The sixth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial opens this weekend, marking the nonprofit organization's 10th anniversary with an ambitious exhibition featuring the work of more than 100 architects, designers, and artists from over 30 countries. Running through February 28, 2026, this year's biennial, considered the largest architecture and design exhibition in North America, presents the theme "SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change."
The event transforms Chicago into what Executive Director Jennifer Armetta describes as "a world's fair in miniature," bringing five months of creative exploration in architecture, design, public art, urban development, spoken word, and performing arts to the city. "It's a cultural event with broad appeal, open to everyone, and an invitation to experience architecture, whether you're a student, a practitioner, a visitor or someone thinking about our built environment for the first time," said Armetta, who also owns and directs the ENGAGE Projects gallery.
The Chicago Cultural Center serves as the main hub of activity, with 20 exhibition sites and approximately four dozen partners contributing to the programming. Notable venues include the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, the Graham Foundation, and the Stony Island Arts Bank. The extensive network of locations will host over 100 exhibitions, tours, films, public discussions, art displays, print and digital publications, and other public activities throughout the city and suburbs.
Artistic Director Florencia Rodriguez, a native Argentinian who has served as director and associate professor of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 2022, brings a global perspective to the biennial's mission. Rodriguez, who attended the first three editions of the biennial, said she was already envisioning the sixth edition before being approached for the artistic director role. "Being an editor, publisher and a curator, I was really aspiring to have a voice in a global exhibition such as this one," she explained.
The theme of "SHIFT" reflects Rodriguez's desire to engage with contemporary realities and respond to political, environmental, social, and technological changes affecting the built environment. "It's about generating a platform that brings different positions and different ideas and modes of practice together for a conversation," Rodriguez said. "You'll hear me talk about the biennial being conversational. I believe in dialogue and not necessarily permanent consensus."
The biennial's leadership structure itself embodies the concept of shift, with Rodriguez, Armetta, and board co-chairs Nora Daley and Sarah Herda representing the increasing role women are playing in architecture and design. This is particularly significant in a city whose architectural history has been largely dominated by male figures, from Daniel Burnham to Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan.
Organizing such a multifaceted international program presents challenges including funding constraints and travel complications. However, Armetta noted that bringing global creators to Chicago proved less problematic than initially anticipated. "For our 10th anniversary, the biennial itself is shifting," she said. "We remain committed to supporting new ideas and innovations while also deepening our engagement with Chicago's communities."
Among the notable exhibitions and events, "Water Music on the Beach" stands out as perhaps the most striking example of the biennial's interdisciplinary emphasis. The event features a Field Harp performance led by artist and educator Firat Erdim, followed by a procession to the beach in the Edgewater neighborhood. Field Harp is an ensemble that plays single-string, electric, wind-activated harps. "Part of the spirit of SHIFT is understanding that the atmosphere, air, humidity, are also part of the substance of architecture," Rodriguez explained.
The programming includes "Concéntrico: Ten Years Reflecting on the City Through Contemporary Practices," featuring Javier Peña Ibáñez, founder and director of the international architecture and design festival Concéntrico. The event will explore the festival's evolution from the Logroño International Festival of Architecture and Design in 2015 to its current status, having produced more than 150 interventions over the past decade.
"Yasmine Spiro: Cornerstone" offers visitors the opportunity to explore the relationship between land, architecture, memory, and the body through an exhibit rooted in Jamaica's landscape and built environment. The exhibition will feature a live performance on October 9 in collaboration with Jamaican choreographer Neila Ebanks, articulating the exhibition's themes through movement, sound, and sculptural form.
"The Prize is the Beginning," presented by the Chicago Architecture Center in collaboration with the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, showcases contemporary architecture recognized by the juried biennial Americas Prize and Emerge awards. The exhibition aims to stimulate greater appreciation for the diversity and dynamism of North, Central, and South American architecture.
Studio Gang's "Eyes on the Future: Evolving Hotel Design at Populus" offers visitors a virtual trip to Denver through architectural models, drawings, and material samples from the studio's recent hotel project. The exhibition demonstrates how contemporary hotels can connect more closely with their community and environment, featuring work by founding partner Jeanne Gang, an award-winning architect and MacArthur Fellow.
One of the most ambitious installations, "SHIFT: Traces," is located on the North Lawn of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Created by architectural firms Balsa Crosetto Piazzi and Giorgis Ortiz, the installation features 10,000 dry-stacked bricks that literally trace the footprint of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition buildings that once stood in that space. The installation's demonstration of mass without permanence pays tribute to the impermanence of all but two of the original World's Fair buildings.
The central exhibition, "SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change," housed at the Chicago Cultural Center, allows visitors to learn about the purpose and philosophy behind the sixth biennial through creative work from architecture and design firms worldwide. Two additional global collaborations on display include "Inhabit, Outhabit," which explores how architecture shapes modes of dwelling during times of displacement and transformation, and "The Ordinary-EXTRA," where imagination, layering, and texture combine to uncover the remarkable qualities in everyday spaces.
Armetta emphasized the biennial's accessibility and educational mission, expressing hope that "the event galvanizes our city" and that organizers "can tweak the curiosity of children who come through this exhibit so that they might become inspired." Rodriguez reinforced this inclusive vision, stating simply that "architecture is for everyone."
All biennial-sponsored events are free and open to the public, though some require registration, and certain partner events may have associated fees. The comprehensive programming reflects Chicago's continuing legacy as what Rodriguez calls "a laboratory for the future," carrying forward Daniel Burnham's famous exhortation to "make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." The sixth Chicago Architecture Biennial promises to continue this tradition of bold thinking and innovative design, bringing global perspectives to bear on the challenges and opportunities facing contemporary architecture and urban design.
