Join us for a conversation about new development in Woodlawn, the community’s needs and how thoughtful design can help shape the neighborhood’s future.
Design Dialogue: Catalyzing Change in Woodlawn
A rendering of Woodlawn Social, an in-development Invest Southwest project on the 900 and 1000 blocks of East 63rd Street. Photo by Koning Eizenberg/Harley Ellis Devereaux.
With the Obama Presidential Center bringing new attention and investment to Woodlawn, the neighborhood is experiencing a wave of development and change, including projects through Invest South/West, the City of Chicago’s initiative to bring public and private investment to historically underinvested neighborhoods. Other projects include adaptive reuse, missing-middle housing and larger planned developments.
The program also connects to a poster exhibition featuring urban design proposals from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, co-taught by former Chicago planning commissioner Maurice Cox and Real Estate Professor Avis Devine. The exhibition looks at ways to thoughtfully redevelop vacant and underused properties near the Obama Presidential Center and create a stronger vision for the surrounding neighborhood. Panelists will discuss how these ideas could help shape future development in Woodlawn and inform the work of city planners and local community leaders.
Maurice is joined in conversation by Paul Schulhof of New York-based Schulhof Rashidi Architects, who served as a lead designer of the Obama Presidential Center while a partner at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects; Ann Thompson, FAIA, Executive Vice President of Architecture and Design at Related Midwest; and Bill Williams, founder of Chicago real estate development company KMW Communities, all moderated by architectural critic and author Lee Bey. Each panelist brings extensive experience working in Woodlawn and a commitment to design excellence for all.
Speakers:
Paul Schulhof is a founding partner of Schulhof Rashidi Architects, where he is currently overseeing the design of multiple cultural projects, including the Dubuque Museum of Art and the William King Museum of Art. Previously, Paul was a partner at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects + Partners (TWBTA), where he practiced for 25 years and played a leading role in numerous nationally and internationally recognized cultural and civic projects.
As a lead designer, Paul brings a deep commitment to collaboration and to creating architecture that is meaningfully connected to its community, site, and environment. His leadership in cultural and civic architecture includes the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the new U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, affiliated with Columbia University.
In 2013, Paul was a partner at TWBTA when the firm received the American Institute of Architects Firm Award, one of the profession’s highest honors, awarded annually to a single U.S. practice. He has served as a juror for design awards programs across the country, taught at the graduate level, and been a guest critic at numerous institutions. He has lectured extensively on craftsmanship, community-driven design, and sustainability.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia.
Maurice D. Cox is Emma Bloomberg Professor in Residence of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He currently leads the ReBuild Initiative, which aims to bring innovative design, theories, and tools into applied practice by civic leaders to rebuild, repair, and transform the urban fabric of cities in the U.S. and abroad.
Maurice is an urban designer acclaimed for his ability to merge architecture, design, and politics in pursuit of design excellence and the equitable development of cities. In his public sector leadership roles, Maurice is known for his design-centered approach to urban planning, incorporating active citizen participation into the public process while simultaneously achieving the highest quality of design excellence. His professional biography aspires to present a very different model for what a designer in society can be, demonstrating that planning, architecture, and design operate within a sociopolitical sphere.
Prior to joining the GSD faculty, Maurice was Director of Planning and Development for the City of Detroit between 2015-2019 and Commissioner of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago between 2019-2023, where he focused on the adaptive challenges facing contemporary urban revitalization.
Bill Williams is an accomplished real estate entrepreneur, serving as the Founder and Managing Member of KMW. Recognized for his transformative leadership in Chicago’s real estate and economic development sectors, Bill has established himself as a driving force behind urban revitalization and economic development. His development philosophy is centered on holistic, multifaceted investment—combining economic and finance principles, physical infrastructure, human capital, and social initiatives to drive sustainable economic growth.
Bill earned a B.S. in Finance from DePaul University and an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. His body of work with KMW spans diverse developments from the West loop to the Westside and Southside, with a focus on utilizing housing as a tool to increase density and stimulate local and regional economies.
Bill is an active contributor to the broader development community, serving on advisory boards that address economic development, urban planning, design excellence, and educational advancement. He has also forged high-level partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders, including the City of Chicago, Urban Land Institute, Illinois Housing Council, Chicago Architecture Center, and national real estate development firms.
Ann Thompson, FAIA, is Executive Vice President of Architecture and Design at Related Midwest. Since joining Related in 1995, she has led the creative oversight and planning of projects across the company’s portfolio of mixed-use, mixed-income, affordable and luxury developments.
A proven thought leader on architectural concept and implementation, Thompson is a frequent speaker at industry events, has participated in numerous award committee juries and has authored or participated in articles for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune, among others. Thompson champions design excellence among a variety of stakeholders and prioritizes shared success in the built environment. Her work in this space includes mentoring the next generation of architects and designers, supporting industry career paths through teaching and civic engagement, and promoting the advantage of an integrated approach to development.
Thompson is a licensed architect in Illinois and serves on the boards of the Chicago Architecture Center, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the Alliance Française de Chicago. She is a member of The American Institute of Architects, Economic Club of Chicago, International Women’s Forum and The Chicago Network. In addition, Thompson serves on the advisory boards for the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture, from which she obtained her Master of Architecture. In 2024 Thompson was elevated to The College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the organization’s highest membership honor for exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society.
Lee Bey is architecture critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and member of the Sun-Times editorial board where he writes editorials on city governance, neighborhood development, politics and urban planning. Bey is the author of Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side (Northwestern University Press, 2019), which showcases his architectural photography and social commentary.
Bey is an in-demand speaker and media commentator on architecture, urban planning, Chicago history and late 20th century Black history and culture. He is also an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture and recipient of the 2021 Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award and the 2019 Distinguished Service Award by the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Bey’s previous positions include director of media and government affairs for the Chicago office of SOM, executive director of the Chicago Central Area Committee, and deputy chief of staff for architecture and urban planning under Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The Obama Presidential Center lawn. Photo courtesy of the Obama Foundation.
Woodlawn Central, Phase 1. Photo courtesy of Gensler.
