About the program
This lecture by Chicago Architecture Biennial participant Juan Du presents lessons and principles drawn from two decades of urban research and architectural projects in major urban centers of migration in Asia and posits their relationships to North American cities. Projects range from research and writing to community design and social advocacy, including community centers, transitional housing for the homeless, emergency shelters for migrant workers, and community home improvements.
Some of these projects and informed reflective questions and principles are displayed in City as Home, Juan Du’s contribution to the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biannual exhibition, showing how adaptive architecture can address social needs while fostering inclusive, resilient communities. Exhibited materials explore design across urban ecologies of natural environments, social communities, economic operations, cultural histories, and constructed infrastructures, offering a lens for thinking through architecture’s social and ecological responsibilities. The lecture and exhibition aim to explore how innovative designs—one home at a time—can address immediate community needs while fostering long-term resilience in an increasingly complex urban environment, especially the important cities of migration around the world.
A conversation, audience Q & A, and light reception will follow the lecture.
This program is made possible by the generous CAB sponsorship by Amrize, an advanced building solutions company committed to the future of the built environment, and with support from the College of Architecture at Illinois Tech.
