The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) announces David Brown as the 2021 Artistic Director for its fourth edition: The Available City.  According to CAB the concept and title of the Biennial asks the public "to consider the impact collective space can have in cities today. Through a reinvented and responsive global platform, the Biennial will create opportunities for conversations about the intersection of architecture and design and such critical issues as health, sustainability, equity, and racial justice leading up to and throughout the run of the edition." 

Brown's experience as a designer, researcher, and academic has led to his investigations revolving around "non-hierarchical and variable approaches to urban design." He is an associate professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work has been exhibited in the Venice Architecture Biennale (2012), the Chicago Cultural Center's Expo 72 (2013), and the Chicago Architecture Biennial (2015).

Brown's long-term research set the foundations for "The Available City" by taking an inventory of vacant lots owned by the city of Chicago. Initial iterations of his project were produced during the Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2015. The Biennial team shares, "Over more than a decade of work, Brown developed this research into an ongoing urban design proposal that connects community residents, architects, and designers to work together to create spaces reflecting the needs of local neighborhoods. For the 2021 edition, Brown will explore the framework of The Available City on a global platform, engaging both local and international projects and practices that reflect new concepts for shared space and collective agency in the city." 

A virtual conversation with Brown and Walter Hood, 2019 CAB Contributor/landscape/public artist and 2019 MacArthur Fellow, will take place on October 27th.