Respected worldwide for its architectural legacy, Chicago made a move to take on the mantle of modern design earlier this year with the announcement of a new architectural biennial next October, the first of its kind in North America and a stark contrast to a similar international gathering in Venice. Yesterday, organizers released more details about the city's moment in the spotlight. Dubbed the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the theme of the 2015 edition will be "The State of the Art of Architecture," named after Stanley Tigerman's 1977 conference, and will feature an array of exhibitions and newly commissioned works, including a photo exhibition by lensman Iwan Baan exploring Chicago.

Based at the Cultural Center but encompassing other city neighborhoods, the event will feature:

·A specially commissioned photo essay exploring Chicago, taken by acclaimed Dutch photographer Iwan Baan, who received no formal training but regularly shoots new buildings for Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas

·New projects from Theaster Gates, including the ongoing transformation of a bank at 6760 S. Stony Island Avenue into a cultural center

·Various installations in Millennium Park and around the city

The event, which will release a more extensive lineup this spring, is being planned by a group of heavy-hitters, including co-directors Sarah Herda, Director of the Graham Foundation, and Joseph Grima, former curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture, and director of the Ideas City platform of the New Museum, as well as an international advisory panel including David Adjaye, Elizabeth Diller, Jeanne Gang, Frank Gehry, Stanley Tigerman, Sylvia Lavin, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Pritzker Prize Jury Chair Peter Palumbo.

— Patrick Sisson

·Chicago Architecture Biennial [Official Website]

·Previous Adventures in Architecture posts [Curbed Chicago]