Future Firm is a Chicago-based architecture and design research office, whose projects serve
civic changemakers through an ideas-driven approach.
Founded by Ann Lui and Craig Reschke in
2015 and joined by principal Linda Chávez Baca in 2023, the practice works across spatial
scales with a focus on arts and culture organizations, non-profits, and mission-driven
businesses.
Future Firm operates on the core belief that architecture and design is a key ingredient in the building of a more equitable and vibrant city, for everyone. To this end, our approaches are built on the idea that design is a process, not an end result, which seeks to improve outcomes through iteration, testing, and discussion. In order to tackle these urgent questions in the built environment, Future Firm’s practice is modeled after a mountain climbing team, focusing on elevating diverse points of view and interdisciplinary approaches to solve complex challenges. The firm’s practice expands upon traditional scope of architectural
practice—supporting partners in building momentum for their ideas through design, research,
and strategic thinking.
Notable projects include Revolution Workshop, the renovation of two warehouses into a workforce development headquarters; the renovation of the historic South Side Community Art Center; and Hem House, a compact single-family home designed as a replicable model for Chicago’s vacant lots. The firm’s work has been exhibited internationally at Exhibit Columbus, Storefront for Art & Architecture, Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism, New Museum’s Ideas City, and the Chicago Architecture Center. The practice has been published in Mas Context, Dwell, The Chicago Tribune, and Wallpaper. Future Firm received The Architect’s Newspaper’s 2025 Best of Practice Award, was named one of The Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices 2026, and awarded the Richard H. Driehaus Community Impact Award in 2025.
Future Firm is a registered woman- and minority-owned business.
$30m+
Public funding awarded to
client projects in 2022-26
We are fighters who help make projects happen, from pre-development to the days the doors open.
8
Projects with Landmark or
other historical status.
We honor history by building the future with technology, research, and early consultant coordination.
>50%
Projects for non-profits, civic organizations, or
small business.
We help our clients grow for the coming years through careful planning and re-source allocation.
87%
Team members identify as
women or people of color.
We bring diverse voices to the table to solve complex, multi-scalar challenges in the built environment.
“Chicago-based Future Firm puts people first.”
— The Architect’s Newspaper
HOW WE APPROACH DESIGN
Research-driven process
Everything is designed: from a door knob, to the laws that govern public space, to the financial model for a skyscraper. But design is a process, not an end result, which seeks to improve outcomes through iteration and feedback. Future Firm is invested in projects which ask questions about existing conditions and propose new approaches to old ways of thinking.
EXISTING BUILDINGS
Future Firm’s process integrates technology, connecting 3D building scans with BIM Models, research, exploring archival and oral histories of a building, and trusted consultants to create architectural transformations which honor the past while creating one-of-a-kind spaces for the future.
HOW WE COLLABORATEFuture Firm’s practice is modeled after a mountain climbing team, focusing on diverse points of view to solve complex challenges.
6
Languages spoken: Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Polish, Cantonese
M/WBE
Certified in the City of Chicago and CMS BEP (State of Illinois). Ongoing active collaborations with diverse consultant teams, across disciplines.
87%
Licensed architects, with structured support for emerging designers to pursue advancement.
X Factor
Team holds degrees in: landscape architecture, fine arts, art history, mathematics, project management & urban design.
Emerging Voices 2026
The Architectural League of New York, 2026
Best of Practice | Midwest
Future Firm
Architect’s Newspaper, 2025
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
Community Impact Award
31st Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards, 2025
Next Generation: 10 Best Emerging Midwest Architects
Wallpaper* Magazine, 2022
Architect’s Newspaper
Top 50 Architects & Designers
Architect’s Newspaper, 2023, 2024, 2025
NewCity: The Fifty People Who Shape Chicago
Architect’s Newspaper, 2022
Crain’s Chicago Business
40 Under 40
Crain’s Chicago Business, 2018
J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize
Future Firm
Exhibit Columbus, 2021
“What happens in the dark — at the witching hour, behind houses and in alleyways, in the crevices and corners of our homes — is, for Future Firm, only one of many possible routes toward the dissonant and disobedient nature of vibrant cities.”
— Azure
312-598-1567
info@future-firm.org
226 S. Wabash Ave. Ste 500
Chicago, IL 60604
© Future Firm 2025