Chicago architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham\u2019s exhortation to \u201cmake no little plans; they have no magic to stir men\u2019s blood\u201d continues to motivate the cultural, educational and commercial communities of Chicago. It also inspires the city\u2019s contributions to architecture and design and drives the direction of the sixth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.<\/p>\n
Beginning this weekend and continuing through Feb. 28, 2026, the CAB, considered the largest architecture and design exhibition in North America, will celebrate the nonprofit\u2019s 10th anniversary by presenting the work of more than 100 architects, designers and artists representing more than 30 countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a cultural event with broad appeal, open to everyone, and an invitation to experience architecture, whether you\u2019re a student, a practitioner, a visitor or someone thinking about our built environment for the first time,\u201d said Jennifer Armetta, the biennial\u2019s executive director and owner and director of the ENGAGE Projects gallery.<\/p>\n
Like a world\u2019s fair in miniature, the CAB brings the world to Chicago for five months of conversation and creative exploration in architecture, design, public art, urban development, spoken word and the performing arts. The Chicago Cultural Center is the main hub of activity, with partners such as the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, the Graham Foundation and the Stony Island Arts Bank opening their doors as exhibition venues. In total, 20 exhibition sites and about four dozen partners are contributing to the programming.<\/p>\n
With the sixth edition\u2019s theme, \u201cSHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change,\u201d over 100 exhibitions, tours, films, public discussions, tours, art displays, print and digital publications, and other public activities throughout the city and suburbs intend to stimulate dialogue on the impact of political, environmental, social and technological changes on the built environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to have the biennial in Chicago,\u201d said artistic director Florencia Rodriguez, \u201cbecause Chicago has always been a laboratory for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez is no stranger to the biennial. The native Argentinian and, since 2022, director and associate professor of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, attended the first three editions. She was thinking about the sixth edition even before the biennial approached her to be artistic director. \u201cBeing an editor, publisher and a curator, I was really aspiring to have a voice in a global exhibition such as this one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez said the theme of \u201cshift\u201d was driven by the desire \u201cto engage with reality and respond to the many issues happening politically and environmentally \u2014 even how we experience our everyday lives, with media and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about generating a platform that brings different positions and different ideas and modes of practice together for a conversation,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll hear me talk about the biennial being conversational. I believe in dialogue and not necessarily permanent consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with the biennial being led by Rodriguez, Armetta and board co-chairs Nora Daley and Sarah Herda, \u201cshift\u201d is also an apt description of the increasing role women are playing in architecture and design, especially in a city whose architectural history has been largely\u00a0dominated by men.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Putting together a multifaceted program like the Chicago Architecture Biennial can present challenges such as funding and international travel complications. While bringing global creators to Chicago turned out to be less of an issue than initially thought, Armetta said the group is managing costs in part by changing how they do things.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our 10th anniversary, the biennial itself is shifting,\u201d she said. \u201cWe remain committed to supporting new ideas and innovations while also deepening our engagement with Chicago\u2019s communities.\u201d\u00a0Plus, the biennial\u2019s longtime donors \u201chave been critical and helped inspire others to give.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the event galvanizes our city,\u201d Armetta said, \u201cand that we can tweak the curiosity of children who come through this exhibit so that they might become inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-ENT-ARCHITECTURE-BIENNIAL002.jpg\")
Jennifer Armetta, executive director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, outside the Chicago Cultural Center, the site of the exhibit “SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change,\u201d Sept. 16, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
After all, Rodriguez said, \u201carchitecture is for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
From a calendar of dozens of events and exhibitions, we picked a few worth checking out:<\/p>\n
\u201cWater Music on the Beach\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most striking example of the biennial\u2019s interdisciplinary emphasis will be a Field Harp performance followed by a procession to the beach in the Edgewater neighborhood. Led by artist and educator Firat Erdim, Field Harp is an ensemble that plays single-string, electric, wind-activated harps. \u201cPart of the spirit of SHIFT is understanding that the atmosphere, air, humidity, are also part of the substance of architecture,\u201d Rodriguez explained. \u201cArtifacts like the field harps that react to the environment are a way to lead us there.\u201d<\/p>\n
1-4 p.m. Sept. 28 at 6018 N. Kenmore Ave.; register at 6018north.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cConc\u00e9ntrico: Ten Years Reflecting on the City Through Contemporary Practices\u201d<\/p>\n Learn from Javier Pe\u00f1a Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez, founder and director of the international architecture and design festival Conc\u00e9ntrico about its evolution from the Logro\u00f1o International Festival of Architecture and Design in 2015 \u2014 and its more than 150 interventions in the past decade \u2014 to its plans to enrich, expand and further enliven the Conc\u00e9ntrico experience. (Pe\u00f1a Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez also will speak at an Oct. 1 opening reception for Conc\u00e9ntrico at Instituto Cervantes of Chicago).<\/p>\n 5:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture, 845 W. Harrison St.; register at mascontext.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYasmine Spiro: Cornerstone\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, you can dance about architecture. An exhibit rooted in the landscape and built environment of Jamaica, \u201cCornerstone\u201d by Yasmin Spiro explores the relationship between land, architecture, memory and the body. An Oct. 9 live performance in collaboration with Jamaican choreographer Neila Ebanks will articulate and extend the exhibition\u2019s themes through movement, sound and sculptural form. The exhibit runs through Nov. 2.<\/p>\n 6 p.m. Oct. 9 at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave.; register at hydeparkart.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Prize is the Beginning\u201d<\/p>\n Presented by the Chicago Architecture Center in collaboration with the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, a program of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, \u201cThe Prize is the Beginning\u201d seeks to stimulate greater appreciation for the diversity and dynamism of North, Central and South American architecture by showcasing the contemporary architecture recognized by the juried biennial Americas Prize and Emerge awards.<\/p>\n Through Oct. 26 at Chicago Architecture Center in One Illinois Center, 111 E. Wacker Drive; $15 admission, more at architecture.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEyes on the Future: Evolving Hotel Design at Populus\u201d<\/p>\n Take a virtual trip to Denver via Studio Gang by learning about the design of Populus, the studio\u2019s recent hotel project in that city\u2019s downtown. It\u2019s an example of how contemporary hotels can connect more closely with their community and environment. See architectural models of Populus, drawings and material samples. The founding partner of Studio Gang is Jeanne Gang, an award-winning architect and MacArthur Fellow.<\/p>\n 4-6 p.m. Wednesdays and select Fridays through Feb. 28 at Studio Gang, 1520 W. Division St.; more at chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSHIFT: Traces\u201d<\/p>\n Located on the North Lawn of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, \u201cTraces\u201d is an installation of 10,000 dry-stacked bricks created by the architectural firms of Balsa Crosetto Piazzi and Giorgis Ortiz. It pays tribute to the 1893 World\u2019s Columbian Exposition by literally tracing the footprint of the World\u2019s Fair buildings that once stood in that space. The installation\u2019s demonstration of \u201cmass without permanence\u201d is a nod to the impermanence of all but two of the original World\u2019s Fair buildings, with one being the museum itself.<\/p>\n Through Feb. 28 at Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; more at chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the biennial, visitors can go to the Chicago Cultural Center, the central hub of activity, to learn about the purpose and philosophy behind CAB-6 through the creative work of several architecture and design firms worldwide. Two additional global collaborations on display in the Cultural Center are \u201cInhabit, Outhabit,\u201d which explores how architecture shapes modes of dwelling in times of displacement and transformation, and \u201cThe Ordinary-EXTRA,\u201d where imagination, layering and texture come together to uncover the remarkableness in everyday spaces.<\/p>\n