Related Events

Lectures and Exhibitions

American Institute of Architects: The Chicago Chapter of the AIA Chicago occasionally presents lectures, some suitable for non-professionals.

Archeworks, Chicago: Archeworks is a Chicago-based design lab, educator and media outlet dedicated to using design as an agent of change in the public interest. Public forums and partnership-based education programs propose a range of socially responsible and ecologically resourceful design solutions for Chicago communities. ARCHEWORKS advances design in the public interest and inspires collaborative action to shape sustainable, equitable, and healthy communities.

Art Institute of Chicago (AIC): The encyclopedic museum includes the Department of Architecture and Design and the Architecture & Design Society, which host public lectures by  architects, architectural historians, and design curators.

Chicago Architecture Biennial: The largest architecture and design exhibition in North America is organized by a largest architecture and design exhibition in North America; non-profit organization dedicated to creating an international forum on architecture and urbanism through the production of exhibitions and public programs.

“Nuclear Thresholds” (2017) by Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects (OPA)

Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF): Dedicated to promoting Chicago as a center for architectural history and innovation, this foundation creates public programming about Chicago architecture including exhibitions, lectures, and tours of local buildings and the cityscape.

Chicago History Museum: The Museum, which includes an excellent research library for architectural and urban history, presents exhibitions and events about the history of the city.

Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts: This leading national foundation supporting the development and exchange of ideas about architecture presents lectures and exhibitions on the built environment.

IIT College of Architecture: Shaped decisively by  modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, this famous architecture school on the South Side of Chicago presents frequent conferences and lectures featuring  architects, theorists, historians.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Crown Hall at IIT, photo by Lukasz Kowalczyk

MAS Context: This architect-run Chicago nonprofit institution sponsors lectures, events, and a journal addressing issues affecting the urban context.

Society of Architectural Historians (SAH): With its national headquarters in a Chicago house designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, the Society occasionally presents lectures on aspects of the built environment and organizes an annual professional conference.

UIC School of Architecture: This second major architecture school in Chicago also features lectures by architects, theorists, and historians.