An A-to-Z Guide to the America We Want to Build

THE HISTORY OF BUILDING in what is now the United States of America stretches far beyond the creation of the republic in 1776, going back 7,000 years to the first earthen mounds (that we have evidence of, so far) in the Lower Mississippi Valley.

Building is a big part of what it means to be American, economically, socially, and culturally. The construction sector employs about 5 percent of all American workers, but those workers build the spaces where people in this part of the world laugh, cry, learn, and grow. True, the building industry contributes 39 percent of U.S. carbon emissions, and, yes, the construction sector generates about $3 trillion in annual revenue. But who can assign a numerical value to the true impact of architects, designers, engineers, builders, and others in our industry as they shape how Americans live every single day?

For the 250th anniversary of the United States, therefore, METROPOLIS presents an A to Z of American Design: stories that will show you how today’s designers are building the America we, the editors, would like to live in.

The architects and designers we profile are creating spaces and relationships that empower and uplift communities in this country. Indigenous design leaders Chris Cornelius and Wanda Dalla Costa show the way forward on community engagement (“I is for Indigenous”), Deanna Van Buren demonstrates how buildings can right wrongs (“J is for Justice”), Claire Weisz and WXY are redefining our relationship to cities (“WXY is for WXY”), and Liam Young is constructing narratives to help people imagine a different future (“V is for Visualization“).

In “B is for Baltimore,” “H is for Hawai‘i,” and “S is for Seattle,” we feature projects at the vanguard of an equitable, sustainable built environment, from community pools to off-grid homes and a carbon-positive hotel. Through a new building by Aidlin Darling Design on the campus of the University of Virginia, a new framework by Dr. Angie Scott and AJ Paron on designing for autism, and a conversation with Built Buildings Lab’s Billie Faircloth and Lori Ferriss, we explore and redefine values for the next American century: “M is for Mindfulness,” “N is for Neuroinclusion,” and “P is for Preservation.”

Past and future are threaded through these stories. We look back at the design culture of the Shakers in “U is for Utility” and rediscover a forgotten chapter in the history of the iconic American firm SOM through a collection of furniture from Teknion in “R is for Reissue.” You can find some near-term insights for sustainable architecture and design in takeaways from the METROPOLIS Interface U.S. Sustainable Design Report 2026 (“G is for Green Building”) and our hopes for the American built environment embodied in the work of this year’s Future100, the best architecture and interior design students graduating from American schools this year (“F is for Future100”).

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• Architecture
• Cities
• Diversity
• Equity
• Interior Design
• Sustainability
• Technology

• Art and Craft
• Climate Adaptation
• Community Engagement
• Equitable Design
• History
• Inclusive Design
• Sustainability Commitments