National Building Museum: A South Forty

A South Forty at the National Building Museum presents a comprehensive mapping of contemporary architecture and design practice across the American South, a region whose architectural culture is frequently overshadowed by output from the coasts but which contains a rich and distinctive body of work shaped by climate, history, material culture and the particular social dynamics of the Southern states. The exhibition examines this regional identity through both technical and social lenses, looking at how architects are responding to the South’s specific environmental and cultural conditions.

The show draws on forty projects, practices and designers to build a picture of where Southern architecture stands at a particular moment in the region’s history, with case studies spanning residential, civic, educational and landscape work. The curation examines questions of regionalism, material sourcing, vernacular influence and the ways in which contemporary architects are engaging with or departing from the South’s architectural traditions.

For architects and designers with an interest in American regionalism or in how practice adapts to specific geographic and cultural conditions, A South Forty offers one of the more considered recent surveys of a part of the country whose architecture deserves wider professional attention. The exhibition is on view at the National Building Museum through Winter 2026.