Climate Week NYC 2026 is bringing together architects, urban planners, policymakers and building industry professionals for a week of discussions, tours and events focused on climate resilience, decarbonisation and the future of cities.
The event runs through September 27, with a programme spanning architecture, urban design, green buildings, waterfront infrastructure and emerging technologies.
Monday, September 21
The future of healthy buildings: Designing for people, performance & place
A session at 1290 Avenue of the Americas will examine indoor air quality, wellbeing and performance metrics in commercial building design.
Resilient and regenerative design: Architects and policymakers on building the future
Hosted by the American Institute of Architects, the discussion will explore how regenerative design can address climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, disaster risk reduction and public health. Speakers include 2026 AIA President Illya Azaroff and Congressman Paul D. Tonko.
The resilient public waterfront: Designing climate infrastructure for people
Urban designers Laura Crescimano of SITELAB and Claire Weisz of WXY will discuss people-focused approaches to climate resilience, drawing on waterfront projects in San Francisco and New York.
Tuesday, September 22
Aligning green leasing and LEED v5 to advance building performance
The session will examine how green leasing can support building decarbonisation, greater transparency and cooperation between landlords and tenants, including its relationship with the LEED v5 rating systems.
Lewis Mumford Lecture: From crisis to proximity
Urbanist Carlos Moreno, known for developing the “15-Minute City” concept, will deliver this year’s Lewis Mumford Lecture at City College of New York. Moreno will discuss “proximity” as a potential organising principle for a new social contract for cities.
Interior ecologies
Part of Swissnex’s Assembly programme, the event will explore the relationship between interior architecture and ecological thinking. The Swiss pavilion runs through September 25 at Performance Space New York.
Wednesday, September 23
Architecture, planning, and international law: Building postcarbon futures
The Architectural League of New York will mark the release of Billy Fleming’s Building Postcarbon Futures: Land, Justice, and Energy Transitions with a panel discussion on climate obligations, land, justice and energy transitions.
Building as nature: The Nature Positive Buildings, Cities & Infrastructure Alliance
The Biomimicry Institute will officially launch a new alliance bringing together architects, engineers and policymakers to develop a shared approach to “nature positive” building standards.
Regenerative design – Embracing a new/old mindset
Architects and environmental specialists will examine regenerative design as a continuation of approaches including passive design, vernacular architecture and Indigenous knowledge systems.
Resilient by nature: Designing for climate and community
Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners will look back at two decades of climate resilience work, including projects in East Harlem, Hoboken and Brooklyn.
The new blueprint: Climate resiliency by design
Representatives from New York City’s climate and housing agencies, along with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will discuss evolving climate-resilience guidelines for public capital projects.
By water, by design: A Climate Week WEDG harbor tour
A boat tour will showcase projects shaped by the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines, including the rebuilt Wagner Park.
Thursday, September 24
Watts in, watts out: An architect’s path to energy system decarbonization
The session will examine how buildings can become active participants in the energy grid, moving beyond individual equipment choices to consider the wider energy system and pathways to decarbonisation.
Friday, September 25
AIANY Climate Change and Architecture Tour
AIA New York’s signature Climate Week event will take participants on a 2.75-hour boat tour around Manhattan aboard a 1920s-inspired yacht. The tour will highlight LEED and Passive House buildings, coastal resilience projects in Lower East Side and Battery Park City, the Third Avenue Swing Bridge, and Governors Island, which is set to become home to the New York Climate Exchange. Participants can also earn AIA continuing education credits.
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