September 09, 2026
Iterations: Mies’s Student Collaboration for the Chicago Convention Hall—Rediscovered Drawings from the Collection of Pao-Chi Chang
In 1953, the South Side Planning Board engaged Mies van der Rohe to develop a design for a Chicago convention hall—without compensation. Rather than enlist his office, Mies chose three Illinois Institute of Technology architecture students—Pao-Chi Chang, Henry Kanazawa, and Yujiro Miwa—to work with him for their joint thesis project.
Though unbuilt, this visionary proposal was the largest space designed by Mies, a clear span structure larger than any exposition hall at the time. The exhibit brings to light Pao-Chi Chang and Alfred Swenson’s unpublished manuscript on the project, alongside rediscovered drawings and models illuminating its conception and significance.
An opening reception will take place in the Graham Resource Center, located in the lower level of S. R. Crown Hall, on Wednesday, September, 9, 2026, beginning at 5:30 p.m. There will be light refreshments and an informal discussion.