Boston gets a free front-row seat to a big, happy question on Saturday, November 7, 2026: Can Architecture Change a City? The Boston Public Library hosts the 25th annual Druker Award and Lecture at 2:00 p.m. in Rabb Lecture Hall, on the lower level of the Central Library’s Boylston Street Building in Copley Square — and it is free and open to everyone.
This year’s Druker Award, celebrating design and architecture, goes to KPMB, the internationally recognized practice founded in 1987 whose work has earned more than 400 awards. In Boston, the firm is best known for Boston University’s Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences, opened in December 2022 and affectionately called “The Jenga Building” for its stacked, cantilevered form — one of the largest fossil fuel-free buildings in the Boston area.
Founding partner Marianne McKenna and partner Paulo Rocha will accept the award and join BPL President David Leonard in conversation about how design reshapes daily life, Boston’s evolution, and the future of architecture in the city. The afternoon opens with remarks by Ronald M. Druker, includes the story behind the Duan Family Center, and closes with an audience Q&A.
Past Druker honorees include Maya Lin, Moshe Safdie and William Rawn, which makes this milestone year — also the 125th anniversary of The Druker Company — a perfect excuse for an inspiring fall afternoon at the library. Happy City News recommends registering in advance through the Boston Public Library.
Photo: Tom Arban
