Part of the international symposium “Shaping Contemporary Realities: Architecture and Beyond,” this panel explores how cities can create healthier, more biodiverse places for people and nature.
Panel: Flourishing Environments
Shaping Contemporary Realities, Flourishing Environments panel. Photo courtesy of Mas Context.
Achieving healthier, more biodiverse cities requires new ways of thinking about how people and nature share urban spaces. “Flourishing Environments” explores both immediate and long-term approaches to creating ethical, resilient and joyful environments for humans and non-humans.
This panel is part of “Shaping Contemporary Realities: Architecture and Beyond,” an international symposium bringing French and U.S. perspectives together in Chicago to explore the future of architecture, innovation and the built environment.
Over three days, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, curators, artists, scientists, researchers, writers, industry leaders and other experts will explore three themes: Innovative Adaptation, Civic Changemaking, and Flourishing Environments. Through conversations across disciplines and across the Atlantic, the symposium considers how architecture can serve not only as the art of building, but also as a catalyst for cultural dialogue, scientific innovation and civic imagination.
Program Schedule:
Opening remarks by the organizers:
- Nathalie Filser, director of Villa Albertine Chicago
- Iker Gil, founder of MAS Context
- Julie Michiels, editor of MAS Context
Welcoming remarks by the host of the day:
- Eleanor Esser Gorski, CEO and president of the Chicago Architecture Center
Presentations by:
- Douglas Voigt, Urban design and planning partner at SOM
- Alissa Anderson, Principal of publications and exhibitions and partner at Studio Gang
- Philippe Madec, Writer, teacher, cofounder and associate architect and urban planner at Associer in Paris, Rennes, and Montpellier
- Stefania Becheanu, Sound and performance artist
Conversation and Q&A with presenters led by:
- Filip Tejchman, Architectural educator and researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning
This program is followed by a free reception and access to Flyway City: Architecture for a Flourishing Ecosystem and Chicago's Living Habitat.
Speakers:
Alissa Anderson is principal of publications and exhibitions, and a partner at Studio Gang. Working closely with Jeanne Gang, she leads the studio’s research, writing, exhibitions, and additional “special projects” that use the skill set and perspective of design to engage critical environmental and social issues. Most recently, Alissa led Studio Gang’s new exhibition on bird-safe design, Flyway City: Architecture for a Flourishing Ecosystem, a collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Center. Her past projects include exhibitions for the Venice Architecture Biennale and the MAXXI Museum in Rome, as well as books such as Jeanne Gang’s The Art of Architectural Grafting.
Stefania Becheanu is a sound and performance artist and a laureate of the 2026 Villa Albertine Music Grant. Her work operates at the intersection of experimental music, field recording, visual arts, and contemporary dance. Emphasizing the concept of active and empathetic listening, she utilizes an array of raw sounds captured from cities and natural environments to “paint” immersive, multi-channel soundscapes. By breaking down the barriers between acoustic creation and spatial perception, her installations and performances invite audiences to physically feel vibrations and explore their emotional connections to the surrounding space.
Eleanor Esser Gorski is CEO and President of the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), the leading organization celebrating and promoting Chicago as a center of architectural innovation and education. A licensed architect, Gorski brings more than 25 years of experience in design, planning, and historic preservation. Since joining the CAC in 2022, she has broadened its focus to ensure its work benefits Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Previously, Gorski served as Acting Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development and Executive Director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority. A fellow of the American Academy of Rome, she has received the Rome Prize, AIA Chicago’s Distinguished Service Award, and the ULI Chicago Breakthrough Award. She was named a 2026 Crain’s Chicago Business notable leader in Architecture and a 2026 Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow.
Filip Tejchman’s research, teaching, and creative practice examine architecture as a cultural technology, engaging questions of energy, effect, ecologies, and social infrastructure — understood broadly as ritualized systems of use and meaning. His writing explores how these themes shape contemporary architectural practice and research. His professional experience spans projects of diverse scales and media — including sound, scent, theatrical effects, furniture, buildings, and landscapes—beginning at Diller+Scofidio/DSR and Joel Sanders Architect, with a brief period working in the art studio of Roxy Paine. Filip is the Principal of Untitled Office and a co-founder of ChChCh with Professor Debbie Chen (Rhode Island School of Design). At UWM, Filip teaches design studio and building systems, with an emphasis on the technical as well as the sensational and theatrical dimensions of lighting, acoustics, sustainability, and HVAC systems.
Douglas Voigt is the Urban Design and Planning Partner at SOM. He is interested in the capacity of design to build community and connect people to one another, balancing conceptual thinking with a realistic, hands-on approach to creating spaces and cities. Voigt’s work is distinguished by a passionate appreciation for each project’s unique challenges and the need for a comprehensive and innovative response. Over the last two decades, he has been able to unite disparate stakeholders under a cohesive vision, transforming abstract ideas into physical realities. Voigt has brought his expertise to large scale, complex and neighborhood projects for public and private sectors for decades, from the Detroit East Riverfront Framework Plan to the Wild Mile in Chicago. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Chicago Central Area Committee and a Board Member of Openlands.
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