Join us for the first Design News Roundtable of 2026, the place for freewheeling discussion on our changing city with architects, designers, planners, advocates and local observers.
Design News Roundtable: Mid-Year Review
Woodlawn Social, one of 15 affordable housing projects sharing a $300M subsidy from the City of Chicago. Rendering by KoningEizenberg and HED Architects.
Our tapped-in speakers will scour the headlines and opine on recent design, development and planning news impacting Chicago’s downtown and neighborhoods. Housing, preservation and reuse, transportation, green space, megadevelopment, and arts and culture are key areas of focus. Brush up on the past six months of built environment news and gain a deeper appreciation for the projects, the ideas and the difference-makers charting a path for our city.
Returning as host is Dario Durham, co-founder of the popular podcast 77 Flavors of Chicago. He’ll be joined by John Edel, owner and developer of the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center and founder of The Plant; Zack Morrison, principal and co-founder of Could Be Design; architectural historian and author Max Chavez of 106 Group; and planner, architect and urban designer Dawveed Scully of Gensler.
This event takes place at DANK Haus German American Cultural Center. Registration includes light bites and one drink ticket for draft beer or non-alcoholic refreshments. Guests are welcome to purchase additional drinks from the onsite bar.
Keynote speaker
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Meet the speakers
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meet the speakers
Dario Durham is a Chicago-based videographer and content creator. He is co-host of the highly popular podcast 77 Flavors of Chicago, which explores the city’s 77 community areas and tells the stories of each. He has appeared on the award-winning Netflix series “High On the Hog.” Dario is also an avid photographer and world traveler.
John Edel is both an eco and social entrepreneur. His most recent endeavor, The Plant, is a project combining adaptive industrial reuse, waste recovery, smart building technologies and aquaponics to create the nation's first vertical farm and food-business incubator. Located in a former meatpacking facility in Chicago’s historic Stockyards, The Plant is home to 24 businesses whose inputs and outputs are woven together as a living laboratory for the circular economy.
John also is the owner and developer of the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Center, an affordable, energy-efficient space for small and emerging manufacturers, product assemblers, and other businesses committed to sustainability. As General Contractor, Edel took the facility from a burnt-out shell to 100% occupancy while using a mixture of waste-stream recycled materials and leading edge technology to make the building exceptionally energy efficient and pleasantly non-toxic. The renovation was assisted by a core group of volunteers and by bartering with suppliers, tenants and scrappers. John’s work reflects a lifelong dream of combining industrial preservation with new uses to reinvigorate Chicago's lost industrial base.
Zack Morrison is cofounder of Could Be Design, a Chicago- and Urbana-based design practice that creates seriously playful spaces that initiate participation, companionship and solidarity among multiple communities. As architectural designer, Zack offers over 10 years of professional experience working with private clients, developers, government agencies and non-profit organizations. Zack is also the cofounder of the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival, community-engaged cultural happening that pairs community organizations in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood with diverse architectural designers to design and construct small pavilions. Zack’s design approach marries functional requirements with charismatic liveliness that animates everyday life with unexpected moments of joy.
Max Chavez is a dynamic architectural historian with a dedication to preserving Midwest architectural and cultural legacy. With a focus on utilizing research and historic resources, and a passionate commitment to underrepresented heritages, Max excels in crafting compelling narratives that advocate for the conservation of significant sites. Through meticulously researched reports and collaboration with community members, he has spearheaded successful advocacy campaigns. Max also serves on the board of directors at Docomomo Chicago and engages with diverse audiences through public presentations and publications.
