Historic Apartments
Three recreated apartments at the heart of the National Public Housing Museum showcase the stories of diverse families who lived in the Jane Addams Homes.
BREAKTHROUGH
Housing Futures
Documentation from Operation Breakthrough and new prototypes from The Housing Futures Initiative.
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Special Exhibits Gallery, 2nd Floor
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This immersive exhibition creates an experimental living room and learning space for conversations about affordable housing futures, past and present.
BREAKTHROUGH blends historical documentation of ambitious HUD demonstration projects from the 1970s with new prototypes from The Housing Futures Initiative, led by Alexander Eisenschmidt. This work aims to challenge the social, cultural, and economic conventions of housing by rethinking the design, material, and construction of urban living.
About
BREAKTHROUGH is organized by Alexander Eisenschmidt, a designer, writer, and Professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Housing Future Initiative is led by Alexander Eisenschmidt, with Kelly Bair.
In Chicago
BREAKTHROUGH is presented as part of the sixth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Opening September 19, 2025 and on view through February 28, 2026 at locations across Chicago, SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change engages timely global issues through the lens of architecture and design.
More exhibitions
History Lessons
History Lessons offers intimate glimpses of life in public housing through everyday objects and personal memories.
Living in the Shade
Explore the role of open space—large lawns and tenant gardens, paved paths and play spaces, shady seating areas and public art—in creating more livable, healthy, and thriving communities.
Exhibition Resources
Learn more about the exhibition.