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A DISCUSSION ABOUT NEW APPROACHES TO HOUSING CHALLENGES FROM LA TO NYC

Join Michael Maltzan, 2025 National Design Award winner in Architecture, and Florian Idenburg, co-founder of Brooklyn-based architecture firm SO-IL, for a discussion on urban housing in Los Angeles and New York. Despite the cities’ distinct housing landscapes, both Maltzan and Idenburg employ imaginative, experimental, and persistent strategies to expand architectural possibilities through projects ranging from private residences to supportive, social, and affordable housing. This conversation will explore their bi-coastal work during a critical moment for urban housing in the United States.

Program introduction by Jack Murphy.

Learn more about the National Design Awards.

SPEAKERS

Michael Maltzan is principal architect of Los Angeles-based firm Michael Maltzan Architecture, which he founded in 1995 and whose work spans affordable housing, innovative urban infrastructure, and cross-disciplinary educational spaces. The firm’s practice is rooted in a deep belief in architecture’s capacity to create new physical, cultural, and social connections, and the firm’s groundbreaking work is often located in challenging locations. Notable projects include Inner City Arts, a multiphase youth arts center in the heart of Skid Row; Star Apartments, a first-of-its-kind prefabricated construction; and the Los Angeles Sixth Street Viaduct, which radically reimagines infrastructure as civic amenity in the contemporary city. A fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design. Maltzan’s honors include Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Award in Architecture (2025) and 2016 AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal.

Florian Idenburg is a co-founding partner of New York-based architecture firm SO–IL with Jing Liu. Founded in 2008, SO–IL has grown into a world-renowned architecture firm with public and private clients spread around the globe, from France and South Korea to the United States and Mexico. Their work is celebrated for its sensitivity, intellectual rigor, and imaginative approach to solving challenges of the built environment. Idenburg has a particularly strong background in institutional spaces, leading the office on projects such as Kukje Gallery and the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis as well as Amant in Brooklyn. His strength lies in generating imaginative ideas and transforming them into real-world spaces and objects. A frequent speaker at institutions around the world, he has taught at Harvard, MIT, Columbia, and Princeton University, and is currently a Professor of Practice at Cornell University. In 2010, Idenburg received the Charlotte Köhler Prize from the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund. He is a registered architect in the Netherlands and an International Associate of the American Institute of Architects.

Jack Murphy is editor in chief of The Architect’s Newspaper (AN) and AN Interior. He previously held the roles of executive editor and managing editor for these publications. Before joining AN, he was editor of Cite and an adjunct professor at the University of Houston. Murphy was co-editor-in-chief of PLAT 8.0 Simplicity and the assistant editor for Totalization, edited by Troy Schaum and published by Park Books in 2019. He received an Honorable Mention for the Pierre Vago Journalism Award 2020 from the International Committee of Architecture Critics and was named the 2017 Associate Member of the Year from the Texas Society of Architects. His writings have appeared in many publications, and he has contributed to a handful of books. He earned degrees in architecture from MIT and Rice University. Prior to being an editor, Murphy worked for award-winning architecture practices in Boston, Austin, Houston, and New York.

AccessibiliTy & What to Expect

Format: The program will begin with a brief welcome, then the speakers will engage in a moderated conversation. It will end with an optional Q&A with the audience. 
About the space: This program will take place in Cooper Hewitt’s Lecture Room on the ground floor of the museum. It is fully wheelchair accessible. Theater-style seating is available. There is an accessible restroom on the same floor. Read more about  accessibility at Cooper Hewitt.
Accommodations: The program will have live CART captioning. If we can provide additional services to support your participation, email us at CHEducation@si.edu or let us know when you register. Please make your request as far in advance as possible—preferably at least ten days before the program date.
Recording: The program will be recorded and posted on Cooper Hewitt’s YouTube channel within two weeks.

Support

The National Design Awards are made possible by:
Design Partners
Shelby & Frederick Gans
Jon Iwata
Lisa Roberts & David Seltzer

Design Sponsors
Apple Inc.
Chris & Irma Fralic
Alexandra & Paul Herzan
Helen and Edward Hintz
IBM Corporation

Design Friends
ANT/DOTE
Irene Au & Bradley Horowitz
Jake Barton
Amita & Purnendu Chatterjee
Cristina Grajales Gallery
Al Eiber
The Garden Conservancy
Agnes Gund
Jessica Healy, Seven Willow Collaborative
Randy & Taylor Hunt
Lemberg Foundation
Michael Maltzan & Amy Murphy
Henry R. Muñoz III & Kyle Ferari-Muñoz
Pentagram
Theo Richardson, RBW.com
Virginia San Fratello
Savannah College of Art and Design
Kimberly Schuessler
Lauren Seikaly & Michael Huber
Enid Sherman in honor of Jules Sherman
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Margaret Gould Stewart