CAB SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change

The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) kicked off its grand opening on Friday, September 19, 2025, led by Artistic Director Florencia Rodriguez. There are over 400 original projects with numerous installations located in the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602) as well as select locations throughout Chicago. Other sites displaying art for the Biennial include Graham Foundation, Stony Island Arts Bank, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, among others. All exhibits are free to the public to visit and connect to the central theme, SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change. The Biennial and certain installations will close February 28, 2026.  

In wake of increasing environmental and social disasters and inequity due to climate change and pollution, the Chicago Architecture Biennial does not shy away from current challenges. Instead, they invite us to SHIFT into a new age of architecture and design. Featured artists challenge the classical take on architectural design into more sustainable and collective ways of living and building. Several exhibits strive to change a common view of architecture in static and isolating classical techniques such as heavy commercialized buildings that are not human-centric into a human and nature-focused worldview of design.

One such exhibit in the Chicago Cultural Center invites visitors to confront their current view of architecture and the environment. Titled Lugar Común, by photographer Cristóbal Palma, this series of images showcases the Latin American city as dynamic and constantly shifting. The series allows the viewer to have a fresh perspective on urban life and to interpret how cities are assembled and reassembled throughout time. 

The thought provoking series is a pertinent primer to allow visitors to reimagine and reinvent how they would like to interact with urban spaces. Contrasts of harsh structures like barbed wire against a green sidewalk-enclosed garden encourage the viewer to imagine themselves within the built environment and what they might want instead. 

Another installation in the Chicago Cultural Center physically encourages the community to interact, sit, move and be more connected to a common space. This installation is appropriately titled, Commons Reimagined: Collectivity Through Space by FORMA architecture firm. Led by Miroslava Brooks and Daniel Markiewicz, this installation pushes the “visionary playground” theme to reimagine public space as flexible and not fixed. Movable cushioned pieces allow public participation to favor the needs of individual groups and people, whereas modern architecture can be more one-size-fits-all in terms of seating, resting and individual comfort. The colorful and organically shaped rug tied with the multi-paneled visual art piece on the adjacent wall invites the participants to imagine and immerse themselves in a biophilic influenced architectural community. 

A flexible, organic and communal shift in thinking is necessary in designing for today and the future. Resilient and sustainable architecture that is centered around the community members and environment must meet everyone’s needs. Stagnant design might be less favored to a malleable design to meet the needs of the community and environment. 

Environmental-centric design tied with inviting a sense of community was displayed in a more static, but still very flexible design in another installation in the Chicago Cultural Center. The piece is titled: Forget-Me-Not Pavilion by Kwon Von Glinow architecture practice, another communal concept to extend the life of a currently standing structure north of Museum Campus on the lakefront. The current structure, a cross-laminated timber design titled the Chicago Horizon Pavilion, would have 200 flower-shaped openings cored through the roof and sealed with clear acrylic domes. There would be a new permeable cork ground as well as a cork-clad bench extended out from under the canopy. Flower-shaped lighting would shine through onto those who gather underneath.

Through the Shift theme, the Forget-Me-Not Pavilion focuses on adaptive reuse and repair, while also showcasing natural design for practical use and human enjoyment. The permeable cork ground will allow water to infiltrate the soil and decrease storm water runoff. This will replenish the soil and encourage a healthier environment for all, while the visual field of flower-patterned light boosts creativity and the human spirit as well as still provides shade to visitors. 

The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) is a thought-provoking event that is especially relevant in their theme of SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change. Although all installations mentioned in this story are from the Chicago Cultural Center located at 78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602 and open from 10 am - 5 pm Monday through Sunday, there are many other brilliant CAB installations located throughout Chicago. Be sure to check out the CAB website and visit the Chicago Architecture Biennial before it closes on February 28, 2026!