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Amid the backdrop of a national trend of tumbling enrollments, brutal pandemic-era learning losses and an ongoing flight of young families from urban centers, the dilemma of how to repurpose empty schools is that many cities face. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 2,200 public schools closed from 2019 to 2022. Chicago’s experiences offer some insights into what can happen to these spaces, and the communities around them, after the students get sent home. — Bloomberg
Lamar Johnson Collaborative Associate Principal Max Komnenich tells Bloomberg the other side to the growing problem of school closings can offer a “beacon for reinvestment” given the proper incentives. His firm’s Aspire Center conversion took advantage of a $12.5 million TIF that’s... View full entry
The Illinois Institute of Technology has appointed Maria A. Villalobos Hernandez as director of its Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism program. “Villalobos is the first woman of color and first Latinx person to be a director of a College of Architecture program, and she will bring a... View full entry
While the city’s top transportation post remains vacant, the department’s respected former commissioner has landed a leadership post at the award-winning Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang.
Gia Biagi will join Studio Gang as Principal of Urbanism, the firm announced Thursday.
Biagi told the Sun-Times that under the newly-created role, she’ll lead Studio Gang’s planning and urban design work nationally.
— Chicago Sun-Times
Biagi told the Sun-Times architecture critic, Lee Bey, her work will help Studio Gang’s efforts to shape “how we think about cities, how we revitalize them, and how that connects to other important systems, whether that’s emphasizing ecology or looking at the important public... View full entry
The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) has just announced newly-extended dates and an additional slate of 50 contributors, bringing the total number of cultural participants to over 100 for the exhibition, which runs from September 21st to February 11th of next year. Under the direction... View full entry
The celebrated ongoing restoration of Chicago’s St. Laurence elementary school by the Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation has added new leadership to support the $10.35 million project, which broke ground on the city’s South Side in May 2022. The Foundation shares that Nonprofit Operations... View full entry
“Underground climate change is a silent hazard,” he said. “The ground is deforming as a result of temperature variations, and no existing civil structure or infrastructure is designed to withstand these variations.” — NBC Chicago
NBC Chicago reports on research from Northwestern University Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Alessandro Rotta Loria and his findings on the effect of density and subterranean heat in the city’s downtown Loop, where temperatures have been shown to be... View full entry
A one-time nightclub where the roots of house music spread from a group of Chicago DJs to worldwide prominence is now an official city landmark. [...]
“The Warehouse at 206 South Jefferson is where Black and Brown Chicagoans celebrated life and love and the birth of house music, a genre that has taken over the globe [...] The Warehouse is where Frankie Knuckles, a Grammy winner and proud openly gay Black man, created a safe space for everyone.”
— Block Club Chicago
The Chicago City Council approved a landmark designation on Wednesday, June 21st, for The Warehouse at 206 S. Jefferson Street in the city’s West Loop. The three-story structure, built in 1906, served as a dance club between 1977 and 1982. It was where world-renowned artist and House... View full entry
The Chicago Plan Commission was presented the final design for the Discovery Partners Institute’s new headquarters at the 78 as the development looks to get final site plan approval. — Urbanize Chicago
The OMA and Jacobs-designed project is proposed for a one-acre parcel anchoring the south end of the upcoming The 78 mega-development, a mixed-use innovation district set to rise along a 62-acre stretch of disused rail yards. The headquarters is expected to be the first building to begin... View full entry
Participants in the upcoming 5th edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) have been announced by the organization in a preview of their exhibition titled This is a Rehearsal. The event will open on September 21st at various sites throughout the city. A total of 50 contributors were... View full entry
If you're looking for architecture jobs in Chicago, take a peek at this week's curated employment highlight from Archinect Jobs with a selection of exciting openings in the Windy City (plus one in the Clarendon Hills suburb). To look up specific job titles from the architectural profession... View full entry
Now called Willis Tower, the building has been a trendsetter since its debut. After starting life as a headquarters for Sears, Roebuck & Co., the building saw its namesake tenant relocate to the suburbs. Along with the rest of downtown, it suffered other blows, including fears raised by the terrorist attacks of 2001 and the Great Recession. It’s always bounced back.
But the tower now faces what might be its biggest test.
— The Chicago Tribune
SOM won the commission from the Sears corporation in 1970 at a time when office parks and the desire to project a stronger image of America against the backdrop of the Vietnam War were separately prevailing forces in the AEC industry. Sears eventually sold the 110-story building, which was the... View full entry
The next phase of Chicago’s sprawling $6 billion Lincoln Yards development is set to break ground by the end of the year, according to an update from developer Sterling Bay recently published by Urbanize Chicago. As of now, the project’s 280,000-square-foot 1229 W. Concord life sciences... View full entry
Two faculty members from the University of Illinois Chicago’s College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts (CADA) have been selected to share their work and vision at upcoming Biennials. While Norman Teague will debut new bespoke plastic fabrication works within the 2023 Venice Architecture... View full entry
A $47.2 million apartment building with 100% affordable units will be built next to a Green Line stop in East Garfield Park, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday. Her administration selected the winner from three development proposals submitted for the site at 132 N. Kedzie Ave. The nearly half-acre property at the southwest corner of Kedzie and Lake street has been city-owned since the 1990s. — Chicago Sun-Times
The development, called Hub 32, will span 78,000 square feet, stand seven stories tall, and include 63 units. It will offer apartments with rents affordable to those earning up to 60% of the area’s median income. The winning proposal was designed by Brooks + Scarpa and Studio Dwell. The site... View full entry
After over 800 votes in just the championship round, One Chicago has been named Urbanize Chicago’s 2023 Best Skyscraper! Beating the John Hancock Center by a healthy margin of 90 votes, the new almost supertall has won the crown for being the best skyscraper in Chicago according to all of you! — Urbanize Chicago
One of the latest additions to the Chicago skyline has been voted the city's 'Best Skyscraper' this year: One Chicago, the mixed-use ensemble of two residential towers (77 and 49 stories, respectively) and a shared podium designed by Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, beat out... View full entry