Issues

Mas issue vigilantism concrete terror thumbnail

Concrete Terror: Race Barriers and Vigilantism in the United States

Essay by Chat Travieso
Mas issue events yes we can 06

Yes We Can

Photographer Cesar Russ documents the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States
Mas issue work farmers work 01

Farmer’s Work

Architect Kathryn Clarke Albright studies farmers markets and reveals the pleasures and demands of the farmer’s work
Mas issue events designing venues 01

Designing Venues

Iker Gil interviews Doug Garofalo
Mas issue events in good we trust 01

In Good We Trust

John Hickenlooper and Bruce Mau present the Denver Biennial of the Americas
Mas issue living in cabrini 01

Living in Cabrini

James Lockhart, a former resident of Cabrini Green, shares his memories with Iker Gil about growing up in the Chicago Public Housing.
Mas issue energy lanai networks 01

Lanai Networks

Landscape architect Marcel Wilson explains the history, challenges and opportunities that Lanai Island in Hawaii is facing
Mas issue energy prelinger archives 01

Prelinger Archives

Films from the Prelinger Archives showing the type of energy and ideals that the United States had during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s
Mas issue public despair 01

Despair

Architect Edward Emile Richardson explains the impact that the public housing laws have had in the public housing system in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
Mas issue bold logistical ecologies 01

Logistical Ecologies

Project by Hinterlands Urbanism and Landscape with MODUS Collective
Mas issue ownership where do good ideas come from 01

Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

Essay by Benjamin Brichta, the Network Architecture Lab, an experimental unit at the Columbia University GSAPP directed by Kazys Varnelis
Mas issue improbable futures expo boston 76 01

Futures: Expo Boston ‘76

Text and chronology by Michael Kubo, Chris Grimley, and Mark Pasnik
Mas issue repetition one architect three approaches 01

One Architect, Three Approaches: Bertrand Goldberg’s Early Experiments with Prefabrication, 1937-1952

Essay by Michelle Benoit
Mas issue repetition original copies 03

Original Copies: Inside China’s Imitation Binge

Text and photographs by Bianca Bosker
Mas issue surveillance in the news 01

Surveillance in the News

A selection of quotes on surveillance from the news.
Mas issue ordinary can architecture be ordinary 03

Can Architecture Be Ordinary?

Essay by Deborah Fausch
Mas issue legacy architecture and the city 01

Architecture and the City: Berlin, Tempelhof

Project by Ted Brown
Mas issue hidden archipelagos of detritus 01

Archipelagos of Detritus: The Need for a Theory on Spatial Waste

Essay by Sergio Lopez-Pineiro

Events

Mas issue public is there a future for the recent past in new orleans 08

Charles Colbert at 100

MAS Context Spring Talks 2021
Mas event 2019 tracing traces 14

Tracing / Traces: Architecture and the Archive 2019

MAS Context Fall Talks 2019
Mas event 2022 tracing traces 01

Tracing / Traces: Architecture and the Archive 2022

MAS Context Fall Talks 2022
Mas event 2019 tobias armborst 01

Tobias Armborst: The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion

MAS Context Spring Talks 2019
Mas event 2018 can we not open our eyes to our own treasures 01

Can we not open our eyes to our own treasures?

MAS Context Spring Talks 2018
Mas event 2018 couplings 01

Couplings 2018

MAS Context Spring Talks 2018
Mas event 2018 envisioning new spatial organizations 01

Envisioning New Spatial Organizations

MAS Context Spring Talks 2018
Mas event 2017 jai alai blues 01

Jai Alai Blues

MAS Context Fall Talks 2017
Mas event 2017 john szot 01

John Szot: Mass Market Alternatives

MAS Context Fall Talks 2017
Mas event 2017 mass market alternatives 01

Mass Market Alternatives

Exhibition
Mas event 2017 bilbao issue launch chicago 10

Bilbao issue launch in Chicago

MAS Context Spring Talks 2017
Mas event 2016 dingbat 01

Dingbat 2.0: The Iconic Los Angeles Apartment as Projection of a Metropolis

MAS Context Fall Talks 2016
Mas event 2016 couplings 11

Couplings 2016

MAS Context Fall Talks 2016
Mas event 2015 josep lluis sert 01

Josep Lluís Sert / A Nomadic Dream

MAS Context Spring Talks 2015
Mas event 2023 periphery 01

Periphery

Exhibition
Mas event 2023 couplings thumbnail

Couplings 2023

MAS Context Spring Talks 2023
Mas observations 2022 way beyond bigness 08

Engineering Ecosystems: The Mississippi River Watershed and its Infrastructure

MAS Context Spring Talks 2023
Mas observations 2019 liminal frontier 13

Floodplain Futures: Flood Insurance and the Economy of Climate Change

MAS Context Spring Talks 2023
Mas event 2023 tracing traces 01

Tracing / Traces: Architecture and the Archive 2023

MAS Context Fall Talks 2023
Mas event 2024 tracing traces 01

Tracing / Traces: Architecture and the Archive 2024

MAS Context Fall Talks 2024
Mas event 2024 felix candela from mexico city to chicago 01

Félix Candela from Mexico City to Chicago

MAS Context Fall Talks 2024
Mas event 2025 thus we advance harvesting our caravans dan kelleghan 01

Thus We Advance, Harvesting Our Caravans

Exhibition
Mas event 2025 aesthetic codes of interconnected populations 01

Aesthetic Codes of Interconnected Populations

MAS Context Spring Talks 2025
Mas event 2025 small adaptations 01

salazarsequeromedina: Small Adaptations

MAS Context Fall Talks 2025
Mas event 2025 common chicago 01

Common Chicago

Exhibition
Mas event 2026 exploring the archives chicago history museum 01

Exploring the Archives: Chicago History Museum

MAS Context Spring Talks 2026
Mas event 2026 the difficulty of representation art on the mart 01

The Difficulty of Representation

Installation

Observations

Mas observations 2024 1900 galveston storm cover

The 1900 Galveston Storm: United States’ First Modern Natural Disaster

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2022 from the mississippi watershed 01

From the Mississippi Watershed

Iker Gil interviews David Schalliol
Mas observations 2022 john moutoussamy at 100 01

John Moutoussamy at 100

Essay by Iker Gil
Mas observations 2021 nancy abshire lifetime award 01

2021 Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award: Nancy A. Abshire

Presentation by architect Nancy Abshire
Mas observations 2021 only girl architect only 01

Only Girl Architect Lonely

Essay by Susan King
Mas observations 2021 cooperative housing 01

Cooperative Housing as a Means More Than an End

Essay by Ethel Baraona Pohl
Mas observations writing in stone veneer 01

Writing in Stone Veneer: New Orleans Public Schools’ Past and Future

Essay and photographs by David Schalliol
Mas observations 2020 converging at architecture 01

Converging at Architecture: An Interview with Jeanne Gang

Ann Lui interviews Jeanne Gang
Mas observations 2019 jose miguel de prada poole 01

José Miguel de Prada Poole and the Perishable Architecture of Soap Bubbles

Essay by Antonio Cobo
Mas observations 2019 atlantic city 01

Atlantic City

Iker Gil interviews Brian Rose
Mas observations 2019 almost perfect 01

Almost Perfect

Iker Gil interviews Luis Mendo and Yuka Martin Mendo
Mas observations 2022 will we chicago 01

Will We, Chicago?

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2022 betty blum 01

Betty Blum (1931–2022)

Architects and colleagues remember Betty Blum
Mas observations 2023 threatened altered and demolished abrams house 01

Threatened, Altered, and Demolished: Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates’ Built Work at Risk

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2023 baxter international and corporate campus architecture baxter 01

Baxter International and Corporate Campus Architecture: Chicagoland’s Technological Architecture Under Threat

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2023 seeking zohn zara pfeifer 01

Seeking Zohn

Text by curators Mimi Zeiger and Tony Macarena (Lorena Canales and Alejandro Olávarri) as well as Alejandro Hernández Gálvez
Mas observations 2023 from resources to rubble eric allix rogers 01

From Resources to Rubble: Evaluating Chicago’s Demolition Delay Ordinance in its Twentieth Year

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2023 gertrude lempp kerbis 01

Gertrude Lempp Kerbis: A Career of Determination, Problem Solving, and Proactivity

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2023 the englewood nature trail 01

The Englewood Nature Trail: Urban Morphology and Community

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2023 the passion tax is history 01

The “Passion Tax” is History

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2023 sarasota school of architecture 01

Past, Present, and Future of the Sarasota School of Architecture

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 five bay landscapes saginaw bay 13

Five Bay Landscapes: Saginaw Bay

Essay by Sean Burkholder and Karen Lutsky
Mas observations 2024 drawing the ring of steel 01

Drawing the Ring of Steel: A Counter-Monument for Belfast

Essay and project by Kate Catterall
Mas observations 2024 the century and consumers buildings 01

The Century and Consumers Buildings: Their Complicated Saga and the Precedent They Might Set

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 sentinels iron portals of chicagoland 03

Sentinels: Iron Portals of Chicagoland

Project by Cédric Van Parys
Mas observations 2024 the japanese house inside and out nendo 01

The Japanese House Inside and Out

Essay by Naomi Pollock
Mas observations 2024 theres a place called kokomo opalescent glass 01

There’s A Place Called Kokomo (Opalescent Glass)

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 mid continent modern baker studio cover

Mid-Continent Modern

Introduction by Jeffery S. Poss with text and photographs by Phillip Kalantzis-Cope
Mas observations 2024 restoring the sears roebuck companys sunken garden 01

Restoring the Sears, Roebuck & Company’s Sunken Garden

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 a career in five projects carol ross barney glendale heights post office 01

A Career in Five Projects: Carol Ross Barney

Iker Gil interviews Carol Ross Barney
Mas observations 2024 the return of michigan central station opening 01

The Return of Michigan Central Station: Interrogating Nostalgia

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 a corten steel landmark hiding in plain sight 01b

A Cor-Ten Steel Landmark Hiding in Plain Sight

A Conversation with Jack Bowman
Mas observations 2024 as the whole world watched cover

As the Whole World Watched: Protest, Action, and Violence in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 edgar miller anti modern 01

Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern

Essay by Marin R. Sullivan
Mas observations 2024 building culture denise scott brown 05

Building Culture: An Interview with Denise Scott Brown

Julian Rose interviews Denise Scott Brown
Mas observations 2024 a history of preservation in chicago 01

A History of Preservation in Chicago

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 departures and arrivals 01

Departures and Arrivals: From the City of Malleable Concrete to the City of Steel Frame

Essay by Alexander Eisenschmidt
Mas observations 2025 material acts 01

Material Acts: Re-fusing

Interview with Laurens Bekemans, Ben Loescher, Meredith Miller, and Virginia San Fratello by the Material Acts team (Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi Gu)
Mas observations 2024 capturing the feeling of john portman 09

Capturing the Feeling of John Portman

Photo essay by Phil Donohue
Mas observations 2024 exploring the specificities of place from panama to oxford 01

Exploring the Specificities of Place, from Panama to Oxford

David Schalliol interviews Arturo Soto
Mas observations 2024 permastone and formstone modern marvels or the margarine of architecture 01

Permastone and Formstone: Modern Marvels or the Margarine of Architecture

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2024 chicago women in architecture at 50 01

Chicago Women in Architecture at 50: Seven Milestone Exhibitions that Illustrate a Rich History of Advocacy and Support

Text by Susan King
Mas observations 2025 florence scala the joan of arc of chicagos near west side 01

Florence Scala: The Joan of Arc of Chicago’s Near West Side

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 architecture across the americas centro de investigacion mar de cortes 01

Architecture Across the Americas: A Look at the Five Finalists of the 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize

A look at five finalist projects selected for the 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize
Mas observations 2025 chicagoland on wheels 01

Chicagoland on Wheels: Roller Skating from the 1880s to the Present

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 from utility to art 01

From Utility to Art: The History of 1544 North Sedgwick Street

Essay by Alison Cuddy
Mas observations 2025 the show goes on at the rogers theater 01

The Show Goes on at the Rogers Theater

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 last stop astoria queens

Last Stop: An Exploration of the Neighborhoods at the Ends of the Subway Lines in New York City

Iker Gil interviews Brian Rose
Mas observations 2025 national public housing museum 01

The National Public Housing Museum: A House Museum for the Future

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 plywood city 01

Plywood City

Text and photos by Iker Gil
Mas observations 2025 stonewall inn movement and monument 04

Stonewall: Movement, Monument, Myth

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 virgil abloh edith farnsworth and midcentury modernism 01

Virgil Abloh, Edith Farnsworth, and Midcentury Modernism

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 learning from the damen silos demolition 01

Learning from the Damen Silos Demolition

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 ishinomaki laboratory a furniture company with a deep social mission 01

Ishinomaki Laboratory: A Furniture Company with a Deep Social Mission

David Schalliol interviews Keiji Ashizawa and Tomomi Hashimoto
Mas observations 2025 from design to destruction archiving the world trade center 01

From Design to Destruction: Archiving the World Trade Center

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 sacred shift 01

Sacred Shift: Contested Heritage, Public Memory, and Sustainable Futures in Places of Ritual Reuse

Essay by Rebekah Coffman
Mas observations 2025 northerly island at 100 phil enquist

Northerly Island at 100

Collective reflection on Northerly Island as it turns 100
Mas observations 2025 what happened to gerris palm tavern 01

What Happened to Gerri’s Palm Tavern?

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2025 bruce goffs fabulous and bedazzled material worlds 01

Bruce Goff’s Fabulous (and Bedazzled) Material Worlds

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2026 why ella briggs captivates us 01

Why Ella Briggs Captivates Us: A Female Challenger of Modernism

Essay by Dörte Kuhlmann
Mas observations 2026 a dark age for the renaissance center 01

A Dark Age for the Renaissance Center

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2026 in search of the ordinary 01

In Search of the Ordinary

Essay by Izzy Kornblatt
Mas observations 2026 the totality and paradox of asbestos 01

The Totality and Paradox of Asbestos

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2026 the chicago stock exchange trading room and the economies of ornament 01

The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room and the Economies of Ornament

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2026 the fascist architecture industrial complex 01

The Fascist Architecture Industrial Complex

Text by Andrew Santa Lucia and Daniel Roche
Mas observations 2026 under the influence of lilly reich 01

Under the Influence of Lilly Reich

Monthly column by Elizabeth Blasius
Mas observations 2026 route 66 a personal reflection in todays context 01

Route 66: A Personal Reflection in Today’s Context

Text and photographs by Phil Donohue