The Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF:CHICAGO 2026) will return to downtown Chicago this weekend, offering a series of documentary screenings that explore the world of architecture and design. Now in its fourth year, the festival will take place at two locations: the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E. Washington St., and the Gene Siskel Film Center at 164 N. State St., from Thursday through Sunday.
ADFF:CHICAGO is part of a larger series of events held in cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, and Mumbai. The festival is presented locally by the Chicago Architecture Center and the Siskel Film Center. This event marks the conclusion of ADFF’s 2025-26 season in Chicago, a city known for innovations like steel-frame skyscrapers and influential architectural movements.
Adam Rubin, senior director of public engagement at the Chicago Architecture Center, said, “Chicago has the best audience” for the festival. “The people who live in this city are really well-versed in design and architecture, and we really get an enthusiastic crowd every year.”
This year’s program features ten films covering various topics within architecture and design. Among them are documentaries about personal heritage reflected through design (“Identity: A Czech Graphic Design Love Story”), modernist architects Gerrit Rietveld (“Living in a Piece of Furniture: Gerrit Rietveld’s House”) and Sigurd Lewerentz (“Lewerentz Divine Darkness”), building challenges in extreme environments (“Building on the Edge,” “The Space Architect”), and urban infrastructure changes (“Changing Lanes”).
The lineup also highlights designers Fernando and Humberto Campana from Brazil. As described by an interviewee in Francesca Molteni’s film “We the Others,” they believed that “design should bring joy to people, and create happiness and connection.” Another film, Maria Mauti’s “Miralles,” focuses on Enric Miralles’ unique approach to architecture as seen in projects like Edinburgh’s Scottish Parliament Building.
Rubin noted that attendees do not need extensive knowledge about famous architects or designers to appreciate what ADFF offers. “These are all really human stories that drive a narrative that happens to be focused on buildings and design,” he said.
He added that most ticket buyers are not members of the Chicago Architecture Center: “A cool thing about this festival is that we’ve looked at the numbers over the past few years, and about three out of four people who buy a ticket are not members of the Chicago Architecture Center. That’s telling us that this is reaching an audience that’s beyond our usual core audience of people who come to our programs and take our tours.”
Among his personal recommendations from this year’s selection is “Changing Lanes,” which documents efforts to introduce bike lanes along Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. Director Ben Wolf will attend for a Q&A session after his film screens; his interviews include politicians, business owners, and musician David Byrne.
Although tickets for some events—such as opening night with Allie Rood following her film “Prickly Mountain and My Design-Build Life” as well as “Building on the Edge”—are sold out, seats remain available for most other screenings. These include appearances by Nicholas Lowry with “Identity” and Constance Adams’ story told in “The Space Architect.”
“I want everybody to feel included in a conversation about architecture,” Rubin said. “[The Architecture Center is] about making people feel empowered to think about the buildings and spaces around them. And I feel like a film festival is a really excellent way to continue that.”
More information on tickets and showtimes can be found on the Chicago Architecture Center’s website.
