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Chicago Architecture Center President & CEO Lynn Osmond is stepping down after 25 years of service

2022-03-17T16:56:00-04:00

A towering figure in Chicago’s well-developed architectural scene is stepping down from one of its most important posts as the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) announced that President and CEO Lynn Osmond will be departing the Center at the end of April in order to take on a leadership role with Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism agency.

Since joining the CAC in 1996, Osmond has been pivotal in transforming the organization (then named the Chicago Architecture Foundation) into one of the largest of its kind anywhere in the world, overseeing its growth into a $25 million entity with an expanded audience of around 700,000 patrons in addition to helping it become one of the top tourist destinations in the city.

Previously on Archinect: The Chicago Architecture Foundation announces the Chicago Architecture Center, to encompass both past and future design innovation

Under Osmond’s tenure, the CAC moved into its new permanent location in the Mies van der Rohe-designed 111 E Wacker Dr. bu...

Virtual events to join today and over the weekend include an open house for UC Berkeley and a mid-century modernism tour of Chicago

2020-05-15T08:00:00-04:00

Today's featured virtual event happenings, from Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, are hosted by UC Berkeley and the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Are you hosting a virtual lecture? Presentation? Tour? Interview? Happy Hour? Submit it for consideration by clicking here.

Are you an expert in an arena that's especially important right now? Let us know if you would like to work with Archinect to host an online event.

College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley presents a Virtual Gallery Open House
Friday, May 15, 2020 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
As we move to remote learning this summer, we will utilize immersive technology including virtual and augmented reality to explore the latent potential of digital platforms for creativity and collaboration. A Disc*2020 Virtual Reality Gallery Open House to experience first hand what design pedagogy in a post-studio landscape can look like.
Click here to attend and/or register

CAC Live: Mid-Century Modernism Tour
Sunday, May 17, 2020 | 1:00 PM – 2...

Chicago Architecture Center opens in new location this Labor Day weekend

2018-08-30T14:25:00-04:00

The oversized skyscraper models in the window, one of them 38 feet tall, are the undisputed stars of the show, but they’re not the only reason to visit the Chicago Architecture Center, the engaging new home of the organization previously known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation. There is also the dramatically expanded Chicago Model, an expanse of mini skyscrapers and other buildings that offers a helicopterlike overview of the city’s sprawling downtown.

Previously announced back in January, the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) will now be open to the public this coming Labor Day weekend beginning Friday August 31. Formerly known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the CAC opens in its new location featuring everything architecture in Chicago through tours, programs, and exhibitions.

The building, originally designed by Mies van der Rohe, has been renovated with interiors by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS + GG) in partnership with museum planning and design firm Gallagher & Associates. If you're in the area be sure to check out this new addition to architecture and the city. Plan your visit with more information here.

Chicago Architecture Center announces new location opening in August 2018

2018-06-13T18:56:00-04:00

Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), formerly known as Chicago Architecture Foundation, recently announced that it will open at its new location at 111 E Wacker Dr., a building originally designed by the office of Mies van der Rohe, on August 31, 2018. The interiors have been redesigned by local firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS + GG).

Chicago Architecture Center Lobby. Image: CAF.

Chicago Architecture Center Tour Orientation Hall and Box Office. Image: CAF.

The new Center will join the active riverfront and house everything architecture for Chicagoans and tourists alike, bringing new walking tours, imaginative education programs, and new interactive exhibits. More details on the new tours will be released later this summer.

Chicago Architecture Center Lecture Hall. Image: CAF.

Chicago Architecture Center Design Studio. Image: CAF.

The CAC will feature custom-designed spaces for tour orientation, design education, public programs, along with store and exhibit space develope...

Chicago Architecture Center plans for 2018 opening

2017-11-29T17:22:00-05:00

After spending more than 25 years at the Railway Exchange Building, the Chicago Architecture Foundation will be moving to the heart of the city at 111 East Wacker Drive by Summer 2018. Located right by the river where the Foundation hosts its river cruise tours, the expanded space of 20,000 square feet will allow the institution to establish the Chicago Architecture Center while growing its programming and education initiatives.

“The Chicago Architecture Center is an exciting new endeavor for the foundation and the city,” said Lynn Osmond, CAF’s president and CEO. “For more than 50 years, our board of trustees, docents, volunteers, donors and members have been unstinting supporters of CAF. We are all looking forward to providing Chicagoans and visitors with a forum to debate the future of urban areas and learn more about the city that invented the skyscraper.”

The new Center, with interiors designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, will house a lecture hall, a hands-on d...

The Chicago Architecture Foundation announces the Chicago Architecture Center, to encompass both past and future design innovation

2017-09-07T17:22:00-04:00

Chicago is one of the global centers of the architectural world, not only for its rich history, but also as a stage for continuous innovation and design exploration. This lineage is a major part of why The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) has decided to create the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), a 20,000 square foot project replete with exhibition space, a lecture hall, custom design studios, retail space, and expansive views of the metropolitan skyline. With interiors created by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture on a site plan originally designed by Mies van der Rohe, the CAC will be the new home for the CAF.

On a river cruise, as organized by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Image: CAF

One of the coolest parts of the new interior has to be the Skyscape Gallery, which will be host to the permanent Tall Buildings and Innovation Exhibit. The exhibit will feature a 26-foot-tall "double-height" space allowing for a comprehensive investigation of tall buildings, from th...

The designer that Columbus, a film featuring numerous Modernist icons, forgot about

2017-08-25T16:11:00-04:00

The Miller House and Garden, now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, is acknowledged as one of the greatest Modernist collaborations. This thirteen-acre property was developed between 1953 and 1957 as a unified design through the close teamwork of Kiley, architects Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, interior designer Alexander Girard (who is acknowledged in the film), and clients J. Irwin and Xenia Miller.

The recent film Columbus is centered around a love story of a son of a renowned architecture critic stuck in a small Midwestern town and a 'young architecture enthusiast' who works at the local library. Taking place in mid-century Modernism mecca, Columbus, IN, the motion picture spares plenty of spectacular views of iconic Modernist sites: the Miller House, North Christian Church (1964), Cummins Inc. Irwin Office Building (1954), First Christian Church (1942), and Columbus Regional Hospital Mental Health Center (1972). The characters, surprisingly, do not fail to acknowledge the architects at each location—there are mentions of Eero and Eliel Saarinen, James Polshek... However, Dan Kiley, whose landscapes are often the movie's pivotal settings, got left out and never once credited.

Kiley designed more projects in Columbus than any architect—over thirty landscapes which among many others include the Art Institute of Chicago, South Garden (1962), Jefferson National Expansion Expansio...

No Small Plans, a graphic novel illustrating urban planning of the past, the present and the future Chicago

2017-07-21T13:27:00-04:00

No Small Plans is a graphic novel that follows the neighborhood adventures of teens in Chicago's past, present and future as they wrestle with designing the city they want, need and deserve.

Inspired by the 1911 Wacker’s Manual, which was once used in classrooms to explain Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, the book is filled with beautiful illustrations and divided into three chapters set in the years 1928, 2017 and 2211. Each chapter ends with a map and a short interlude about Burnham, to give readers insight into the creation of the 1909 Plan and other urban planning challenges.

No Small Plans was launched in conjunction with CAF’s 50th anniversary and our new “Meet Your City” initiative, which aims to foster civic engagement. In partnership with Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Public Library, CAF aspires to distribute 30,000 copies of No Small Plans for free to Chicago teens over the next three years.

Chapter 2: The Present, pg. 33-34

A copy of the book can be pre-ordered here.

2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial participants announced

2017-03-06T13:14:00-05:00

Preparations for the second Chicago Architecture Biennial are in full swing, with the big reveal of the 2017 participants today. Titled “Make New History” and with Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee as Artistic Directors, the 2017 roster has the names of over 100 firms — many of them well-known — representing over 20 countries. The 2017 CAB will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center and additional sites across the city from September 16 through January 7, 2018.

Building upon the themes and ideas presented in the successful 2015 edition, the 2017 biennial will showcase a diversity of architectural work from across the globe and will focus on “examining the underpinnings of this resurgence of historical interest” and “the efforts of contemporary architects to align their work with versions of history.”

“We hope to examine, through the work of the chosen participants, the continuous engagement with questions of history and architecture as an evolutionary practice,” Sharon Johnston says.

Her...

50 Designers, 50 Ideas, 50 Wards

2016-08-16T00:08:00-04:00

At the very least, these projects propose efficiencies and aesthetics that run counter to the institutional momentum within the city’s many departments, a daunting prospect in itself. None of this is necessarily inappropriate for such an exhibition, but it does ignore the question of where much of the aesthetic and spatial expression in our built environment comes from, and how we might change it.

Submit your ChiDesign CADE entries by September 9!

2015-09-03T15:53:00-04:00

The Chicago Architecture Foundation launched their first ChiDesign CADE competition earlier this summer seeking design ideas for a different type of educational facility called the Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE). Now that registration is closed, be sure to submit your entries by September 9.

As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the competition is a means to explore possible models for future educational facilities. If you need a refresher, CADE designs must include the following:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

The competition jury — who will evaluate all proposals and select the first, second and third prize winners — features:

Stanley Tigerman, Tigerman McCurry Architects
David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates
Monica Ponce De Leon, MPdL St...

Last chance to register for the ChiDesign CADE competition is August 19

2015-08-13T15:28:00-04:00

There's less than a week left to register for the ChiDesign CADE competition. Late registration closes next Wednesday, August 19.

As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the competition seeking design ideas of a Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE), as a means to explore possible models for future educational facilities.

Competitors must incorporate the following into their CADE designs:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

Late registration deadline: August 19, 2015
Submission deadline: September 9, 2015

The competition jury — who will evaluate all proposals as well as select the first, second and third prize winners — features:

Stanley Tigerman, Tigerman McCurry Architects
David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates...

Don't forget to register for the first ChiDesign competition by August 7!

2015-07-29T10:37:00-04:00

The registration deadline is almost here for the first ChiDesign ideas competition to design a Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE). As learning spaces become more open and communally oriented, the Chicago Architecture Foundation launched the competition as a means to explore possible models for future educational facilities.

Competitors must incorporate the following into their CADE designs:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

Registration deadline: August 7, 2015
Submission deadline: September 9, 2015

The competition jury — who will evaluate all proposals as well as select the first, second and third prize winners — features:

Stanley Tigerman, Tigerman McCurry Architects
David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates
Monica Ponce De Leon, MPdL Studio
Billie Tsien, Tod Williams Billie...

Chicago Architecture Foundation launches first ChiDesign CADE competition

2015-07-21T14:01:00-04:00

The Chicago Architecture Foundation's inaugural ChiDesign competition is accepting idea submissions for a different type of educational facility entitled the Center for Architecture, Design and Education (CADE).

Participants must incorporate the following into their designs:

a new headquarters, visitor center and exhibition spaces for the CAF
a new headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
a design and allied arts high school
flexible learning spaces for out-of-school-time youth programs

Are you up for the challenge? Be sure to register by August 7, 2015 and submit your entries by September 9, 2015.

Starting this October, CAF will host a major exhibition featuring a selection of submissions during the first Chicago Architecture Biennial. The exhibition will run from October 1, 2015 to January 3, 2016. The exhibition aims to spark dialogue on the design of a Center for Architecture, Design and Education in Chicago, as well as highlight the city’s legacy of arc...

Kinesis Honorable Mention 2013 Burnham Prize Competition

2013-06-24T11:56:00-04:00

This honorable mention was described by the jury as an elegant and sleek design with smart and innovative use of materials and good integration of elements.

KINESIS
Chicago BRT iconic stations design
Design Team: Natassa Lianou, Ermis Chalvatzis

Kinesis project, proposes dynamic and iconic light weight structures which land into the city of Chicago and create unique stations for the new BRT network. Since Chicago has a rich architectural and innovative engineering heritage, the BRT stations must consist contemporary statements of Chicago 's on-going evolution. Thus, the design is inspired from the speed and fluidity of contemporary urban life, while it presents a signature statement and brand identity of the BRT operation into Chicago streets.

The structure is consisted from the solid platform/ground, the roof/tensile membrane and the in-between glazing stripe, where these three elements blend together to produce extra features such as seating areas, ticket turnstiles, recycling bins, real-time passenger info display, landscape. Everything is connected and integrated into a unique design language able to represent the hig...

J Mays, Ford's head of vehicle design, discusses his architectural inspirations

2013-06-04T17:00:00-04:00

As the person in charge of design for Ford's entire vehicle porfolio, Mays looks at architecture a lot. And he's ever mindful of buildings and how they're designed whenever he sets about creating a new car or truck for Ford. What he's learned — and what he likes— about architecture, and Chicago architecture in particular, will be his focus when he joins the panel discussion "Big Ideas in Small Places" on Thursday at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.