Biennial Programs

The Chicago Architecture Biennial’s public programs explored issues at the heart of urban experience and architectural practice. These events invited dialogue about how we construct (and conceive) the world we live in.

Download the 2015 Event Calendar

In Dialogue

In Dialogue was a program of lectures. Architects, scholars, curators, and others discussed their ideas and practices and explore the meaning of architecture historically and today.

Opening Events

At the opening of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial performances, lectures, tours, and exhibition openings kicked off this exhilarating global event.

Biennial Events

Theatre
Performance, December 31, 1969, Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel of St. Savior
Theatre
Performance, December 31, 1969, Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel of St. Savior
Superpowers of Ten
Performance, December 31, 1969, Live Performance at the Tank Chicago Athletic Association
Superpowers of Ten
Performance, December 31, 1969, Live Performance at the Tank
We Know How To Order
Performance, December 31, 1969, Federal Plaza 219 S Dearborn St Chicago
We Know How To Order
Performance, December 31, 1969, Federal Plaza 219 S Dearborn St Chicago
AIA Presents: Winners of the Look Up Film Challenge
Film Screening, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
Night of Illumination: Opening Celebration
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, Stony Island Arts Bank
Next Up: Chicago Architecture Biennial Participant Presentations
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
We Know How To Order
Performance, December 31, 1969, Federal Plaza 219 S Dearborn St Chicago
Post Modern Architecture: Preservation’s New Frontier
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
Amanda Williams: Color(ed) Theory House Painting: Flamin’ Red Hots
Workshop/Activity, December 31, 1969, 5703 S Lafayette Ave
Architecture Is Art: Atelier Bow-Wow
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago 220 E Chicago Ave

Partner Events

125th Anniversary: A Historic Architecture Tour of the University of Chicago Campus
Tour, December 31, 1969 March 19, 3200, University Bookstore
125th Anniversary: A Historic Architecture Tour of the University of Chicago Campus
Tour, December 31, 1969 March 19, 3200, University Bookstore
Death and Afterlife of the Post Industrial City
Lecture/Panel, March 19, 9200, School of the Art Institute 112 S Michigan Ave
Chicago School Skyscrapers on South Dearborn Street
Tour, March 19, 9200, Monadnock Building
Old Town Historic Tavern Tour
Tour, March 19, 9200, Twin Anchors Bar
2015 Burnham Prize Competition: Currencies of Architecture Exhibition Opening & Competition Winner Announcement
Reception/Social, March 19, 9200, Chicago Architecture Foundation
Chapel at 6018 North Opening Reception
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, 6018North
The Architecture and Adaptive re-use of Louis Sullivan's Carson Pirie Scott Store/Sullivan Center
Tour, December 31, 1969, State and Madison Chicago
Outside Design: Artist Talks and Reception
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Sullivan Galleries
House Housing and We, Next Door Preview Reception
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, 1322 W Taylor Street
Atom-R within House
Performance, December 31, 1969, Ohio Street Beach
Pilsen: The Heart of Chicago
Tour, December 31, 1969, 1710 W. 18th Street
International Perspectives | Chicago and the Future of Urban Change
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, The Art Institute of Chicago 230 S Columbus Dr
Restoration of the Rookery Building
Tour, December 31, 1969, Rookery Building
James Wines: Drawings - Opening Reception
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, Rhona Hoffman Gallery 118 N Peoria Street
The Gathering—Call and Response: Activating Public Space
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, The Art Institute of Chicago
Restoration of Michigan Avenue Architectural Gems
Tour, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
a.DOT Redux Opening Reception
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, SAIC 33 S. State Street
UIC School of Architecture Open Studios
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, 3100 Architecture + Design Studios
After Dark featuring "Making Place: The Architecture of David Adjaye"
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, Art Institute of Chicago Modern Wing
Chicago’s Moveable Bridges
Tour, December 31, 1969, : Bridgehouse Museum
New Horizon_architecture from Ireland Opening
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, Chicago Design Museum
Manifest Para-tour: Future Not Found
Tour, December 31, 1969, Chicago Board of Trade / New York Mercantile Exchange
Art Deco Skyscraper Interiors
Tour, December 31, 1969, 1 N. LaSalle St. Building
Manifest Para-tour: The Leaning Tower
Tour, December 31, 1969, 6300 W Touhy Ave
The Architecture and Adaptive Re-use of Louis Sullivan’s Carson Pirie Scott Building
Tour, December 31, 1969, 1 S. State Street
Sacred Spaces in the Loop: First United Methodist Church in the Chicago Temple Building
Tour, December 31, 1969, 77 W. Washington
Tropical Mining Station
Exhibition, December 31, 1969, Future Firm 3149 S. Morgan St. #1 Chicago IL 60608
MCA Primetime
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
CP in Chicago Public Lectures | Kees Kahn: Beautification
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Archeworks
Crown Hall Roundtables: Emerging Voices & South-North: The Americas
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, IIT College of Architecture
Walkthrough of Jessica Stockholder's Door Hinges, ASSISTED and Scott Reeder's Put the Cat on the Phone
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Kavi Gupta
Hermant/Butler Opening Reception
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, 3522 W Franklin Blvd Chicago IL 60624
MASTER LECTURE: Bernhard Karpf
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, High Concept Labs at Mana Contemporary Chicago
Richard Meier: Process and Vision Open House
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, MANA Contemporary
Chicago Public Library Walking Tours: The Legacy of Urban Renewal in Hyde Park
Tour, December 31, 1969, Blackstone Branch
An Inclusive Edge: A Panel Discussion with Architects and Advocates
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Sullivan Galleries
Exploring the Architecture of Glessner House - Oct 3
Tour, December 31, 1969, Glessner House 1800 S Prairie Ave
Caesar's Bridge
Performance, December 31, 1969, Comfort Station
Crown Hall Roundtables: Research Chicago: Tall Buildings & When You're Having More than One
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, IIT College of Architecture
Forms of Imagination Opening Reception: Intentions and Provocations in Design
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Arts Incubator 301 East Garfield Blvd
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum Free Public Architectural Tours
Tour, December 31, 1969 March 19, 1200, Jane Addams Hull House Museum
Reorienting the City
Tour, December 31, 1969, Bucktown-Wicker Park Branch
125th Anniversary: A Historic Architecture Tour of the University of Chicago Campus
Tour, December 31, 1969 March 19, 3200, University Bookstore
From Wright’s Chicago Studio to International Masterpiece: A Chicago Architecture Biennial Highlight Tour of Wright’s Home & Studio and Robie House
Tour, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Public Library Walking Tours: Sleeping Cars, Restless Workers
Tour, December 31, 1969, Pullman Branch
House Housing and We, Next Door Opening Celebration
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, 1322 W Taylor Street
University of Chicago Campus Edges Tours
Tour, December 31, 1969, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
Jane's WalkCHICAGO: The Art of Local Architecture on Dearborn Street from Van Buren to Randolph
Tour, December 31, 1969, 431 S Dearborn Chicago
Cutting-Edge Adaptive Reuse: The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Tour, December 31, 1969, Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
CP in Chicago Public Lectures | Reinier de Graaf : The Century That Never Happened
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Archeworks
Photogenic Chicago
Tour, December 31, 1969, 50 E. Congress Parkway
Panel Discussion with New Horizon Architects
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Block Thirty Seven
Near South Side-Motor Row-Printing House Tour
Tour, December 31, 1969, 25 E. Cermak Road
Gold Coast Walking Tour
Tour, December 31, 1969, Charnley House
Glessner House and Second Presbyterian Church
Tour, December 31, 1969, Glessner House
Prairie Style in the Parks
Tour, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
Benjamin Marshall Society presents Radical Conservatism: Classical Vocabulary, New Form
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Fine Arts Building
Richard Meier: Process and Vision Open House
Reception/Social, December 31, 1969, MANA Contemporary
Transcending Pragmatism: Searching for a New Chicago, featuring Architect John Ronan
Lecture/Panel, December 31, 1969, Chicago Cultural Center
University of Chicago Campus Edges Tours
Tour, March 19, 3200, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts