Architecture Is Fun Is Firm of the Year!

Honored for their commitment to FUN and collaboration in the “deeply humanistic and courageous” projects the studio designs, Architecture Is Fun has been named the AIA Chicago Firm of the Year. Established in 1991, the award recognizes outstanding achievements in the body of work, consistent excellence, and ongoing contributions of the firm to the advancement of the architectural profession.

Furniture Objects By Architects Pop-Up #FOBA

In conjunction with the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, AIA Chicago transformed a storefront on the 3rd floor of Block37 shopping mall into a memorable temporary pop-up of Functional Objects by Architects (FOBA). Inspired by visitor-minded concepts of open storage, architecture in the form of industrial shelving, a straightforward layout, bold wall graphics, and a curated collection of 27 objects, helped transition a generic gallery into a design destination.

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

Hotel X Design Showcase

Dressing A Showcase in Stone

Materiality plays a big role in the functionality, sustainability, and aesthetic of public and private spaces for home, culture, and play. Designing a Coverings’16 Showcase was an opportunity to play with material goods, disrupt the norm, and highlight stone products to reflect a sense of place and playful spirit in a boutique hotel lobby.

Chicago Paddle Company

Boards in a Box
In its inaugural season at Kathy Osterman Beach in Chicago, the Chicago Paddle Company needed an efficient and affordable way to launch a park district-approved rental and storage station. With YOLO (You Only Live Once) branded boards and sentiment, the Paddle project highlights the adventurous paddle boarder lifestyle and builds awareness of this fast-growing watersport. Container architecture became the resilient, recycled, and recyclable seasonal solution for transforming a bleak stretch of beach into a hub of paddleboarding, family fun, and fitness.

Young At Art Museum

EVERYONE (850,000 visitors since opening) visiting YAA is incredibly amazed with the exhibitions and the Young At Art Museum experience! Thank you to Architecture Is Fun for their creative vision and artful design that assists in defining YAA!
~ Mindy Shrago, Executive Director/CEO, Young At Art

Shifting the museum paradigm, Young At Art Museum takes a sophisticated design approach to bridging the gap between an adult art museum and a children’s museum. The art museum for children features 22,000 SF of exhibit space designed by Architecture Is Fun, rich in branded environments, art installations and art-making opportunities. The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation says that Young At Art Museum is “one of South Florida’s most transformative arts initiatives”.

Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac

Engaging the Community
The Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac is a community energizer, bringing local business and community leaders together to create play and learning in a safe and healthy environment for all children. The expansion transformed a former Pick ‘n Save into a destination within the Waterfront District, now filling 22,000 SF with public spaces that engage, S.T.E.A.M. Classrooms, exhibits that cross disciplines and an outdoor space built by the community.

What’s Cooking? Building Community Through Commercial Kitchens

What’s Cooking?
#Cooking #ChefsKitchens #MicroEnterprise #communitykitchen @GEMonogram @GE_Appliances #SacredSpaces

We just returned from four days of camaraderie and cooking at the GE Monogram Experience Center (MEC) in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a trip filled full of appliance reviews and hands on testing, understanding and ending with new friends – fellow architects, kitchen designers, interior designers, and dealers, too. Sure, we’ve been treated to the “experience” so we can all learn more about their high-end of appliances, but seeing manufacturing being brought back home was truly inspiring; Made in America does have meaning. One could hardly imagine so many hands fitting together your new refrigerator as it comes to life on the factory floor.

Calvary Assembly Church

Converting a Multiplex Cinema
Having made a huge investment in converting a cinema into their new home, Calvary Assembly Church wondered if Phase One would have enough appeal and presence to make that critical first impression and function well, servicing a growing congregation.

Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo

…a project that appeals to adults while delighting children.
~ Neal David, AIA, Vice President, Lincoln Park Zoo.

Tucked right in the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo is a building containing the canopy climbing adventure. Is it awesome? It’s pretty awesome.
~ Linda Marisicano, Blogger and Parent, Babble Chicago.

Lincoln Park Zoo is also home to the Canopy Climbing Adventure, considered one of Chicago’s best indoor play spaces (and still a secret to many parents).
~ Dave Wischnowsky, Columnist, Webtimes Online.