Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021 Announces Contributors for its Fourth Edition: The Available City

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on April 30, 2021

The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) has announced the list of contributors for its 2021 edition The Available City, selected by Artistic Director David Brown. Bringing design perspectives from around the world, the list of 29 contributors includes the global perception of cities such as Cape Town, Caracas, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dublin, Paris, Basel, and Tokyo.

Scheduled to open on September 17, 2021, the Chicago Architecture Biennial will put together “global design innovators with Chicago community groups to explore forms of shared, collective space and inspire new and imaginative uses of vacant spaces in the city”. In fact, this fourth edition will imagine new and exciting possibilities for activating spaces throughout the city, expanding access to architecture and design, and engaging new voices.

The 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial contributors are a diverse and creative group who will do just that by bringing new approaches from other global cities and working alongside our residents on our historic South and West Sides to create thriving collective spaces for our communities to enjoy. – Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.

Installations, activations, exhibits, projects, and programs will be shared with the public across Chicago in neighborhoods such as North Lawndale, Woodlawn, Bronzeville, Pilsen, South Loop, the Loop, and Edgewater, and on digital platforms. Moreover, the teams will get to collaborate with Chicago community groups in a handson, community-driven design process that will activate latent spaces including community gardens, decommissioned schools, and storefronts in addition to vacant lots.

The Available City results from a long interest in the landscape of vacant spaces that are so prevalent in many cities across the US, and beyond. The 2021 edition asks us to imagine the transformative possibilities of collective spaces within those vacant spaces through a process of exchange and collaboration between designers and local residents. I look forward to the conversations introduced by the 2021 contributors given their global perspectives and connections. -- Artistic Director David Brown.