Chicago_Model_at_Chicago_Architecture_Foundation

The Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), formerly the Chicago Architecture Foundation, is a nonprofit cultural organization based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, United States, whose mission is to inspire people to discover why

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

matters. Founded in 1966, its programs include public tours and programs, most notably the docent-led architecture cruise on the Chicago River, and other tours in the Chicago area. The river cruise is ranked in the top ten tours in the U.S. by TripAdvisor users. CAC includes conference and exhibition space, including a scale model of downtown Chicago.

History

The CAC was founded in 1966 as the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation to save H. H. Richardson's

Glessner House The John J. Glessner House, operated as the Glessner House, is an architecturally important 19th-century residence located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Built during the Gilded Age, it was designed in 1885–1886 by architect He ...

, one of Chicago's oldest residences. In 1971, it began to offer lectures and volunteer-led tours of Chicago to the public. It was renamed the Chicago Architecture Foundation in 1979, and CAF later moved into the Railway Exchange Building on Michigan Avenue in 1992 with an expanded book store and program space. CAC and the ''American Architectural Foundation'' co-founded the ''Association of Architecture Organizations'' in 2005, a now international membership group that develops the programs and work of public architecture education groups. In 2009, the center opened a new exhibition, ''Chicago Model'', which includes a 3D-printed scale model of the central area of the city and is now on permanent display. Changing its name to the Chicago Architecture Center, it moved to a newly expanded space in Mies van der Rohe's One

Illinois Center Illinois Center is a mixed-use urban development in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, lying east of Michigan Avenue. It is notable in that the streets running through it have three levels. Elsewhere in Chicago, some streets have two levels, wit ...

at 111 E. Wacker Dr. on the Chicago River in August 2018.

Tours

The CAC offers approximately 85 different tours of the city. All tours are led by trained volunteer docents who go through a 14-week training course before being certified to lead CAC tours. Many tours in the

Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

include historic buildings such as the Chicago Board of Trade, the Marquette Building, the

Monadnock Building The Monadnock Building (historically the Monadnock Block; pronounced ) is a 16-story skyscraper located at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the south Loop area of Chicago. The north half of the building was designed by the firm of Burnham & Root ...

, and

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

and

John Wellborn Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated a National ...

Rookery A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), and ...

among many others. Some modern buildings that are explored include the

Sears Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

John Hancock Center The John Hancock Center is a 100- story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018. The skyscraper was designed ...

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

Chicago Federal Center The Kluczynski Federal Building is a skyscraper in the downtown Chicago Loop located at 230 South Dearborn Street. The 45-story structure was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1974 as the last portion of the new Federal Center ...

and the

Trump Tower Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...

. The CAC also offers tours of parks and public spaces such as

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center nea ...

Maggie Daley Park Maggie Daley Park is a public park in the Loop community area of Chicago operated by the Chicago Park District. It is near the Lake Michigan shoreline in northeastern Grant Park where Daley Bicentennial Plaza previously stood. Maggie Daley Pa ...

and the

Chicago Pedway The Chicago Pedway is a network of tunnels, ground-level concourses and bridges connecting skyscrapers, retail stores, hotels, and train stations throughout the central business district of Chicago, Illinois. With a length of more than 40 down ...

. During the summer months, the CAC offers tours of various neighborhoods throughout Chicago in addition to downtown tours. The CAC's most popular tour, the CAFC River Cruise aboard Chicago's First Lady Cruises has departures April–November every year. The CAC offers other tours year-round.

Open House Chicago

The CAC also hosts the largest annual architecture event in the city,

Open House Chicago Open House Chicago (OHC) is a free weekend festival held annually in Chicago that allows participants to visit dozens of buildings that are not typically open to the public. The next festival will be held on 16–17 October 2021 because 2020 was sc ...

. This free, annual event gives the public access to buildings and spaces around the city that are typically closed to the public. Held over a weekend in October, OHC attracts tens of thousands of participants from across the country and around the world.

Education

The CAC offers a robust architecture and design education program and has received several awards for their curricula and textbooks includin
Schoolyards to Skylines
th
Architecture Handbook
an
DiscoverDesign.org
In 2013, the CAC opened the

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second la ...

Design Studio, a studio space dedicated to introducing design concepts to individuals of all ages.

CAC Store

Chicago_Architecture_Foundation_Shop_Photo

The CAC Store, which offers Chicago and architecture-themed products, is located on the first floor of the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E. Wacker Dr.

History

Tours

Open House Chicago

Education

CAC Store

References

External links