Book Launch—SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change

The Graham Foundation and the Chicago Architecture Biennial mark the release of SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, published in conjunction with the sixth Chicago Architecture Biennial, led by artistic director Florencia Rodriguez.

SHIFT signals the opportunity and need to change direction—an invitation to think with others and to set new grounds for the interpretation and design of our built environments. Edited by Rodriguez, Santiago Bogani, Igo Kommers Wender, and Isabella Moretti, it is an editorial experiment on dispersion, embracing multiplicity as a method and conversation as a form. Featuring contributions from biennial participants and invited contributors, it acts as a curatorial capsule that extends SHIFT into print, opening new spaces for conversation, collective speculation, and architectural imagination.
Join Florencia Rodriguez and Igo Kommers Wender in conversation with biennial participants Kelly Bair (BairBalliet), Alexander Eisenschmidt, Clare Lyster (CLUAA), and Antonio Torres (The Bittertang Farm), followed by a reception. Copies of SHIFT, co-published by the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Park Books, will be available in the Graham Foundation bookshop.
Kelly Bair, co-founder of BairBalliet, leads a Chicago and Los Angeles practice whose speculative and built work spans architecture, exhibitions, and design research.

Alexander Eisenschmidt directs Studio Offshore, an architecture and urban design practice, and leads The Housing Futures Initiative, with work spanning design, writing, and international exhibitions.

Igo Kommers Wender, an architect, editor, and cultural producer based in Chicago, is associate curator of the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Clare Lyster, founder of CLUAA, leads a research practice exploring how logistical and metabolic systems shape architecture, landscape, and infrastructure.

Florencia Rodriguez, founding principal of -NESS, leads an international cultural platform for architecture and served as Artistic Director of the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Antonio Torres, co-founder of The Bittertang Farm, leads a playful, inventive design practice based in Chicago and Bainbridge Island whose work explores speculative forms and living materials.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial convenes the world to explore innovative ideas and collectively imagine the future of design. The Biennial’s large-scale exhibitions, talks, performances, films, and other events, create opportunities to engage timely global issues through the lens of architecture and design, emphasizing creativity and community participation. Free and open to the public, the Chicago Architecture Biennial stands as North America’s largest international survey of contemporary architecture and design.