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EXHIBITIONS


Chicago Architecture Foundation exhibitions encourage people to discover the spaces, places, and structures that shape Chicago and all communities.

The unique installations encourage people to understand how architects, engineers, and planners design environments—and how we all participate.

The exhibitions inspire people to imagine the future of metropolitan regions everywhere.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation would like to thank our funders, whose generous contributions make many of our exhibitions possible.
  COMING SOON

Take Me to the River: Building Chicago's New Waterfront


Take Me to the River: Building Chicago's New Waterfront investigates Chicagoans’ vision for the future of the Chicago River as the heart of a beautiful and livable city.

Dip into designers’ ideas for reinventing the river and its connection to the neighborhoods through which it flows. Explore two soon-to-be-completed boathouses. Get a sneak peak of the next six sections of the Chicago Riverwalk. Discover far-reaching ideas that would transform the Chicago River’s role as drainage canal. Take in the iconic architecture—from glassy high rises to railroad bridges—that defines the riverfront.

Take Me to the River: Building Chicago's New Waterfront opens June 5 in CAF’s Lecture Hall Gallery.
 
 

Chicago: City of Big Data


Social network postings, signals from cell phones, sensor readings, online transactions, census profiles, city data sets—each day we produce one quintillion (10^8) bytes, an explosion of data that doubles every 40 months. Explore how this tidal wave of information might transform the city in Chicago: City of Big Data, a new Chicago Architecture Foundation exhibition opening in September 2013.

Stunning data visualizations, cutting-edge hardware, and stories from Chicago and around the globe will immerse visitors in an exploration of our new world, which integrates urban place with digital information. At the heart of City of Big Data is CAF’s popular Chicago Model, which will be transformed into a dynamic platform for visualizing, sharing, and learning.
  CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Learn more about SynergiCity>>

Synergicity: Reinventing the Postindustrial City

COST: Free and open to the public
HOURS: Daily 9 am to 5:30 pm
LOCATION: Lecture Hall, 224 S. Michigan Ave.

SynergiCity celebrates the reinvention of industrial districts as mixed-use neighborhoods: warehouses become residences, factories contain offices, and industrial waterfronts are reborn as parks.

This exhibition presents stories of transformation in six Midwestern cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis, and Peoria.
 

Learn more about this exhibition>>

THE UNSEEN CITY:
DESIGNS FOR A FUTURE CHICAGO

COST: Free and open to the public
HOURS: Daily 9 am to 5:30 pm
LOCATION: Atrium Gallery, 224 S. Michigan Ave.

Four Chicago academic institutions present visions for the future of city life in the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s exhibition Unseen City: Designs for a Future Chicago. The participating designers encourage us to ask, “What might this neighborhood and city become?”

Come see a 19th century boulevard transformed for the 21st, a horizontal deconstructed Willis Tower, an industrial district as creative hub, and a skyscraper that scrubs the air.

What future do you imagine for your neighborhood?
 
Learn more about the Chicago model>>

CMCttl.jpg

COST  Free and open to the public
HOURS  7 days a week from 9am-6:30pm
LOCATION  Atrium Gallery, 224 South Michigan Avenue

Chicago Model City is the only accurate and up-to-date three-dimensional portrait of Chicago's downtown. This 320-square-foot work-in-progress enables you to see Chicago as you've never seen it before. The model became an instant icon when it opened in 2009, beloved by tourists and locals alike. It has become the centerpiece for exhibitions in the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s atrium gallery. In addition, the model is the departure point for CAF tours, a gathering place, an orientation point for visitors, and a great photo opportunity! Famous visitors to the model include Mayor Richard J. Daley, architect Jeanne Gang, and television personality Geoffrey Baer. CAF is currently developing exhibitions that will make Chicago Model City a richer and even more exciting experience.

Chicago Model City is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors.

 
One nation Under Construction screen shot.
 



Dig deeper into the places that surround you.

Investigate an online collection of stories about

architecture, infrastructure, urban history, planning, and landscape.

One Nation, Under Construction is comprised of an ever-growing online collection of
short, entertaining video segments that present surprising stories and diverse viewpoints
about familiar aspects of urban and suburban life.


PAST EXHIBITIONS
 
Learn more about this exhibition>>

  Loop Value: The How Much Does It Cost? Shop

In a nation obsessed with acquiring the most stuff at the lowest price, how well do we understand the value of the buildings and products we buy? How do our purchases impact the future of our neighborhoods? Visit Loop Value: The How Much Does It Cost? Shop at the Chicago Architecture Foundation and find a new design for your city and your life. It's a shopping trip unlike any you've experienced before.

Loop Value: The How Much Does It Cost? Shop opened February 17 in the ArcelorMittal CitySpace Gallery at Chicago Architecture Foundation (224 South Michigan Ave.) It is made possible through the generous support of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO); Illinois Sustainable Education Project (I-StEP); the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation; and Illinois American Water.
 

Learn more about this exhibition>> 

Reconsidering an Icon: Creative Conversations about Prentice Women's Hospital


Reconsidering an Icon showcases visionary designs for the adaptation of Bertrand Goldberg’s 1975 Prentice Women’s Hospital. The exhibition features winning entries to the Chicago Architectural Club’s 2012 Chicago Prize Competition, along with schemes submitted by Chicago’s hottest young design firms. 


Exhibition sponsors and partners include AIA Chicago, Chicago Architectural Club, and Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond.
 

  Learn more about this exhibition>> 


Chicago is preparing to debut a bold plan for giving public transit riders a speedier and smarter way to ride: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). By combining cutting-edge technology with specially-chosen routes, BRT promises to make Chicago a more connected city.

This exhibition outlines the features and benefits of BRT while exploring how it is transforming cities around the globe. See how features like dedicated bus lanes and innovative station design are improving bus transportation and people’s lives.

These programs are made possible through the generous support of The Rockefeller Foundation, in partnership with The Chicago Community Trust.
 
 

The New Navy Pier


The New Navy Pier presented James Corner Field Operations’ winning design, along with the four competing proposals for Navy Pier’s public spaces. The competition aims to make Navy Pier a year-round destination for locals, tourists and families while taking advantage of its unique setting. Reimagining the pier is an important part of the Centennial Vision, a plan dedicated to redeveloping Navy Pier as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2016.

 
 
 
 
Powerful Design

 

Powerful Design featured entries by local architecture students for a new Com Ed training facility on Chicago’s South Side. This LEED-certified center will be dedicated to training employees, as well as community education on energy efficiency and new technologies. The competition’s winning design solution will help shape the final design by the project architect.

 
 



We can save energy and reduce pollution by using efficient light bulbs and driving hybrid cars.  But what if we apply green design to our communities?  By thinking on a larger scale, we can reorganize the places where we live and work.  This will dramatically reduce the impact of our lives on our neighborhoods-and on planet Earth.

The U.S. Green Building Council, working in collaboration with architects, urban planners, builders, and environmentalists, has developed a national design standard for certifying green neighborhoods.  It is called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development: LEED-ND.  This exhibition explores the design and certification of green communities.

Neighborhoods Go Green! was made possible by:
U.S. Green Building Council
Farr Associates
City of Chicago, Department of Environment
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
Grand Victoria Foundation
 
John Ronan Architects

View videos from the exhibition on

 OneNationUnderConstruction.org

Design on the Edge: Chicago Architects Reimagine Neighborhoods asked leading creative thinkers to tackle challenges facing the city’s communities. The exhibition featured visionary plans devised by Darryl Crosby, Sarah Dunn and Martin Felsen, Jeanne Gang, Doug Garofalo with Xavier Vendrell, Patricia Natke, John Ronan, and Ross Wimer. Their cutting-edge concepts for seven neighborhoods inspire Chicagoans to imagine a more connected, vibrant, and livable city.

Architecture legend Stanley Tigerman, who has been thinking big and inspiring others throughout his fifty-year career, collaborated with CAF on Design on the Edge.

Exhibition catalogue available in the CAF shop.

Generous funding for Design on the Edge: Chicago Architects Reimagine Neighborhoods was provided by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., and The Irving Harris Foundation, with additional support from Matthew and Kay Bucksbaum, Judith Neisser, Turner Construction Company Foundation, and U.S. Equities Realty, LLC. Fabrication of Urbanworks’ Pilsen Textile Incubator model was made possible through a generous in-kind donation from SOMOS Materials by DSM.
 
   

View more past exhibitions >>>      

CAF exhibitions are supported in part by an award from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
 

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