Chicago 2014;Photography © Iwan Baan

The State of Art and Architecture

3 October 2015-3 January 2016

The inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, North America’s largest international survey of contemporary architecture, will launch in October 2015.The artistic directors of the event Joseph Grima and Sarah Herda.

Through its constellation of exhibitions, full-scale installations, and program of events, the Chicago Architecture Biennial will invite the public to engage with and think about architecture in new and unexpected ways, and to take part in a global discussion about the future of the field.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial is a vision of Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a major international architectural event and an outcome of the comprehensive cultural plan developed by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. It is presented through the support of BP, and in partnership with the City of Chicago and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

Chicago Architecture Biennial participants. Image courtesy of Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Chicago Architecture Biennial, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation charged with executing the inaugural 2015 Biennial and subsequent biennials. Chicago Architecture Biennial, Inc. is dedicated to creating an international forum on architecture and urbanism through the production of exhibitions and public programs. Chicago Architecture Biennial, Inc. seeks to convene the world’s leading practitioners, theorists and commentators in the field of architecture and urbanism to explore, debate and demonstrate the significance of architecture to contemporary society.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial will provide a platform for groundbreaking architectural projects and spatial experiments that demonstrate how creativity and innovation can radically transform our lived experience.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial announces the Lakefront Kiosk Competition, organized in partnership with the Chicago Park District and the City of Chicago.

In keeping with the mission of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Lakefront Kiosk Competition is an opportunity to support innovative architectural work and to use the city—more specifically, the iconic shoreline of Lake Michigan—as a laboratory for architectural experimentation.

The competition calls for the inventive design of a new kiosk that will be installed on Chicago’s lakefront, one of the city’s most vibrant public spaces. A jury of architects, curators, and city representatives will select one winner to receive the BP Prize, which includes an honorarium for design development and a construction budget to realize the design.

The winning competition entry will be part of a broader initiative, envisioned by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Park District, to enhance cultural life on the lakefront. Along with the winning competition entry, three additional new lakefront kiosks will be constructed, each designed by an architect in collaboration with students from a local school of architecture. Participating schools include the Illinois Institute of Technology, the School of the Art Institute, and the University of Illinois Chicago. Details on these collaborations will be announced in early 2015.

All four new kiosks—the winning competition entry, and the three design collaborations with local schools—will be displayed in Millennium Park during the Chicago Architecture Biennial (October 2015 – January 2016) as a featured component of its exhibition program. In the spring of 2016, the four kiosks will be installed on the lakefront.

Chicago Architecture Biennial Hours