The Chicago Architecture Biennial is a three month long event offering many free events, lectures, tours, exhibits and more city-wide.
The 2019 Chicago Biennial will run from Sept. 19, 2019-Jan. 5, 2020.
There are nine free or almost free lectures in the City and suburbs. Following are all the lectures downtown. Search the calendar for all lectures here.
Women in Architecture – Impact on Design Technology Chicago Athletic Association 12 S Michigan Avenue Sept 20, 2019 6:00 – 8:00pm Reservations are required. Details to follow soon.
This panel will be led and moderated by a number of women architects who have played a critical role in the innovation and implementation of the design technology that architects use every day.
The Architecture of Advocacy Chicago Cultural Center lectures 78 E. Washington Sept 21, 2019 Sat 11:00am – 12:30pm Reservations required $3
A conversation focusing on questions of architecture and advocacy with Biennial contributors Maria Gaspar, Jhanea Williams (MASS Design Group), Eyal Weizman (Forensic Architecture), and Maurice Cox (newly nominated Chicago Commissioner of Planning and Development), moderated by Chicago Architecture Biennial Graham Foundation Artistic Director Yesomi Umolu.
Opening: Nocturnal Landscapes Instituto Cervantes of Chicago 31 W Ohio St, Sept, 25, 2019 Wed 6:00 – 8:00pm More info. Reservations are required
Opening for the Nocturnal Landscapes exhibition featuring a conversation between participants Mar Santamaria, Pablo Martinez, and David Schalliol, and curator Iker Gil.The exhibition, organized by the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago and MAS Context, compares seven cities based on the cartographic and photographic description of the rhythms and elements that define the night landscape.
Think Tank 2019 | Megaregion 325 North Wells Street Sept, 27, 2019 Sat 8:00am – 6:00pm Please RSVP
Keynote Locations: Track A: DIRTT Green Learning Center, 325 N. Wells St. #1000 and Track B: Kimball Showroom, 325 N. Wells St. #100
The Chicagoland megaregion consists of interconnected cities, highways, and municipalities, all of which grapple with challenges related to housing, water quality, transportation, sustainability, and more. Legat Architects invites you to consider how designers can address these issues.
Crossing the Line Chicago Architecture Center111 East Wacker Drive Oct, 15, 2019 Thurs 6:00 – 7:30pm Reservations required $3
The crossing of an imaginary line 100 years ago resulted in the death of an African-American teenager, Eugene Williams, inciting the 1919 Chicago Race Riot. Whether material or immaterial, Chicago’s lines both define, and are defined by, the power relations between the city’s spaces, its people, and how we use these spaces. On the centenary of the Race Riot, leaders from the architecture community will reflect on cultural partnerships that have redrawn our city in previously unthinkable ways.
Design in Theatre: From Idea to Ideal Design Museum of Chicago 72 East Randolph Street Oct, 17, 2019 Thur 6:00 – 7:00pm
Join us on October 17 to hear Mark Larson, author of Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater explore stage setting, lighting and sound design with four prominent Chicago designers: Jared Gooding, Rob Milner, Linda Buchanan, and Regina Garcia. Where does the starting point for a design begin? What is a designer’s role in rehearsal? How do these elements work together? How do designers know when they’ve got it right?
Lecture: Tatiana Bilbao The Art Institute of Chicago111 S Michigan Ave. Rubloff Auditorium November 7, 2019 6:30–8:00 Registration required
Award-winning founder of Tatiana Bilbao Estudio in Mexico City, Bilbao represents a new generation of premier architects whose interest in sustainability, context, and social practice underpins her material-rich and bold designs. Butler-VanderLinden Lecture on Architecture presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Graham Foundation.
Creating Spaces for Women and Activists WeWork River North111 W Illinois St, Nov, 14, 2019 TBA Reservations are encouraged. Details to follow soon.
Just imagine, our current public spaces are marked by a climate of border wall controversies, immigration including travel bans, and all forms of harassment that make for unsafe spaces. ‘Creating Spaces for Women and Activists’ tells stories how architects, authorities, and human rights organizations are creating safe and empowering public spaces based on human rights and evidence-based approaches, that cities can develop into practical solutions.
BUILDING INTERVENING CONNECTING: Recent Work: Gong Dong of Vector Architects 2019 Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist 55 E Wacker Dr, Nov, 18, 2019 Mon 5:00 – 9:00pm Reservations are required. Details to follow soon.
This lecture will examine new projects by Vector Architects, a Chinese architecture practice based in Beijing. The firm, founded in 2008 by its founding partner Gong Dong, has completed a number of award-winning projects that express a common belief: that architecture is about continuity, without beginning or end. Architecture is a medium to connect and reveal the spirit that already exists in a site. The presentation will include video clips emphasizing the craft of the construction process.
