla⁠
Architecture/Social Infrastructure⁠
New York City, New York⁠
⁠
Jahlik Parkes⁠
Urban Design/Ecology⁠
Queens, New York⁠
⁠
Amanda Ramos (2026 Visiting Fellow)⁠
Inclusive Innovation⁠
New York City, New York

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