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Pecha Kucha Night is an underground global phenomena that has already grown throughout the design community to reach over 100 cities worldwide in just four years!

What the…?

Pecha Kucha Nights are “a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.”  In essence, the gatherings become local forums through which innovative and creative works can easily be shown in a casual setting. Instead of having to rent galleries or auditorium spaces, the events are very underground and can even be held in pubs.

Why are these for YoungArchitects? One of the important goals behind YoungArchitect.net is that architects and designers be able to share information as easily as possible and on a national or even global scale. Even within local architectural communities, it is very difficult to get a sense of what issues or trends are influencing other designers. Before Pecha Kucha Nights, the only way you would know this information is if one of your friends working at another office told you about their projects, or you read about it in the local paper (or even worse, Architectural Record).

Photo: Nicholas Bright

20 x 20

The format of a Pecha Kucha  Night is almost obscenely simple. Pecha Kucha Night  avoids long and boring presentations that architects (especially students) are so used to seeing. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds apiece. This hectic pace keeps the audience engaged and forces the presenter to cut out all the obnoxious “fat” we have become accustomed to hearing. The format also allows for more presenters within a shorter time-frame which keeps the environment more energetic.

The beautiful part about this format for the presenter is that the boundaries are somewhat liberating. By choosing only 20 images, the presenter brings their best work, whatever that may be. By having only 20 seconds to speak, they are forced to discover and convey only the key issues that are important to their slides. The presenter can show anything they want and talk about anything they want within these guidelines and this allows for a very eclectic experience. While there is a limit on time, there is no limit to the creativity of the presentations.