A HOUSE FOR A QUADRILLIONAIRE

Overview

The 2026 Burnham Prize, presented by the Chicago Architectural Club in partnership with World Business Chicago, the Chicago Architecture Center, Chicago Loop Alliance, and the Loop Arts District, invites participants to reimagine State Street. Historically Chicago's "Great Street" and a hub for commerce, culture, and civic life, State Street has undergone various transformations due to suburbanization, changing retail patterns, and recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of hybrid work. This competition seeks to leverage ongoing public investment and planning initiatives to redefine the corridor's future. Participants are tasked with developing bold, future-facing proposals that reclaim State Street as an active, mixed-use corridor. The challenge encourages innovative strategies to revitalize retail, housing, office spaces, businesses, schools, culture, entertainment, and the arts, fostering a more resilient and diverse downtown. Proposals should aim to make State Street welcoming for residents, workers, families, students, and visitors, supporting both everyday use and citywide events. The competition emphasizes how design, preservation, landscape architecture, culture, and community engagement, alongside economic and policy strategies, can transform State Street from a thoroughfare into a vibrant destination. Submissions should demonstrate how sustained, year-round activity can be supported through retail revitalization, increased residential presence, adaptive reuse, evolving workplace models, and a more diverse mix of programs and businesses. Entrants may focus on urban or building scales and are encouraged to integrate physical, operational, and policy strategies to strengthen economic activity and reestablish State Street as a consistently active corridor within the Loop. Proposals will be evaluated on the clarity of identified issues and the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in addressing them through bold, future-facing visions. The competition provides base materials, including a CAD plan of the corridor and background resources, to aid participants in their designs for the State Street corridor from the Chicago River to Roosevelt Road.

What to build

Participants must develop proposals that reclaim State Street as Chicago’s Great Street, an active, mixed-use corridor in the heart of the Loop. This involves revitalizing and reimagining retail, housing, office, business, schools, culture, entertainment, and the arts. Proposals should demonstrate how design, preservation, landscape, culture, community, economic, and policy strategies can transform State Street into a vibrant destination that serves a broad range of needs and supports sustained, year-round activity.

Prizes

Key dates

• Competition Announcement and Jury IntroductionApril 22, 2026
• Workshop with Loop Arts District CaucusMay 6, 2026
• Early Registration DeadlineMay 15, 2026
• Questions Period (Email)May 1-30, 2026
• Competition Registration DeadlineJune 15, 2026
• Competition Submission DeadlineJuly 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM CT
• Jury Deliberations and Winners AnnouncedAugust 2026
• Publication/Exhibition prep of selected entriesAugust - September 2026
• Public Exhibition and Arts Fest on State StreetOctober 17, 2026

How to enter

1. Register for the competition by visiting the provided link on the Chicago Architectural Club website. Pay the applicable registration fee: $50 for early registration ($25 for students) or $75 for regular registration ($50 for students). For student rates, email a PDF copy of a valid current student ID.
2. Develop your proposal for the State Street corridor, from the Chicago River to Roosevelt Road.
3. Prepare your submission materials: a single 24-inch x 36-inch poster in portrait orientation (PDF), a written statement of no more than 500 words (TXT, DOC, or RTF), and a single-page document with team identification and contact information (TXT, DOC, or RTF). Ensure all files include your 5-digit assigned registration number.
4. Combine all three files into a single ZIP file, named with your 5-digit registration number (e.g., “12345.zip”), not exceeding 10MB.
5. Email the zipped file to competitionentries@chicagoarchitecturalclub.org with the subject line "Registration Number_12345" by July 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM CT.

Submission requirements

• A single 24-inch x 36-inch poster, in portrait orientation, including the 5-digit assigned registration number in the lower right-hand corner. Must be in PDF format. File name: "[5-digit registration number].pdf".
• A written statement of no more than 500 words explaining your ideas. Must be a .txt, .doc, or .rtf file (NOT .pdf). File name: "Statement_[5-digit registration number].doc".
• A single-page document with team identification and contact information, including Project title, names of team members, leader’s telephone number, and email address. Must be a .txt, .doc, or .rtf file (NOT .pdf). File name: "ID_[5-digit registration number].doc".
• Source information for any third-party materials incorporated in the entry, which may exceed one page if necessary, included within the ID document.
• All three files saved in a single ZIP file named with the 5-digit registration number (e.g., “12345.zip”), not exceeding 10MB.
• Email subject line for submission must read “Registration Number_[5-digit registration number]”.
• Adherence to the submission deadline of July 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM CT.

Judging criteria

• Clarity of the issues identified.
• Effectiveness of the proposal in addressing identified issues.
• Bold, future-facing visions.

Sponsors & partners

Resources

• Competition Brief and Materials
• Registration Link
• Competition Questions Email
• Chicago Architectural Club
• World Business Chicago
• Chicago Architecture Center
• Chicago Loop Alliance