Thank you for attending ADFF 2023 at the Chicago Architecture Center. Sign up for emails from the CAC and be the first to hear about future programs, exhibitions, tours and more. This winter the CAC will be transforming our galleries into a temporary…
The Newhouse Architecture + Design Competition showcases Chicagoland high school students who present design solutions to real-world problems. Named after late Illinois Senator Richard Newhouse (1924-2002), the annual competition celebrates its 40th anniversary…
The iconic Helmut Jahn-designed State of Illinois Thompson Center is under threat of demolition. In this free pop-up exhibit in the CAC lobby, the global architecture community shows possible reuses that avoid the wrecking ball.
Helmut Jahn: Life + Architecture is a new exhibit honoring the late Chicago architect and style icon. Get to know this extraordinary man who will continue to inspire generations to come. On view through Monday, March 14..
Americans are changing—and so are our housing needs. Housing for a Changing Nation explores how developments in American society and experience, including shifts in demographics, the economy and the environment, are forcing us to reexamine the concept…
Tall buildings are a fact of urban life. Influenced by building codes, engineering and profitability, their design is often predictable. Behind the glittering skylines, generic high-rises–responsive neither to climate nor culture–now dominate many of…
Learn how Chicago became the “city of architecture,” explore the stories of five evolving neighborhoods, see Chicago’s residential architecture, discover architects who shaped the city and view new up-and-coming projects in this unique gallery.
What will urban life be like in 2050? Several local architects offer insights and predictions for a future Chicago.
Located on the second floor of the CAC, in the stunning Drake Family Skyscraper Gallery, Building Tall is filled with supersized scale models of famous skyscrapers from Chicago and around the world.
Energy Revolution demonstrates how we can actively respond to the climate crisis by transforming our use of energy in the built environment. The exhibition highlights the ways individuals, corporations and city leaders can work toward a carbon-free future…
The Chicago River is an integral part of our city’s history, identity and vitality. This new exhibition presents the river as it is experienced in the everyday by local architects and artists who know it best.
Come see O’Hare’s future at the CAC—Extended through Feb. 17 by popular demand!
The Chicago Architecture Center is proud to present the latest iteration of SAY IT LOUD, a global traveling activation that elevates the work and identities of local diverse designers in each city it visits.
Chicago has a long history of innovation on our rivers.
Between States—50 Designers Transform Chicago's Neighborhoods is an ambitious showcase of 50 community-based design solutions to transform underappreciated and underperforming spaces in Chicago into rejuvenated civic anchors.
CAF is among more than a dozen museums, schools and architecture organizations nationwide invited to host “The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley.”
Chicago Architectural Club 2016 Chicago Prize Competition
CAF’s ambitious new exhibition features 50 transformative proposals for building a better Chicago, presented by 50 of the city’s top architecture and design firms.
In 1966, an army of allies united to protect and promote Chicago’s architectural heritage. Today, that group—now known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation—uses the city as the lens through which we help the public understand why design matters…
In 2015, CAF launched its first international ideas competition. The ChiDesign competition challenged participants to imagine a new Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE) in Chicago.
Chicago Architectural Club 2014 Chicago Prize Competition
Women Building Change was a reflection on the changing roles of women in architecture. The exhibition highlighted the expertise of Chicago Women in Architecture members through architectural drawings, photos and other visuals of featured buildings in…
Data has become a 21st century design material. Architects, planners, engineers and citizens increasingly use data to understand urban issues and spark design innovation.
Great Cities, Great Lakes, Great Basin built upon Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's ongoing initiative, which began in 2009, to develop a 100-year vision for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region. The exhibition addressed how we must change the way…
Take Me to the River: Building Chicago's New Waterfront investigated Chicagoans’ vision for the future of the Chicago River as the heart of a beautiful and livable city. Support provided by: Illinois DCEO, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative…
In 2013, Chicago debuted 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 specific routes, BRT promises to make Chicago a more connected city. Bus Rapid…
The word SynergiCity describes the social, economic, environmental and political processes through which developers, architects, urban planners and citizens renew communities. SynergiCity celebrated the reinvention of industrial districts as mixed-use…
Reconsidering an Icon showcased visionary designs for the adaptation of Bertrand Goldberg’s 1975 Prentice Women’s Hospital. The exhibition featured winning entries to the Chicago Architectural Club’s 2012 Chicago Prize Competition, along with schemes…
What future do you imagine for your neighborhood? Four Chicago academic institutions presented visions for the future of city life in Chicago. The participating designers encouraged us to ask, “What might this neighborhood and city become?” Support…
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…
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? Loop Value: The How Much Does It Cost? Shop…
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. Neighborhood's Go…
How does a city as vast and complex as Chicago take shape? Chicago Model City explored the planning of Chicago and its region. The exhibition and educational project inspired people to imagine the future of Chicago and metropolitan areas everywhere through…
Boom Towns! Chicago Architects Design New Worlds contrasted architectural responses to explosive growth in 19th-century Chicago, 21st-century Asia and the Middle East. The exhibition included photographs, drawings, graphics, models and videos that encouraged…
Green with Desire: Can We Live Sustainably in Our Homes? explored the emotional and physical construction of a typical home. Through a large-scale evocation of a house and eight case studies of Chicago-area housing types, the exhibition examined the meaning…
Inspired by Nature celebrated the centennial of the Garfield Park Conservatory through photographs, maps and illustrations.
Do We Dare Squander Chicago’s Great Architectural Heritage? examined the role of historic preservation in Chicago by featuring stories of individuals, developers and grassroots groups whose efforts were central to the construction of the city and its…
Me, Myself and Infrastructure presented a consumer’s-eye view of infrastructure — the technological networks that keep society connected and those that define modern life. Featuring evocations of a coffee shop, a living room, a bus stop, an office and…