Krista Simons Gliva, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, and Mordecai Scheckter, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, led a tour of the Chicago Riverwalk during ‘Concrete Culture: Chicago and Beyond, ' a symposium sponsored by UIC that focused on Chicago’s concrete legacy, contemporary design explorations and challenges, and the future of concrete-based architecture.

Click here for more information on 'Concrete Culture: Chicago and Beyond.'

Get an inside view of Ross Barney Architects’ architecture studio as we host the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Studio Visit. Experience the collaborative environment and learn how building designs are developed through collaboration. Click here to register.

The 2025 Biennial, themed "SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change," runs from September 19, 2025, to February 28, 2026, and includes both exhibitions and public events across the city. Click here to see more events.

Ross Barney Architects is proud to announce that we’re participating as a site in this year’s Open House Chicago with the Chicago Architecture Center.

This free annual architecture festival features more than 200 sites across Chicago that will open their doors the weekend of October 18–19. We look forward to welcoming visitors into the Ross Barney Architects studio again this year.

Click here for more information about Open House Chicago 2025.

Common Chicago is an exhibition that is part of the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial and will showcase twenty projects that put community at its center. The projects focus on different programmatic needs, including housing, civic, institutional, and open space. 

Created by Ross Barney Architects, Lena Reiff, and Simon Peschong, the Chicago Riverwalk is presented in a reimagined model image, celebrating this activated, civic space in the heart of Chicago.

The exhibition will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room, 1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622, with an opening reception this Friday, September 19, 5-7 pm

Join our colleagues from Chicago-based studios that have reimagined a ‘shared present and future’.  You won’t want to miss this and it’s free with no need to RSVP!  

Click here for more information.

Marking a major milestone for our design team of Skidmore Owings and Merrill with Ross Barney Architects, JGMA, and Arup, "We celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony this morning on the runway at O’Hare International Airport!" said Eric Martin, AIA, Principal, Ross Barney Architects.

Marking a major milestone for our design team of Skidmore Owings and Merrill with Ross Barney Architects, JGMA, and Arup, "We celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony this morning on the runway at O’Hare International Airport!" said Eric Martin, AIA, Principal, Ross Barney Architects.

Click here to read more about the project. 
Read the full project feature for Dezeen here. 

Don’t miss this duo of events by Architectural Record in CHICAGO at one of the nation’s most noted buildings, Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology. 

On September 9, join Architectural Record as they celebrate the Women in Architecture Awards at IIT’s Crown Hall, designed by Mies van der Rohe. The awards promote the significant contributions of women design leaders, across generations and specialties. Come and be inspired by the recipients of these prestigious awards. Click here to register.

And at the same venue on the following day, September 10, Architectural Record will host the Sustainability in Practice event. At this free seminar, attendees will learn from Jeanne Gang, Stefano Boeri and Andy Groake and Kevin Carmody as they share their approaches to sustainable design. Click here to register for the free event.

Join AIA Chicago’s Design Knowledge Community and Young Architects Forum Affinity Group on Thursday, June 26, to tour three award-winning architecture firms in the heart of Chicago’s River North neighborhood.

The tour begins at the Ross Barney Architects studio, and afterward heading to JGMA and Krueck Sexton Partners. Each firm will open their doors for a rare opportunity to see the inner workings of their projects and studio environment. Following the tour, there will be a social hour at the Green Door Tavern.

Click here to register for the event.

The opening weekend of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale drew thousands of visitors eager to explore a variety of innovative architectural approaches and to engage with the global community of architects, students, and enthusiasts.

During the event, five recipients of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal—Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Deborah Berke, FAIA (TenBerke), Angela Brooks, FAIA, Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA (Brooks + Scarpa Architects), and Marlon Blackwell, FAIA (Marlon Blackwell Architects)—celebrated the U.S. Pavilion exhibition titled “PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity” with an on-the-porch dialogue on design.

We had an amazing time playing and connecting with our fellow colleagues at AIA Chicago Guess A Sketch 2025! The buildings and sketches were tough, but all teams brought creative flair with their team outfits, from train conductors to full denim ensembles, and our own "8 Shades of Grey" (mixed with a set of drawing pencils).  We’re ready for next year!

Renowned architect Carol Ross Barney reveals how cities, while being humanity's greatest achievement, are also one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Click here to watch her talk.

Through compelling examples from Chicago's transformation, she demonstrates how urban spaces can be reimagined for radical sustainability. She challenges us to take responsibility for our urban futures, proving that sustainable cities aren't just possible—they're essential for human survival. Her vision redefines urban spaces as solutions to our climate crisis.

Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, has joined the judging panel for the 2025 Dezeen Awards. The Awards in partnership with Bentley, seeks the best architects and designers from around the world, recognizing the individuals and studios producing the most outstanding work across architecture, interior and design.

Click here to read more about the 2025 Dezeen Awards and judges panel.

During a sold-out event at the Chicago Architecture Center's Architect Talk and Book Signing, Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Founder and Design Principal of Ross Barney Architects, addressed a question from Reed Kroloff, Dean and Rowe Family College of Architecture Endowed Chair at IIT College of Architecture:

Carol shared an insight on the often idealized view of architectural projects, stating, “There is a misconception that great projects happen harmoniously with deliriously happy clients and designers… that’s a myth. Tension and compromise are essential parts of the creative process.”