What is the future of Middle America? Five architecture practices will consider this question for the 2020-2021 cycle of Exhibit Columbus.

Founded in Columbus, Indiana, in 2016, the annual design symposium and exhibition has announced the winners of its annual J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize:

• Dream the Combine (Jennifer Newsom and Tom Carruthers), based in Minneapolis
• ecosistema urbano (Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo), based in Miami and Madrid
• Future Firm (Ann Lui and Craig Reschke), based in Chicago
• Olalekan Jeyifous, based in New York
• Sam Jacob Studio, based in London

This year, co-curators Iker Gil and Mimi Zeiger have invited participants to create site specific, future-oriented installations in response to the theme New Middles: From Main Street To Megalopolis, What Is The Future of The Middle City. Projects will investigate the future of the center of the United States and the regions connected by the Mississippi Watershed.

“These five Miller Prize winners represent the future of architecture and design,” says Anne Surak, the director of Exhibit Columbus. “With this award they will have the opportunity to bring their unique perspectives to Columbus, while exploring the customs and values that have created this city’s international design legacy.”

Virtual conversations with Miller Prize recipients will take place from mid-September to mid-November. Next spring, pandemic permitting, they will reveal their design concepts in person, with the goal of opening the downtown Columbus installations to the public in fall 2021.