Chicago Architecture Foundation Opens New 20,000 Square-Foot Chicago Architecture Center

The Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), the city’s newest must-see cultural destination and home to everything architecture in Chicago, opens to the public on Friday, August 31 at 111 East Wacker Drive steps from Michigan Avenue.

The CAC, previously known as the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), offers a launching pad for discovering the “first city of modern architecture” and a 20,000-square-foot cultural center, located above the dock for the Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady Cruises, provides a unique Chicago experience. Visitors discover world-famous tours, programs and exciting, new interactive exhibits that reveal the stories behind the city’s architectural marvels and breathtaking skyscrapers around the world.

“With the opening of the CAC, design moves to the center of Chicago’s cultural conversation. CAC’s new exhibitions share stories that illuminate and inspire.” said Lynn Osmond, CAC’s president and CEO. “Our new home enables us to offer a whole new experience. Visitors can explore huge scale models of skyscrapers and learn how and why they were designed and built. They can dive into the new, expanded Chicago Model and learn the story, told through film and projections on the model, of Chicago’s architectural legacy. The new Center is a true Chicago experience.

“The CAC’s grand opening weekend runs through Monday, September 3, and kicks off today, with Chicago Architecture Day, proclaimed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as a day to celebrate the opening and acknowledge Chicago architecture’s significant impact around the world.

“Chicago is the vanguard of architectural, art and design innovation on the national and international stage,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “The new Chicago Architecture Center provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the city’s history and share the iconic architecture and design Chicago is famous for with visitors from across the country and around the world.”

Read the full CAC press release here.

Additional Reading
Column: The Chicago Architecture Foundation has a new name and a new home. Skyscraper models are the stars of its engaging riverfront exhibition space., Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 8/29/18

Bigger and Better: The story of the Chicago Model, Jessica Cilella, Chicago Architecture Center

Chicago model time-lapse (VIDEO)

Check out the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s new digs,The city that’s a center for architecture now has a center for architecture, Lisa Bertagnoli, Crain’s, 8/24/18

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