The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB), which happens every two years at the Chicago Cultural Center on 78 E Washington Street through January 27, is what the Chicago Architecture Foundation calls a “World’s Fair of modern architecture.” Starting in 2015, this is a relatively new event in the city, and the third city in the world to hold the event along with two cities in China, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

I was curious as to why the CAB is held in two Chinese cities and Chicago. Our very own city is the birthplace of the modern skyscraper and home to buildings that show the ingenuity of architecture. This year’s Biennial is hosting over 140 architects from more than 20 counties, all showing works that fits under the theme of “make new history.” As stated on their website, the CAB hopes that the event will “invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world.”

When I think of architecture, elaborately designed buildings come to mind (the pyramid of the Louvre in Paris and Chicago’s own Frank Lloyd Wright houses), but after going to the CAB, I’ve realized that architecture is much more than that.

The Biennial houses avant-garde ideas, materials, technologies, and practices that are changing the game. It is a place where architects can discuss current issues with the public and be publicly noticed for their distinguished work, which ranged from scaled down models of building, to photographs, and to sculptures. I was surprised by how much art was hung on the walls.

As I walked around the space, I could hear a live band playing music for a private event upstairs, and I felt like I was walking into a museum full of smaller galleries. Rooms were filled with blueprints, photographs, and models of buildings. As an art lover, I really enjoyed what I was looking at, but I’m sure that an architecture buff would have appreciate the works displayed in a very different way than I did.

I was expecting this event to have a similar feel to EXPO Chicago, an art show put on by the same founders each year at Navy Pier. At EXPO, each gallery showcased has a section to show off the artists they represent. But CAB was more fluid and open, leaving more room for me to explore the space on my own and discover new architects and artists.

My favorite room was on the second floor, where the different models set up were not the typical models of buildings I had seen in the previous galleries. A model in the middle of the room was made out of different toys. In the back of the room, I found a box filled with small cacti and figures of people, and when I sat down to look inside of it, I found my reflection staring back at me. Another one of these buildings was covered in fur. The room, it turns out, also featured a collection of 24 visions of future urbanism and was called “Proposal for Collective Living II (Homage to Sir John Soane).” by Chicago artist and architect Andrew Kovac’s.

Any lover of art or architecture, or someone who just wants to learn something new, will really appreciate the event. It is a great way to explore another thing the city has to offer that many people do not know about.

I’m definitely going back — maybe I’ll see you there!