Chicago Architecture Foundation - Current Exhibitions

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.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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

The New Navy Pier

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

Check out the winning proposal for the redesign of Navy Pier at CAF’s exhibition surrounding Chicago Model City! The New Navy Pier presents 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.

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.

Learn more about the model

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

Powerful Design

COST Free and open to the public
HOURS Daily from 9:30am to 5:00pm
LOCATION Lecture Hall, 224 South Michigan Avenue

Powerful Design features 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.

Submissions will be on display from April 20 to May 23, 2012

PAST EXHIBITIONS

COST Free and open to the public
HOURS Daily from 9:30am to 5:00pm
LOCATION Lecture Hall, 224 South Michigan Avenue

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.

See the Neighborhoods Go Green! exhibition for a limited time in the Lecture Hall!

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.

Design on the Edge opened on September 23, 2011 in the atrium gallery, surrounding the Chicago Model.

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.