Architect Talk: John Ronan

Don’t miss an evening with John Ronan, FAIA, founding principal at internationally-recognized John Ronan Architects, as he reflects on his firm’s design approach and studio culture, and vital practice in Chicago and beyond. CAC President & CEO Eleanor Gorski joins John in conversation following the lecture.

Many will know John for his firm’s widely published, award-winning Chicago projects including the Poetry Foundation, Gary Comer Youth Center, Independence Library and Apartments, Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at IIT and most recently the new Chicago Park District Headquarters in Brighton Park.

In addition to covering these projects and exploring how Chicago has informed his designs, John will show some work currently “on the boards.” As these projects suggest, John Ronan Architects works across a wide range of building types and scales. The firm has also competed in a number of international design competitions and was a finalist for the Obama Presidential Center and the UCD Future Campus project in Dublin. In 2024, the firm won an invited competition to design the Memorial for Fallen Journalists on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Ticket holders are invited to arrive early for light bites and refreshments at 5 p.m. outside the lecture hall with the program beginning at 6 p.m.