As part of its ongoing Shaping the City series, the Italian branch of the European Cultural Centre is being represented in this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial with an upcoming conference that will begin this Friday, December 10th, hosted by the Chicago Cultural Center on East Washington Street in the city’s New Eastside. 

The conference’s third edition will tackle themes of architecture and the people and re-imagining the city via side-by-side comparisons of major global capitals in America and Europe. 

The event is set to last three days separated into two sections that will include speakers like Ennead’s Don Weinreich, Tulane University’s Edson G. Cabalfin, ASPECTSS* consultant Magda Mostafa, and the Chicago Architecture Biennial’s Artistic Director David Brown.

Session I will explore the ascendent social issues of the day through an examination of new architectural values and spatial identity in check with the Biennial’s overarching theme of The Available City. The next and final session will further the conversation with a thorough look at how planning, policy, architecture, and urban design are shaping the physical form of cities as well as the civic engagement of citizens impacted by the intersection of each area.  

According to the ECC, this theme “explores how the morphological dimension, engulfing both the architectural character and the urban environment, creates an image and an identity for the city,” whilst maintaining a focus on the “sensory and experiential qualities in architecture and the distinctive qualities of the urban space, where daily life unfolds.”

Both sessions will feature keynote speakers and panel discussions made up of an array of architects, academics, and urban planners. Events can be seen either in person or online on the ECC Italy’s YouTube channel. Additional information about the event can be found here.