As all eyes were on Chicago last weekend, for the NBA All-Star Game, the telecast opened with an homage to the city that centered around a very ornate scale model of the city. Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Common, Buddy Guy, Chance the Rapper, Dwayne Wade, Isiah Thomas and other celebrities with a local connection hovered the city model and discussed what Chicago means to them.

You can see that video embedded below, and you can view the model, as well as the rest of the museum, in person at the Chicago Architecture Center, which happens to be running some very compelling programs, including a presentation this Monday entitled: “Current Projects: Discover Chicago’s Best Green Buildings.”

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The program will focus on Chicago’s leadership role in eco-friendly design, with libraries and academic facilities often setting the standard. Architects will discuss their newest green projects, with three speakers set to appear, including: 

Marcin Szef (who joined John Ronan Architects in 2008 and is the Associate Principal for the firm), Dan Rappel (director of sustainable design and a principal at Chicago-based architecture firm KOO) and Gabriel Wilcox (Associate Principal at Farr Associates and an award-winning architect with 14 years of experience designing high-performance sustainable buildings).

Rainwater harvesting, green roofs and eco-friendly gains through retro fit are some just of the standards and practices that will be detailed.

“We like to say here’s what’s going on in Chicago that speaks to larger trends of what’s going on across the country and around the world, said Ian Spula, Program Operations Specialist at the Chicago Architecture Center.

“These kinds of programs have a pretty strong following among our core audience.”

The program will spotlight the University of Chicago’s Keller Center which is “pretty significant,” says Spula, as “it’s among the first academic buildings to obtain the living building challenge, Pebble certification.”

The Kaplan Institute at IIT is another edifice that will be covered extensively by the program.

Many of Spula’s contributions to Architect magazine have explored topics related to sustainability; two examples are here and here.

Event FYIs

February 24, 2020 (registration link)

6:00 pm $20 public (includes CAC admission)
$15 CAC members Gand Lecture Hall, 111 E. Wacker Dr.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No,  I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation. 

You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.

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