Loop as Lab

Reshaping Downtowns

2024 — Built

Exhibition Design

LOOP AS LAB: Reshaping Downtowns is an exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center that examines the challenges and opportunities facing urban cores like Chicago’s Loop in the post-pandemic era. The exhibition creates new entry points into the people, processes, and projects that have shaped Chicago’s downtown—and offers inspiration for other cities facing similar challenges. The exhibition concept plays on the multiple meanings of “framework”: as a planning tool, street grid, and structural innovation. Organized around the curatorial themes of reside, renew, reconnect, and rewild, the exhibition features immersive case studies and architectural “follies”—interactive kiosks designed to spark dialogue and participatory exchange. Instead of a linear path, a radial supergraphic floor pattern inspired by civic plazas brings the kiosks together, inviting visitors to explore and crisscross the gallery in any sequence.

For example:
—peek into a periscope to Reconnect with the river that links the city’s north and south sides;
—step into the Thompson Center voting booth to weigh in on adaptive reuse scenarios to Renew our built environment with unique public spaces;
—sit, Reside, and linger at the civic stoop to discuss priorities for Chicago’s futures before voicing your opinion at the ballot box; and
—dive deep into scenarios for Rewilding our urban core by dissecting layers of the Wild Mile.

Exhibition Design: Could Be Design (Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison)
Graphic Design: SPAN (Bud Rodrecker, Marisa Cruz, Alex Hudson, and Alyssa Arnesen)
Curatorial Team: Eve Fineman, Ian Spula, Adam Rubin
Fabrication: Navillus Woodworks and Zak Rose
Photography: Brian Griffin