Chicago practice among 2026 Emerging Voices winners, expands role as designer, developer and builder
Chicago | March 2026-Chicago practice among 2026 Emerging Voices winners, expands role as designer, developer and builder
Chicago-based Future Firm is redefining the boundaries of architectural practice — not simply designing buildings, but instigating change where development has historically stalled.
The eight-person studio, led by cofounders Ann Lui and Craig Reschke, is among the 2026 Emerging Voices winners selected by The Architectural League of New York. The biennial program recognizes North American firms with distinctive design voices that extend beyond conventional architectural services.
As part of a lecture series hosted in partnership with The Architect’s Newspaper, Future Firm will present its work on March 5.
Designing for Changemakers
Founded in 2015 by Lui and Reschke, who previously worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Future Firm was conceived as an office willing to “start dancing” when others hesitate — a metaphor Lui often uses to describe the firm’s proactive ethos.
That approach has drawn arts organizations, nonprofits and mission-driven clients seeking partners capable of navigating complex social and economic constraints.
Among its recent projects is the adaptive reuse of two warehouses into a workforce development hub for Revolution Workshop, which connects unemployed Chicagoans with careers in construction and woodworking.
This summer, construction is set to begin on Future Firm’s design for the South Side Community Arts Center, an 84-year-old cornerstone of Black arts and culture.
Expanding the Architect’s Agency
Future Firm’s practice extends beyond design commissions. In neighborhoods across Chicago’s South and West Sides — communities long affected by systemic disinvestment — the firm has assumed roles traditionally held by developers and contractors.
Lui argues that development barriers in historically underinvested areas often deter conventional actors. By stepping into design-build-develop roles, Future Firm seeks to overcome financing and delivery challenges that impede equitable growth.
One such project, Hem House, was a prototype single-family residence built on Chicago’s West Side to address local housing demand. The home sold within three days to two public-school teachers, underscoring the viability of targeted, community-oriented development.
The firm recently installed a model shop within its office to expand in-house construction capabilities. Two additional design-build-develop projects — including a 10-unit housing initiative leveraging zoning flexibility on a six-unit lot — are scheduled to break ground this year.
Rethinking Professional Boundaries
Over its 11-year trajectory, Future Firm has consistently questioned the limits of architectural practice. Beyond reimagining building typologies, the firm experiments with alternative procurement strategies, collaborative project delivery models and community engagement frameworks.
“We feel that architecture has really limited its agency by saying, ‘This is the edge of what I’m going to do,’” Lui said. “To pull off the most significant projects, architects have to do more.”
For Future Firm, that expanded mandate is not peripheral to design excellence — it is central to it.
