Exhibition May 2–11, 2026
Opening Ceremony Saturday, May 2 · 2:00–6:00 PM
Location 501 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10018
Attire Business Professional
RSVP Required via realmnomadgroup.com
“How do we retrofit yesterday while building tomorrow?”
REALM Nomad Group NYC presents Reflection of the Future, a landmark international design exhibition staged at 501 9th Avenue, at the seam between Hell’s Kitchen’s industrial legacy and the forward-thrust horizon of Hudson Yards. The exhibition ran from May 2 to 11, 2026, drawing over 2,500 onsite visitors and presenting more than 2,000 digital works from over 40 leading global design teams across architecture, urbanism, AI, and interior design.
At its core, the exhibition stages an unprecedented East–West dialogue, contrasting Shenzhen’s velocity of urban prototyping with New York City’s accumulated depth of architectural and institutional history. Rather than presenting these two cities as opposites, Reflection of the Future frames them as complementary lenses through which to examine the most urgent questions facing the built environment: how capital flows shape culture, how ecology must be embedded in construction, and how AI is quietly restructuring the design profession itself.
Positioned between two of Manhattan’s most symbolically charged neighborhoods, the choice of 501 9th Avenue was itself an act of curatorial intent, a space where the industrial past and the speculative future press against each other, making the exhibition’s central tension physically felt.
Institutional Partners & Speakers
The exhibition convenes a distinguished coalition spanning global design accreditation, NYC real estate, academic research, and cross-disciplinary practice:
- A’ Design Award and Competition · CEO Onur Mustak Cobanli One of the world’s most prestigious design accolades, with a global media reach exceeding 2.5 billion impressions, 300+ Grand Jury Members across 180+ nationalities, and 138+ international media partners.
- ZD Jasper Realty · Vice President Jasper Wu Bridging visionary design ambition with actionable New York City real estate development.
- Shenzhen University – School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SAUP) · Dean Yue Fan & Vice Dean Yi Qi Presenting rigorous, research-led urban prototypes from one of China’s foremost architecture schools.
- AIANY Emerging New York Architects · Co-Chair Lu Haoyeh Representing the next generation of practitioners reshaping New York’s built environment.
- ACRE Real Estate Brokerage · Founder Cathy Huang Connecting the design conversation to the realities of NYC’s property market.
- Pro-H · Owner Hung Pin Hung Contributing cross-disciplinary expertise at the intersection of design and enterprise.
- PRO:JECT UOU · Founder Chih-Wei Hsu Bringing experimental spatial practice to the exhibition programme.
- ZULUECHO STUDIO · Founder Zain Elwakil Merging architectural vision with the precision of architectural photography.
- Yuxiang Luo · Urban Planner & Economic Development Consultant Author of Creating the Metropolis, Spaces and Institutions of New York City, bringing a rare dual lens of policy and place-making.
The Shenzhen Contingent
Eleven of Shenzhen’s most consequential architectural voices, studios that have collectively defined the grammar of China’s most experimental city, bring their work to New York:
- NODE Architecture & Urbanism – 南沙原创 · Liu Heng 刘珩
- Yuanben Studio – 元本体工作室 · Cai Ruiding 蔡瑞定
- SMARTLAND – 肃木丁建筑 · Ji Xiaolin / Ding Qiang 纪啮林 / 丁樯
- CCDI Dongxiying Studio – 悉地国际东西影 · Zhu Xiongyi / Wang Zhaoming 朱雄毅 / 王照明
- Mozhao Architects – 墨照建筑 · Zeng Guansheng 曾冠生
- ATELIER XI – 一树建筑工作室 · Chen Xi 陈曦
- FCHA – 坊城设计 · Chen Zetao 陈泽涛
- INGAME – 局内设计 · Zhang Zhiyang 张之样
- TALLER ARCITY – 趣城工作室 · Zhang Yuxing / Han Jing 张宇星 / 韩晶
- fabersociety – 梓集 · Zuo Long 左龙
- ARQUITECTOS TUMUSHI · Yang Qili / Bai Yan / Deng Wenhua 杨期力 / 白岩 / 邓文华
The Global Contingent
Alongside the Shenzhen representation, the exhibition assembles a curated selection of international studios and independent practitioners spanning architecture, AI-driven design, sustainability, and interior environments:
- TSC Architects · Yoshiaki Tanaka · Japan
- Iwasa Design Studio – 岩佐設計工房 · Hiroaki Iwasa · Japan
- Peter Kuczia · PhD, Architect & Writer
- actual / office · Adam Dayem
- PolyGone Systems · Yidian Liu & Nathaniel Banks
- A-01 · Oliver Schütte
- David Guerra Arquitetura e Interiores · David Guerra · Brazil
- AB Interior Design Buro · Alena Bulataya
- delazzari. · Bruno De Lazzari · Brazil
- Prairie View A&M University · Bill Price
- HEYSUPERSIMI · Simone Hutsch
- ATELIER OYU · Oyu
- Extended Play Lab · Xiyao Wang · Harvard University
- alborno · Fabrizio Alborno
- LILI DESIGN STUDIO · Yiqing Wu
- Mingrui STUDIO · Mingrui Jiang
- Yuchen | Architect · Yuchen Qiu
- Hao Zhong STUDIO · Hao Zhong
- FMP · Fei Hu
- FORMA CAPRICHOSA · Dagmara Oliwa
- Honeydew Rabbit · Junghye Yoon
- Sunny Jackson
- Hair from You · Zoe Ze Zhou
- Fureve.AI · Ding Li
Sponsors & Prizes
Rigel Atlas Boutique Consulting · Atlas Caviar · Hadden Store · House of Balance
About REALM Nomad Group
REALM Nomad Group is New York City’s premier platform for connecting the built environment’s most important constituencies, architects, developers, investors, and academics, through curated, high-calibre exhibition series. REALM exists to celebrate the critical work that determines how we build, finance, and inhabit the cities of tomorrow.
Media Enquiries
REALM Nomad Group NYC LLC
Email realm@nomadgroupnyc.com
Website realmnomadgroup.com
Instagram @realm_ai_nyc
