The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) is thrilled to celebrate its tenth anniversary, alongside the announcement of CAB 6: Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, the next iteration of the Biennial to be held in 2025, led by Florencia Rodriguez, a writer, editor, and Director at the University of Illinois Chicago's School of Architecture, who will be the Biennial's first Latina Artistic Director.
In the past decade, CAB has sustained an international forum on architecture and urbanism centered in Chicago and has continued to produce the largest exhibition of contemporary architecture in North America every two years. CAB exhibitions and public programs have engaged over 2.2 million visitors with innovative ideas in design through over 400 original projects created by architects, artists, and designers from nearly 50 countries.
As one of the most public and accessible architecture events in the world, CAB has created a powerful platform for ideas and embarks on a new decade of growth and ambitious programs.
Governor JB Pritzker states: "The Chicago Architecture Biennial is an exposition of ideas focused on the nexus of architecture and the societal issues that affect communities worldwide. Since its inception in 2015, the Biennial has both challenged and entertained local audiences and national and international visitors to our state. I have every expectation that CAB 6 will achieve those same goals and look forward to its opening in September 2025."
The sixth edition of CAB, which is free and open to the public, will open its central exhibition in the Chicago Cultural Center on September 12, 2025 and run through February 28, 2026. The historic Chicago Cultural Center, the headquarters of the City of Chicago Department of Culture and Special Events (DCASE), located in the heart of downtown Chicago within the Millennium Park Campus, serves as the Biennial's hub and the site of the main exhibition. Through partnerships across the City of Chicago and around the world, a network of organizations will create a constellation of projects, expanding the conversation and exploration of ideas around the most salient issues facing the field of architecture today.
"The Chicago Architecture Biennial is a premier platform for global dialogue on architecture and design, while playing a crucial role in Chicago's vibrant cultural landscape. The influence of our city's art is characterized by boldness, innovation, and diversity -everything the Biennial embodies. Since its inception, DCASE has partnered with and championed the Biennial and eagerly await its 2025 edition," DCASECommissioner Clinée Hedspeth added.
CAB 6 will enlist Florencia Rodriguez, Director of and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago's School of Architecture (UIC/SoArch), as Artistic Director to lead this pivotal edition of the Biennial. Titled Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, CAB 6 will form an expansive and multi-faceted exploration of the field of architecture and the built environment globally, with a special focus on the cultural forces that impact design, such as the need to rethink collective housing, material culture, ecologies and the impact that migration has on our cities. New and commissioned projects will address the most pressing issues of our time and in doing so chart a new agenda for contemporary design.
"It's a tremendous honor to lead the most important architecture exhibition in the United States," says Florencia Rodriguez. "As a cultural practice, architecture represents how we live and the futures we envision. Shift will be an opportunity to gather global experiences, ideas, and projects that create an archive of contemporary architecture to inform decision making, education, debate, and collective thinking about the world we design."
Jack Guthman, Chairman of CAB's Board of Directors, shares: "The Biennial will again be a city-wide celebration of architecture and design - a forum for dialogue about the built environment in the American city most renowned for its architectural heritage. CAB approaches that goal in collaboration with the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and in partnership with world-renowned and community based arts and cultural venues across Chicago. We greatly value these alliances and the generous support provided by the city and state and the foundations, corporations, and individual donors whose contributions sustain the CABexhibition and programs."
With exhibitions, installations, events, and a robust youth education program throughout Chicago, CAB 6 will also produce an array of virtual initiatives that will open possibilities for participation beyond the city itself. Alongside an international open call for ideas will be a podcast featuring leading voices in design from around the world and a program for international schools of architecture. With its full programming to be announced, the full scope of CAB 6 will be to encapsulate the complexity of the challenges facing the field of architecture today through a network of resources that will remain accessible long after the Biennial closes.
"In the ten short years since its inception, the Chicago Architecture Biennial has continued the legacy of our city as a cultural and architectural powerhouse," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "As North America's largest architecture and design exhibition, the Biennial provides people of all ages with a unique experience of utilizing our city as a classroom. Whether you want to understand the depth of Chicago's architectural roots or are interested in the innovative future of design across the globe, the Chicago Architecture Biennial is for you! I am proud to join the City of Chicago to support this vital civic initiative."
CAB 6 participants and program partners will be announced in early 2025.
Pictured: Florencia Rodriguez, CAB 6 Artistic Director
Image courtesy of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Photo: Noah Sheldon.
