Inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial Announces 2015 Participants

A 60-strong list of international studios has named the official participants of the first-ever Chicago Architecture Biennial – the “largest international survey of contemporary architecture in North America.” Chosen by Biennial Co-Artistic Directors Joseph Grima and Sarah Herda – who are supported by an advisory council comprising David Adjaye, Elizabeth Diller, Jeanne Gang, Frank Gehry, Sylvia Lavin, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Peter Palumbo, and Stanley Tigerman – each participating practice will convene in Chicago to discuss “The State of the Art of Architecture” and showcase their work from October 3 to January 3, 2016.

“The city of Chicago has left an indelible mark on the field of architecture, from the world’s first modern skyscraper to revolutionary urban designs,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “That’s why there’s no better host city than Chicago for this rare global event. The Chicago Architecture Biennial offers an unprecedented chance to celebrate the architectural, cultural, and design advancements that have collectively shaped our world.”

A complete list of participants, after the break.

“Our goal is to create an exhibition and public program that is meaningful to both the public and architecture professionals,” said Herda. “The Biennial is an incredible opportunity to present experimental and provocative architectural projects and ideas in a very public platform, and in a city that continues to be an inspiration to architects across the world.”

Added Grima: “During our research, we have had conversations with hundreds of architects working in radically different cultural, social, and economic conditions. The Biennial is an occasion to explore the inspiring work that a new architectural generation is producing.”

Inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial Participants:

Al Borde (Quito, Ecuador)
allzone / Rachaporn Choochuey (Bangok, Thailand)
Andreas Angelidakis (Athens, Greece)
Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation (Madrid, Spain; New York, USA)
ArandaLasch (Tuscon, USA; New York, USA)
Assemble (London, UK)
Atelier Bow-Wow (Tokyo, Japan)
Iwan Baan (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Erin Besler / Besler & Sons (Chicago, USA)
Tatiana Bilbao S.C. (Mexico City, Mexico)
Bjarke Ingels Group / BIG (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Santiago Borja (Mexico City, Mexico)
Carlos Bunga (Barcelona, Spain)
Bureau Spectacular / Jimenez Lai (Los Angeles, USA)
Csutoras & Liando (Jakarta, Indonesia; London, UK)
Design With Company (Chicago, USA)
El Equipo de Mazzanti / Giancarlo Mazzanti (Bogota, Colombia)
Frida Escobedo / Taller de Aquitectura (Mexico City, Mexico)
Didier Faustino (Paris, France)
Moon Hoon (Seoul, Korea)
Indie Architecture + Paul Preissner Architects (Denver, USA)
John Ronan Architects (Chicago, USA)
Johnston Marklee (Los Angeles, USA)
junya.ishigami+associates (Tokyo, Japan)
Kéré Architecture / Francis Kéré (Gando, Burkina Faso; Berlin, Germany)
Kuehn Malvezzi (Berlin, Germany)
Anne Lacaton & Jean-Philippe Vassal and Frederic Druot (Paris, France)
Yasmeen Lari / Heritage Foundation Pakistan (Lahore, Pakistan)
Lateral Office (Toronto, Canada)
LIST / Ido Avissar (Paris, France)
MAIO (Barcelona, Spain)
Marshall Brown Projects (Chicago, USA)
Mass Studies / Minsuk Cho (Seoul, Korea)
MOS / Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample (New York, USA)
New-Territories / Francois Roche & Camille Lacadee (New York, USA)
NLÉ / Kunlé Adeyemi (Lagos, Nigeria; Rotterdam, Netherlands)
Norman Kelley (Chicago, USA)
OFFICE / Kersten Geers David Van Severen (Brussels, Belgium)
Onishimaki + Hyakuda Architects (Tokyo, Japan)
OPEN Architecture/ Li Hu & Huang Wenjing (Beijing, China)
Lluís Ortega / Sio2arch (Chicago, USA; Barcelona, Spain)
otherothers / David Neustein & Grace Mortlock (Sydney, Australia)
Pedro&Juana (Mexico City, Mexico)
Pezo von Ellrichshaussen (Concepcion, Chile)
Plan:b Arquitectos / Felipe Mesa & Federico Mesa (Medellin, Colombia)
PORT (Chicago, USA)
Productora (Mexico City, Mexico)
RAAAF / Rietveld Architecture-Art-Affordances (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Bryony Roberts (Los Angeles, USA; Oslo, Norway)
RUA Arquitetos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Rural Urban Framework (Hong Kong)
SO-IL (New York, USA)
Sou Fujimoto Architects (Tokyo, Japan)
studio Albori (Milan, Italy)
Studio [D]Tale (Harare, Zimbabwe; Capetown, South Africa; London, UK)
Studio Gang / Jeanne Gang (Chicago, USA)
TOMA (Santiago, Chile)
UrbanLab / Sarah Dunn and Martin Felson (Chicago, USA)
VTN / Vo Trong Nghia Architects (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
WAI Architecture Think Tank (Beijing, China)
Weathers / Sean Lally (Chicago, USA)
Amanda Williams (Chicago, USA)
WORKac+ Ant Farm / Amale Andraos, Dan Wood Chip Lord, & Curtis Schreier (New York, USA)

All participants will present their architectural work as part of the Biennial exhibition, which will occupy the Chicago Cultural Center, as well as additional sites across the city: Millennium Park, City Gallery in the Historic Water Tower, 72 E. Randolph, and the Stony Island Arts Bank, the latest initiative of acclaimed Chicago social practice artist Theaster Gates.