MAS Context

Mas event 2025 all magnificent and wild 01

Exhibition

All Magnificent and Wild: Notes on Chicago Residential Hotels

March 14–April 11, 2026

Up Next

On Bruce Goff’s Ford House: Sidney K. Robinson Interviews Don Tosi

Mas observations 2026 in search of the ordinary 01

Essay

In Search of the Ordinary

Essay by Izzy Kornblatt

Up Next

The Totality and Paradox of Asbestos

Mas observations 2026 the totality and paradox of asbestos 06

Monthly Column

The Totality and Paradox of Asbestos

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Up Next

Vanishing Black Bars & Lounges: An Interview With L. Kasimu Harris

Mas observations 2026 reading masp as a work of urban design 06

Essay

Reading MASP as a Work of Urban Design

Essay by Judith K. De Jong

Up Next

Why Ella Briggs Captivates Us: A Female Challenger of Modernism

Mas observations 2026 why ella briggs captivates us 01

Essay

Why Ella Briggs Captivates Us: A Female Challenger of Modernism

Essay by Dörte Kuhlmann

Up Next

MAS Context launches its new book Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House

Mas shop 2026 sam and ruth van sickle ford house 01

News

MAS Context launches its new book Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House

Up Next

All Magnificent and Wild: Notes on Chicago Residential Hotels

Featured

Mas event 2025 all magnificent and wild 01

Exhibition

All Magnificent and Wild: Notes on Chicago Residential Hotels

March 14-April 11, 2026

All Magnificent and Wild: Notes on Chicago Residential Hotels is an exhibition curated by architect and theorist Francesco Marullo exploring Chicago’s residential hotels. The exhibition will be on view at the MAS Context Reading Room (1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622).

Saturday, March 14, 2026, 5–7PM
Opening reception. Free and no need to RSVP.

Mas event 2026 segregation by design and reconnecting communities 01

MAS Context Spring Talks 2026

Adam Paul Susaneck: Segregation by Design and Reconnecting Communities

Monday, March 23, 2026 at 6PM

RSVP

Lecture by architect and urban planner Adam Paul Susaneck, whose project Segregation by Design documents how highways and urban renewal have been used to divide cities, as well as highlighting solutions and advocates. The event will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room (1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622).

Mas event 2026 the difficulty of representation 02

MAS Context Spring Talks 2026

Luis Urculo: The Difficulty of Representation

Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 6PM

RSVP

Lecture by artist Luis Urculo organized by MAS Context and ART on THE MART related to the installation The Difficulty of Representation. The event will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room (1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622).

Mas event 2026 the difficulty of representation 01

Installation

The Difficulty of Representation

April 9-May 17, 2026

MAS Context and ART on THE MART co-present “The Difficulty of Representation” by artist Luis Urculo. The projection will be visible from Wacker Drive and along the Riverwalk. The platform is free and open to the public nightly.

Mas event 2026 turn the mic up 01

MAS Context Spring Talks 2026

Germane Barnes: Turn the Mic Up

Monday, April 13, 2026 at 6PM

RSVP

Lecture by Chicago-born Miami-based architect Germane Barnes, founding principal of Studio Barnes. The event will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room (1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622).

Please note that this lecture, initially scheduled for March 17, has been rescheduled to April 13.

Mas event 2026 now arriving main

MAS Context Spring Talks 2026

Now / Arriving 2026

Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 6PM

RSVP

Event featuring three Chicago-based architecture offices. The program will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room (1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622).

We are a platform that commissions and shares relevant ideas, proposals, and experiences that connect diverse disciplines and place. We want the work to respond to our current context while having a rigor and depth that makes it relevant through time and changing conditions.

Past Issues

Mas issue character cover

Issue 32

Character

Mas issue bilbao cover

Issue 30-31

Bilbao

Mas issue bold cover

Issue 29

Bold

Mas issue hidden cover

Issue 28

Hidden

Mas issue debate cover

Issue 27

Debate

MONTHLY

Mas observations 2026 the totality and paradox of asbestos 01

Monthly Column

The Totality and Paradox of Asbestos

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2026 a dark age for the renaissance center 01

Monthly Column

A Dark Age for the Renaissance Center

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2025 bruce goffs fabulous and bedazzled material worlds 01

Monthly Column

Bruce Goff’s Fabulous (and Bedazzled) Material Worlds

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2025 what happened to gerris palm tavern 01

Monthly Column

What Happened to Gerri’s Palm Tavern?

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2025 from design to destruction archiving the world trade center 01

Monthly Column

From Design to Destruction: Archiving the World Trade Center

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2025 learning from the damen silos demolition 01

Monthly Column

Learning from the Damen Silos Demolition

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2025 virgil abloh edith farnsworth and midcentury modernism 01

Monthly Column

Virgil Abloh, Edith Farnsworth, and Midcentury Modernism

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius

Mas observations 2025 stonewall inn movement and monument 04

Monthly Column

Stonewall: Movement, Monument, Myth

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius