WALKING TOURS RETURN SOON

We’re delighted to reintroduce select CAC walking tours, while online programs and virtual tours continue. For the time being, walking tours remain limited to six attendees per departure, with face coverings and advance reservations required. Available tours departing February 13−28 are on sale now; look for additional departures and tour options beginning in March.

Reflections of an Architecture Critic: A Conversation with Blair Kamin
Thursday, February 25 at 6pm

During 28 years as architecture critic at the Chicago Tribune, Blair Kamin deepened civic awareness of design. This live online dialogue between Kamin and Reed Kroloff, dean of the College of Architecture at IIT, explores Kamin’s picks and pans, his evolution as a reporter and writer, Chicago’s recent design legacy and the state of architecture criticism going forward. Kamin and Kroloff will also discuss how architects and planners can help advance progress toward a more equitable city.

Vincent Scully Masterclass Series: See Like an Architect
Tuesdays at 6pm, on March 2, April 6 and May 4

Refine your eye for design with Scully Series host Reed Kroloff and esteemed architects Carol Ross Barney, Brad Lynch, Mark Sexton and Juliane Wolf. Three masterful, entertaining explorations of an architecture-informed worldview are inspired by legendary professor, critic and author Vincent Joseph Scully, Jr. (1920−2017), who made his mark through more than six decades leading lectures at Yale University. Over the course of these once-monthly programs, available à la carte or as a package, See Like an Architect examines timeless, fundamental concepts: Form and Composition on March 2; Rhythm, Texture and Pattern on April 6; and Proportion and Scale on May 4.

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER

Architect Talk: 2020 Pritzker Prize Laureates Grafton Architects
Thursday, February 18 at noon

Registration ends soon for this special online event with 2020 Pritzker Prize laureates Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Founded in 1978, their studio Grafton Architects lays claim to noteworthy projects from Lima to London and its forward-looking designs have helped cement Ireland’s reputation as a design capital. Farrell and McNamara will spotlight several civic and institutional works in addition to recounting their experiences as curators of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, in conversation with guest host and moderator Dirk Denison, FAIA, founding principal of Dirk Denison Architects.

Pugh’s own work as a Gensler architect and urban designer includes the next phase of development soon to begin at the former site of Cabrini-Green, and the mixed-use Woodlawn Station that set a playbook for community renewal since expanded by the City of Chicago’s INVEST South/West initiative.

In addition to loving Chicago, its architecture and history, some CAC docents, exhibit hosts and education guides—like Chuck Pierret, above left, and Carol Muskin—have found love with each other. In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, and in celebration of 50 years of the CAC’s docent program, we’re sharing five of those stories. Stay tuned for additional installments of “Looking Up,” contributed by our docents, in future issues of CAC@Home.

Included on Preservation Chicago’s 2017 and 2020 lists of the city’s most endangered buildings, the Chicago Union Station Power House is once again imminently threatened with demolition. Sign the petition to support a solution to save this unique Art Deco icon, designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White and completed in 1931. To learn more about the structure, read “An Industrial Legacy Worth Saving” by Iker Gil at MAS Context and register for Chicago’s Most Endangered Buildings 2021 on Wednesday, February 24 at noon, presented in partnership by Preservation Chicago and the CAC.

The CAC, a nonprofit organization with an educational mission, continues to offer online and remotely accessible programs for audiences of all ages. Your subscription to CAC@Home is free but you can dive deeper—and save—with a CAC membership. Consider becoming a member today.

Select CAC walking tour departures resume Saturday, February 13, with additional departures and tour options available beginning in March. Please note that advance reservations and face coverings are required for all CAC walking tours. Those who attend CAC walking tours departing through April may request vouchers for complimentary Center admission once exhibits reopen in May. Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruises aboard Chicago’s First Lady will resume in spring 2021 on a date to be announced. Located at 111 East Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, the Center remains temporarily closed to visitors.