Chicago: The Latest Architecture and News

For much of the twentieth century, affordable housing in the United States was conceived as a distinct residential category, shaped by financing structures and development practices that separated housing for lower-income residents from the broader civic and commercial functions of the city. Federal housing legislation and subsequent urban renewal policies contributed to the construction of large residential developments that were frequently financed and managed independently of surrounding urban infrastructure. The consequences of this approach, including concentrated poverty, deteriorating buildings, unequal access to services, and the eventual demolition of prominent public housing projects, are extensively documented.

Today, the provision of affordable housing is closely tied to economic and regulatory mechanisms that determine feasibility, from land values and construction costs to zoning regulations and public subsidies. Programs for housing credits play a significant role in financing affordable rental housing, while competitive allocation of resources and pressure to maximize housing delivery place considerable emphasis on regulatory compliance.

+ 19

This week's architecture news covers a range of projects addressing the changing needs of cities, from the adaptation of existing sites to the development of new cultural and public spaces. As Antalya prepares to host COP31, projects in Rotterdam and Pittsburgh focus on the renovation of established cultural institutions, while developments in Copenhagen, Chicago, and Tbilisi explore new approaches to recreation, public access, and urban regeneration. Elsewhere, Foster + Partners has revealed plans for a mixed-use development in Yerevan, VG13 Architects has won the competition for a new stadium and sports district in Zagreb, and Aria Property Group has unveiled a residential and public precinct in Brisbane ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

+ 1

RAMSA (Robert A.M. Stern Architects) has unveiled the design for a new Welcome Hall at the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Griffin MSI) in Chicago, Illinois. The project involves reopening the building's historic North Portico as a year-round entrance and introducing a new glazed volume connecting the portico to the museum's exhibition spaces. The proposal is part of a master plan completed by RAMSA in 2024 that examines the use of the museum's existing exhibition and public areas.

An international cultural venue was inaugurated this week after a decade-long construction process. Snøhetta's Shanghai Grand Opera House opened to the public on October 17, 2026, on the banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China. Against a backdrop of declining cultural investment in several countries around the world, the project offers a new platform for the development of the arts. This week's coverage also included reports on classical and modern heritage, plans for international biennials and the recognition of two projects for their new approaches to architecture. On our radar this week, we feature an upcoming exhibition on Italian sculptor Costantino Nivola, updates on the 1901 Project in Chicago and a new gateway pavilion at the Goois Nature Reserve in the Netherlands.

+ 26

This week began with the United Nations' commemoration of the International Day of Peace, an invitation to ask what conditions are needed to cultivate nonviolence, social stability, and respect for human dignity. Against a backdrop of growing individual isolation, authoritarianism, and a multidimensional material crisis, we've gathered articles in which architecture mediates between conflict and coexistence through the construction of spaces for encounter and memory. Other news this week highlights a disciplinary tool that brings those two concepts together: the transformation of what we have already built to bring it up to date with our needs and aspirations, while another group of high-profile, large-scale projects opens in the Global North. On our radar, we also take a look at new projects in Dubai, Oxford, Portland and Paris, from major international firms.

+ 11

On September 16, 2026, Google announced the redevelopment of Chicago's Thompson Center as a space for work, culture, and community. The James R. Thompson Center is a postmodern architectural landmark designed by Helmut Jahn and completed in 1985. Commissioned by Illinois Governor James R. Thompson, the building reinterprets the classical state capitol by turning the traditional dome-and-public-plaza concept inside out. Occupying an entire city block in Chicago's Loop, it features a multicolored, curved glass atrium and a sloping, transparent corner entry. Controversial from day one, it has been criticized for poor climate control, high maintenance costs, and structural and leak issues. To restore it rather than demolish it, the company collaborated with Architecture Plus Information (A+I) to design a project that would integrate the building into the urban life of Chicago's Loop.

Steven Holl Architects has been selected to lead the renewal of Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago in Illinois. The project will upgrade the 111-year-old building's infrastructure, improve accessibility, and introduce new spaces for programs, events, and informal gathering while preserving its historic character. Designed by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge and completed in 1916, Ida Noyes Hall was originally conceived as a women's clubhouse and has since evolved into a broader campus gathering space. JLK Architects will serve as the historic preservation architect, with Workshop Architects leading student-life programming and operations planning.

A composition of public and private spaces discreetly distances the house from the street beneath a series of horizontal planes. By overlapping these planes, the interior space expands outward while maintaining a sense of enclosure. A massive cantilever over the porch extends three meters from its nearest structural support.

+ 16

The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago is scheduled to open to the public on June 19, 2026, coinciding with Juneteenth. Located within Jackson Park on the city's South Side, the 19.3-acre campus was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in collaboration with Interactive Design Architects, with landscape architecture by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Opening events organized by the Obama Foundation are planned between June 18 and June 21, beginning with a dedication ceremony at John Lewis Plaza, followed by the public opening of the campus and museum the following day.

+ 6

+ 19

This week's news compilation brings together current discussions around public and collective space, cultural infrastructure, and long-term urban transformation across diverse geographic contexts. From shared management models redefining public space ownership in cities such as Paris and New York, to large-scale event-driven initiatives linked to Milano Cortina 2026 and the World Urban Forum in Baku, the selected projects and initiatives highlight how governance, culture, and infrastructure intersect in contemporary practice. These themes are further developed through a mix of strategic planning processes, including international test planning efforts in Northern Lviv, and built projects spanning education, culture, and temporary architecture, from a new dental teaching facility in Blantyre, Malawi, to restored and newly opened cultural venues in the United States and Taiwan, and adaptive reuse interventions showcased at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. The international examples outline an architectural landscape shaped by reuse, public engagement, and the evolving role of design in responding to social, cultural, and institutional frameworks.

+ 15

This week's review focuses on concrete responses to shared urban challenges, including housing affordability, long-term resilience, and the role of cultural and material innovation in shaping cities. The selection spans regulatory measures affecting housing markets in European cities, high-density residential and mixed-income proposals in New York, and major renewal and planning efforts in London, Barcelona, Ulaanbaatar, and Drammen. It also highlights research-driven and built projects in Chicago, Buenos Aires, Las Vegas, and Riyadh that explore circular construction, adaptive reuse, and new models for cultural and public infrastructure. Together, these worldwide projects offer a snapshot of how architecture and urban planning are addressing immediate pressures while laying the groundwork for more resilient and inclusive urban futures across diverse geographic and cultural contexts.

+ 17

+ 15

For more than a century, residents of growing American cities reshaped their rivers to serve industrial and manufacturing needs. Waterways were straightened, deepened, paved, or buried to support shipping routes and to move materials efficiently across regions. These transformations created an urban landscape in which rivers were treated as productive infrastructure rather than as living ecological systems.

This approach left a lasting imprint. Riparian habitats disappeared, water quality declined, regional biodiversity grew vulnerable, and communities grew accustomed to river corridors dominated by steel walls and concrete channels. The industrial reshaping of rivers in places such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and the Mississippi basin created durable patterns of development that still influence how cities function today.

+ 7

+ 51

+ 30

+ 15