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2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial

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Recently, we took off for Illinois to check out the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial, which brought together dozens of experimental and groundbreaking architects and designers in various parts of the city, most notably, the Chicago Cultural Center. Chicago is well-known for its architectural landmarks so it only makes sense that the exhibition takes place there. The inaugural event, named The State of the Art of Architecture, featured an impressive array of both realized and concept projects that truly show the depth of imagination and creativity that today’s world of architects and designers come with. Here’s a look at ten of the projects that really stood out.

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Just past the front doors, a Place for Gathering, by Kéré Architecture, offered a place for visitors to sit and gather during the show. The stacked wood exhibit brought a bit of nature to the ornate setting.

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Pedro&Juana created the most visually striking lounge space called Randolph that featured dozens of lamps strung on ropes and balanced by counterweights. The interactive setup let visitors pull and release the ropes to change the where the lights hung.

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RAAAF [Rietveld Architecture-Art-Affordances] brought a part of The End of Sitting, which is a furniture installation that encourages people to interact with it. All of the cut-out spaces offer people places to rest and work without actually sitting down.

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Vo Trong Nghia Architects takes a at look at social housing and presented their latest version of S House. The project aims to find durable and inexpensive solutions for the the people of the Mekong Delta area who are in need. The entire house costs approximately $4,000 and takes only about three hours to build.

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MOS Architects designed House No. 1 (Corridor House) which is made up of various modules that represent the space that’s usually devoted to the corridors in large suburban homes. The modules are also laid out in such a way that gives it a new perspective to its surrounding outdoor space.

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Casa A, from Selgascano and helloeverything, is a dwelling prototype that’s easily modified with different panels depending on the the weather conditions.

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Bureau Spectacular’s Furniture Urbanism was a massive, all-white display of abstracted objects you find in urban environments.

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Atelier Bow-Wow crafted an outdoor playground within the interior courtyard of the Chicago Cultural Center that was composed of swinging bridges, ladders, and stairs.

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Paul Preissner Architects’ Summer Vault is a lakefront kiosk that uses geometric shapes combined to construct a structure within the park for people to hang out in.

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Passage, designed by SO-IL, takes a look at the average ramp and reimagines it by transforming it into an architectural feature connecting the two sides of the building.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial is open until January 3, 2016.

CHICAGO BONUS:

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We also ventured to Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago to see LA-based architecture firm Johnston Marklee’s installation Grid Is a Grid Is a Grid Is a Grid Is a Grid, which turned the museum’s cafe into a space full of graphic black grids.

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Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.