DuPage Children’s Museum Renovation

We did it, the reviews are in and we received a 5 star rating…There were audible gasps of joy and delight. Everyone came together and with one big push…..we were open! Thank you for the passion, the hard work and the commitment that had us looking so beautiful at 4:00 today. The Mayor was truly moved and just in awe of what were able to do in a few months.
~ Sarah Orleans, President & CEO, DuPage Children’s Museum

Architecture Is Fun

Work of significance and relevance, joy and seriousness, range and depth.
~ Robert Venturi FAIA FRIBA and Denise Scott Brown RIBA, Int. FRIBA
on the work of Architecture Is Fun.

Design makes a difference.
Architecture Is Fun listens and engages with you to develop places, spaces and experiences that are relevant for you. We like good ideas and having fun.

Playing with Laminate Design

Wilsonart X Me

Hot off the press! Sharon Exley’s touting one of Architecture Is Fun’s favorite products, Wilsonart custom laminates, in full page ads found in Contract Magazine, Design: Retail, Metropolis Magazine and Hospitality Design magazine!

Frost Art Museum

The renovated family gallery is “super chill,” designed to be worthy of a child’s curiosity and adult admiration, demonstrating everyone is hard-wired for creativity. The whiteness of the space serves as a blank slate for artistic expression and media exploration, from new-age technologies, including a Smart Table™, projector and iPads, to traditional art-making. It is an environment rich in evocative objects and commissioned art installations that inspire active learning, choices, and social engagement. Both orientation and terminus, the discovery gallery is “the place” that frames museum visits.

CODAworx Names Bonner Heritage Farm as Placemaker

CODAworx features the Bonner Heritage Farm at Lake County Forest Preserves in the latest Flipboard issue of CODAmagazine alongside the amazing Storefront for Art and Architecture Situation Room.

Happy Face Collection

Born In Brooklyn™
We’re thrilled to announce our The Happy Face Collection, part of the Born In Brooklyn Private Label. The collection is produced and sold via Fun Finders.

We see furniture and interactive elements for play and learning as objects of delight; saying to children “this is for you!”.

Peter’s Pavers

Architecture Is Fun Designs Wallpaper for Studio Printworks
Characters, color and charm. Sharon and Peter Exley have a flair for adding fun and play to every environment and product they design. Inspired by the Roberto Burle Marx mosaic sidewalks in Rio de Janeiro, Peter’s Pavers is their first wallpaper release, introduced as part of the Studio Printworks Great Contemporary Artists Collection.

Evanston Public Library: Children’s Library

Making Room for Growth
With collections exceeding capacity and unanticipated citywide increase in juvenile population, the Evanston Public Library had little room to grow. This challenging renovation reconfigured and re-envisioned the formal library, transforming it into a literary children’s garden of delights.

Roxaboxen: Building Landscapes of Learning

Alice McLerran’s story Roxaboxen, captures childhood in a way we all seem to remember. The long endless hours of play, the ability to shape your own world, and a place where imagination can take you anywhere. The evocative imagery by Barbara Cooney captures these moments exquisitely. Roxaboxen children are children everywhere.

Evanston Public Library: Teen Loft

Carving Out Room and Resource For Teens
Wow. This is the first time I’ve been in here and I love it! It’s so teenagerish. I really wish my room looked like this! You’re kidding, teens helped design this?! I didn’t know cool stuff like that went on.
~ Evanston High School Senior