The first Chicago Architecture Biennial opened to the public last week, and is worth a visit. The exhibition features the projects of 100 designers brought together from 30 different counties spanning six continents.

The theme of the fair is well expressed in it title, “The State of the Art of Architecture.” The projects are intellectually challenging, joyful, futuristic, humanistic, and smart. Today’s architects joined together to truly confront the modern social issues head-on.

On the minds of these artists are such current concerns as global warming, income disparity, housing shortages and more. As the show states itself, “None of these (issues) are spatial questions alone, but none can be effectively addressed without design.”

The event is sponsored by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events together with the Graham Foundation. The Foundation is a Chicago-based architectural grant-making organization.  At a cost of about $6.5 million the exhibition brings together a large collection of models, renderings, films, installations, and even some impressive doodles.

The exhibition is hosted at the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E. Washington Street, a space which perfectly references the incredible classicism of the first Chicago architectural celebration, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. The event is free to the public and is running until January 3rd, 2016.