Zohran Mamdani's historic mayoral victory in New York City presents a transformative opportunity for architects to reimagine their role in shaping America's built environment. However, the architecture profession's traditional ties to wealthy elites rather than working-class communities threaten to sideline architects during this moment of potential change. The key to unlocking this opportunity lies in architects recognizing themselves as workers who need unions to advance their collective interests and create better cities for everyone.
Mamdani's campaign began in an unconventional way when he called into New York Public Radio's "The Brian Lehrer Show" in fall 2024 as an unannounced guest. During a series episode about American socialism, the then-relatively unknown Queens assemblymember used the platform to advocate for democratic socialism and launch his mayoral bid. Rather than making ideological arguments, Mamdani focused on practical results, citing the example of "sewer socialism" in early 20th century Wisconsin, where socialist mayors built public health infrastructure, publicly owned power systems, and improved workplace conditions.
The core of Mamdani's platform centers on affordability and transforming New York City's physical spaces to serve all residents, not just billionaires seeking luxury renovations. His ambitious proposals include traffic-free and fare-free bus lanes, free quality public childcare centers, a pilot program for city-run grocery stores, rent freezes for rent-stabilized apartments, and plans to build hundreds of thousands of new housing units. These initiatives share a common thread: they require reimagining the city's physical composition to create well-functioning public spaces that everyone has a right to access.
The architecture community's response to Mamdani's election has been notably mixed. While the American Institute of Architects issued a lukewarm statement of approval, and some practitioners like WXY Studios' Claire Weisz praised the potential for "interagency and public/private collaboration," many architects view these plans as threatening. Comments on architecture publication Archinect revealed deep anxiety about Mamdani's proposals, with practitioners worried about capital flight and the loss of wealthy clients who provide their primary source of income.
These concerns reflect fundamental misunderstandings about both Mamdani's actual policies and the development process in New York City. Critics claiming that "big government will inevitably bring the death of design" and predicting "a race to the bottom fighting for government contracts" ignore the reality that even Mamdani's team recognizes the need for robust public-private partnerships. The private sector must play a significant role in meeting ambitious housing goals, but this doesn't guarantee that increased building activity will automatically improve conditions for architectural workers or result in better design.
The solution lies in embracing unionization efforts that could advance both worker rights and design quality. Mamdani has consistently sought strong alliances with labor unions, emphasizing their crucial role in fighting income inequality. Currently, architects have one of the lowest union density rates of any profession, clinging to myths about the "low-paid creative genius" that have persisted since Benjamin Latrobe, often called America's first architect, arrived from England in 1796. This romantic notion, developed in architecture schools, becomes exploited in workplaces where young designers work late nights for little pay, wondering why they're designing custom doorknobs instead of meaningful projects.
The author's experience forming the only private sector architecture union in the United States provides a model for different professional consciousness built on labor solidarity rather than critical praise or wealthy patronage. At Bernheimer Architecture, unionization created better workplace structures that reflect workers' voices and values in both daily operations and the design process. Through collective bargaining, workers identified clearer roles and responsibilities based on how they actually work, not management assumptions. Recently, the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust specifically sought Bernheimer Architecture's services because of its union status, demonstrating potential partnerships with a Mamdani administration.
Most architecture students graduate with idealistic hopes that design can create positive change, but this optimism quickly fades when confronted with the reality of serving corporate clients and wealthy individuals. With a mayor committed to working-class alliances, architects have an opportunity to push both their industry and city toward more inclusive practices. They can learn from Mamdani's grassroots campaign, which relied on unprecedented volunteer engagement, with supporters knocking on one million doors to overcome millions of dollars in opponent spending.
Mamdani's housing policy represents his most ambitious proposal: tripling the city's production of publicly subsidized, permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized homes by constructing 200,000 new units over ten years. This vision should expand to include not just union construction but union design, with all public work meeting the contractual standards established by Bernheimer Architecture Union's collective bargaining agreement. When workers rather than just owners influence design decisions, the results improve significantly.
Through Architectural Workers United (AWU), practitioners have begun exploring new approaches to building housing that go beyond traditional developer-driven models. Recent collaborations with New York State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher have brought union workers together with community members to envision bolder forms of state-sponsored housing. Rather than workshops run solely by firm partners or upper management, workers participate directly in helping residents imagine better living environments.
The ultimate goal involves helping designers understand themselves as workers who can act collectively to shape built environments serving many rather than few. This transformation starts with organizing more architecture offices to build strong union locals, though progress has been slow since the 2024 election. However, industry workers are increasingly ready to change their most immediate sphere of influence: their own offices.
A strong architectural union could push for legislation representing not just community members, builders, and other stakeholders, but designers themselves. This effort aims not only at achieving fair pay and working conditions but also bringing highest-quality design to those who need it most. Currently, developers and clients determine what's valuable in design processes, typically cutting aesthetics and high-quality sustainable materials when budgets tighten unless unlimited funds are available.
A robust social housing program built with architectural labor values would mean higher-quality built environments for everyone. Without this organizing effort, architects risk professional stagnation dependent on wealthy clients' whims. The choice facing the profession is clear: will architects recognize that real strength lies in numbers and take advantage of this transformative moment, or will they continue clinging to outdated romantic notions that serve neither their interests nor society's broader needs?
