The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) has recently announced plans to build the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC). The 20,000-sf building will showcase Chicago’s architectural legacy and how it has helped to shape cities around the world.
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) will design the facility set for construction at 111 East Wacker Drive. The modern building will be located on the Chicago River, just above the dock for the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise.
Visitors will enter the CAC and be greeted at a tour orientation center on the ground level. They will then be taken on an expert, docent-led tour or move on to view exhibition spaces designed by Local Projects, an exhibition and media design studio.
“We want the CAC’s exhibitions to actively engage audiences and encourage them to keep digging into the many stories and insights we have to share about architecture,” said Local Projects founder Jake Barton in a release.
Courtesy of CAF.
The CAC will comprise almost 10,000-sf of exhibition space that will house an expanded, interactive and digitally enhanced Chicago City Model Experience that will tell the story of Chicago. A City of Neighborhoods Gallery will focus on the varied stories of Chicago’s neighborhoods. Chicago is often considered the birthplace of the skyscraper, as such, the history of Chicago’s skyscrapers will be on full display in a permanent Tall Buildings and Innovation exhibit. This exhibit, located in a 26-foot, double-height exhibition space dubbed the Skyscrape Gallery, will tell the stories of famous skyscrapers in Chicago and around the world. The exhibits will include 3D, scale models, including the world’s largest 3D Chicago model as part of the Chicago City Model Experience. There will also be rotating temporary exhibits on display throughout the year.
In addition to the exhibition space, the CAC will include a lecture hall, a hands-on design studio, new retail space for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s shop, and office space for the 70 CAF employees stationed in the new building. The design studio will host programs and classes for children and adults. Programs will include expanded scholarship-based summer camps for middle school students, a STEM-based program for girls, and free family festivals.
CAF is currently in the silent phase of a campaign to raise $10 million to establish the center and to expand education and public programs. The CAC is scheduled to open in summer 2018.
Related Stories
Museums | Apr 23, 2015
Moshe Safdie unveils pentagonal scheme for National Medal of Honor Museum
The new museum near Charleston, S.C., will archive the history of the nation's highest military honorees.
Museums | Apr 22, 2015
Check out Ralph Johnson's stunning nature-inspired Shanghai museum
The newly opened Shanghai Natural History Museum, designed by Perkins+Will’s Global Design Director Ralph Johnson, mimics the shape of a nautilus shell, and features natural elements throughout.
Museums | Apr 16, 2015
SANAA and Snøhetta tie at first place for Budapest museum bid
The two firms submitted designs for the New National Gallery and Ludwig Museum, one of five planned museums to be constructed in a park just outside the urban center of Hungary’s capital.
Sponsored | Fire-Rated Products | Apr 14, 2015
Fire resistive curtain wall brings maximum light, views and safety to Aspen Art Museum
The curtain wall used for the Shigeru Ban-designed museum provides maximum daylight while protecting the art from fire
Museums | Apr 10, 2015
Henning Larsen Architects designs timber museum extension in Sweden
The new extension will complement Österund’s wooded surroundings
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
14 projects that push AEC teaming to the limits
From Lean construction to tri-party IPD to advanced BIM/VDC coordination, these 14 Building Teams demonstrate the power of collaboration in delivering award-winning buildings. These are the 2015 Building Team Award winners.
Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015
9/11 museum triumphs over controversy
The Building Team for this highly visible project had much more than design, engineering, and construction problems to deal with.
High-rise Construction | Mar 16, 2015
Mexican Museum tower caught in turmoil to break ground this summer in San Francisco
Millennium Partners said it will break ground on the 53-story residential and museum tower while the lawsuits go through the appeals process.
Museums | Mar 9, 2015
Architecture based on astronomy principles for new planetarium in Shanghai
The ancient Chinese civilization left some of the earliest records of humans studying the stars and skies. To exhibit this long history, a new planetarium and astronomy museum is planned for construction in Shanghai.
Museums | Mar 5, 2015
A giant, silver loop in Dubai will house the Museum of the Future
The Sheikh of Dubai hopes the $136 million museum will serve as an incubator for ideas and real designs—a global destination for inventors and entrepreneurs.