PITTSBURGH IS HOME TO SOME PROMINENT PIECES OF ARCHITECTURE, LIKE THE ROTUNDA AND DOME AT THE PENNSYLVANIAN ON LIBERTY AVENUE. CELEBRATE THE CITY’S DESIGNS DURING PITTSBURGH ARCHITECTURE WEEK, OCT. 6-13. | PHOTO BY HUCK BEARD

Have you ever marveled at Downtown’s Allegheny County Courthouse and its 229-foot tower and Romanesque flourishes, the impressive rotunda of The Pennsylvanian on Liberty Avenue, the massive domes of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland or the elegant Victorian design of Henry Clay Frick’s family home in Point Breeze?

The Pittsburgh region is home to many breathtaking pieces of historic and modern architecture. These structures and the impact they have on our daily lives will be the focus of the second annual Pittsburgh Architecture Week taking place Oct. 6-13.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN MARK HOUSER LEADS A ROOFTOP TOUR OF DOWNTOWN’S KOPPERS BUILDING DURING THE 2022 PITTSBURGH ARCHITECTURE WEEK. THIS YEAR’S EVENT WILL ALSO INCLUDE ROOFTOP TOURS. | PHOTO BY DRONE PHOTOGRAPHER ANGELO RE

There will be neighborhood walking tours, rooftop tours of Downtown skyscrapers, short-form storytelling sessions, an Open Architecture Studio Crawl and the 40th annual Design Pittsburgh program with local architects competing for the People’s Choice Award. It is hosted by AIA Pittsburgh, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and its sister organization, the Pittsburgh Architecture Foundation. 

“We see buildings and public spaces every day, but often don’t think about how they got there, what makes them work or all of the people with a wide variety of expertise involved in creating them,” said Michelle Fanzo, executive director of AIA Pittsburgh, in a press release.

AIA Pittsburgh promotes meaningful design in the city that also supports sustainability, equity, innovation and a unique sense of place, according to the release.

Its mission is to continue “developing a culture in the Pittsburgh region that values design excellence in everyday life.”

“Creating a conversation in our city about what design excellence means to people is a large part of that. Design is not just how something looks; it is more how something works and how it makes you feel,” the release reads.

The week’s events kick off at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, with the studio crawl on Penn Avenue in Garfield/Bloomfield that includes a sneak peek behind the scenes of six architecture firms:

• Shelton Design Build: 4805 Penn Ave.
• interArchitecture: 4915 Penn Ave.
• Loysen + Kreuthmeier Architects: 5115 Penn Ave.
• moss Architects: 5122 Penn Ave.
• Springboard Design: 5125 Penn Ave.
• GBBN: 5411 Penn Ave.

Check out the map here.

Other events throughout the week include walking tours of Squirrel Hill and Wilkinsburg, a PechaKucha Night of short-form storytelling, a panel discussion on the future of Downtown and film showings.

Find the schedule of events and reserve tickets (many events are free) here.

AIA Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Young Preservationists Association, is poised to mark its 40th Design Pittsburgh competition at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at the New Hazlett Theater and Nova Place on the North Side.

Design Pittsburgh honors excellence in current architecture projects recently completed by local design professionals. The event will feature an architectural design exhibition, a juried Design Awards competition and a public voting opportunity for the People’s Choice Award, which will be announced on Oct. 13. 

Vote for your favorite entry here.

The Young Preservationists will also announce its Top Ten Preservation Opportunities – presented every year since 2003 – before the Design Awards and display photos of the buildings at Nova Place.

Saints Peter and Paul Church on Larimer Avenue in East Liberty and the family home of NBA hall of famer and Pittsburgh native Chuck Cooper in East Hills were among those announced last year worth saving.