Elizabeth Blasius. Courtesy of the author.
“The work that Elizabeth has been doing over the years has made us think about Chicago and beyond in new ways and provided a much-needed perspective on the projects and decisions that are shaping our city and communities,” said Iker Gil, founder and editor in chief of MAS Context. “We have had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth in the past, whether writing pieces for MAS Context or being part of our events. As we begin this new phase of MAS Context, we think is important to establish this new position and we can’t think of a better person than Elizabeth to take on that role.”
“I am grateful to begin producing monthly pieces for MAS Context during a moment where designing, building, and preserving are scrutinized in both intent and impact,” said Elizabeth Blasius. “Like MAS Context, this work will focus on Chicago but will also reach globally, covering individual works of architecture of the past, present, and future, makers and users of these works, and the policies that create them.”
Elizabeth Blasius is a leading voice in the history and preservation of vernacular and postmodern architecture and cofounder of Preservation Futures, a Chicago-based firm using the tools of preservation to support equity and resilience in the built environment. Prior to founding Preservation Futures, Elizabeth worked in natural disaster recovery and mitigation as it relates to historic buildings, consulting in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria. Blasius has served as the Midwest editor of The Architect’s Newspaper and her writing on architecture and preservation has been featured in Curbed Chicago, Block Club Chicago, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg CityLab, and Architectural Record. She serves on the board of DOCOMOMO US/Chicago and is Adjunct Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture.
On behalf of MAS Context, welcome Elizabeth!