Lee Bey: Southern Exposure

On January 27 the College of Architecture will host acclaimed architecture photographer, writer, historian, and critic Lee Bey, who will present his book Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side, a detailed documentation of 60 brilliant architectural works on Chicago’s South Side unfairly ignored in architecture dialogue.

“The South Side has the best architecture and open spaces in Chicago outside of downtown,” says Bey. “You can see the work of Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, SOM, Olmsted and Vaux, John Moutoussamy, Alfred Caldwell, and also current day architects such as Jeanne Gang. And if and when the Obama Presidential Center is built, we’ll see landscape designed by architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.”

The book is based on Bey’s exhibit for the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial and features photographs and essays by Bey. His aim for the project is to reveal the stunning and diverse buildings of the South Side to Chicagoans and architecture aficionados not in the know, while shedding a light on the culture of an area of Chicago that too many associate with disinvestment, poverty, and crime.

Bey will be joined by WBEZ Chicago’s South Side Reporter and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Natalie Moore, who reports on inequality and segregation, and wrote extensively on the topics in her book The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation. The evening will center on a discussion between Bey and Moore as they talk about the overlooked architectural gems of the South Side and why they’ve been kept from entering the public discourse of great Chicago architecture. A book signing will follow.

The event, sponsored by Illinois Tech's Office of Community Affairs, is free, though individuals who would like to attend are required to register.

Register Here