The Chicago Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit group in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, USA, dedicated to increasing the public's understanding of architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 and design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

. It is well-known in Chicago for its public programs, most notably bus and walking tours of Chicago-area architectural sites and docent-led architecture cruises on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan..

The Chicago Architecture Foundation was founded in 1966 as the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation to save H. H. Richardson's

Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...

 Glessner House, one of Chicago's oldest residences. In 1971, it began to offer lectures and volunteer-led tours of Chicago to the public. In 1979 it was renamed the Chicago Architecture Foundation. In 2009 CAF opened a new exhibit, Chicago Model City, a scale model of the central area of the city. In addition, it provides educational material for the Chicago primary and secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 system.

ArchiCenter

The ArchiCenter is a free exhibition gallery operated by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Located at 224 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 in the Chicago Loop's

Chicago Loop

The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...

 historic Santa Fe Building

Santa Fe Building (Chicago)

The Santa Fe Building, also known as Railway Exchange Building, is a 17-story office building in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was designed by Frederick P. Dinkelberg of D. H. Burnham & Company in the...

, the ArchiCenter offers changing exhibits about Chicago's historic and new architecture, neighborhoods and built environment. Lectures, panel discussions, education programs and architecture tours are also offered.

External links

• Chicago Architecture Foundation web site
• Chicago Architecture Foundation YouTube Channel
• ArchiCenter