The Architectural League of New York (ALNY) has awarded Sean Canty, Assistant Professor of Architecture at Harvard GSD, with the Prize for Young Architects + Designers, a competition open to architects and designers less than ten years out of a bachelor’s or master’s degree program. The 2023 Prize applicants were asked to consider the theme of “Uncomfortable,” engaging architects to consider the distressing aspects of the contemporary design world by “dismantling architectural legacies, challenging traditional paradigms, grappling with the costs of comfort, responding to ecological concerns.”
Sean Canty is the founder of Studio Sean Canty (SSC), an architecture practice based in Cambridge, MA. The work of the studio engages formal combination and juxtaposition at a variety of scales, from objects to interiors, and explores a range of programmatic types, from domestic environments to cultural spaces. Canty is also one of the founding principals of Office III (OIII), an experimental architectural collective that spans New York, San Francisco, and Cambridge.
The jury for the 2023 Prize for Young Architects + Designers, now in its 42nd cycle, includes José Amozurrutia, Germane Barnes, Jennifer Bonner, Barbara Bestor, FAIA, Wonne Ickx, Int. Assoc. AIA, Kyle Miller, Tya Winn, and the Young Architects + Designers Committee.
Winners will create installations of their work onsite in a location of their choice or in an entirely digital format. Projects will be presented in an online exhibition on the ALNY website opening June 13.
In March, Canty was among the recipients of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2023 Architecture Award, for work being characterized by a strong personal direction. This year’s winners were chosen from a group of 36 individuals and practices nominated by the members of the Academy. The jurors were Toshiko Mori (chair), Deborah Berke, Marlon Blackwell, Steven Holl, Annabelle Selldorf, Nader Tehrani, Billie Tsien, Tod Williams, and Meejin Yoon.