Annual Arquitectos on the Fairways Golf Fundraiser

This is our largest fundraiser of the year! The day is full of networking opportunities for everyone in the design and construction industry. Architects, product reps, contractors, community leaders, designers, and fellow nonprofits are all invited to join in a round of 18 holes and some much needed sunshine. Food, drinks, raffles, silent auctions, skills challenges, and award recognitions are all par for the course. Proceeds from the event go directly towards our scholarships and programming for the following year. Supporting the event comes in a variety of ways. You could play a full round with a 4some of your colleagues, sponsor the event via signage, food, and/or printed material packages, or come volunteer to help put the whole thing together. 

If you joined us this year, thank you! If you missed us, please be on the look out after the Holiday season next year for announcements. Regardless, see you next year!

Contact: Jose Espejo.

Ask an Arquitecto

Arquitectos is always looking for ways to help the communities that helped shape us. The Ask An Arquitecto program is a single day of free 1-on-1 advisory sessions to provide our neighbors with valuable knowledge surrounding common code violations, permitting challenges, and best practices to help them maintain and grow their home's value.

We hope to expand this program in the future in collaboration with our Community Leaders and City Officials to create a more lasting impact in the areas most vulnerable to rapid change, our black, brown, and immigrant communities. 

Contact: Cristina Gallo

AXP/ARE Program

Arquitectos will be continuing its lecture series focused on providing aspiring students with introductory lessons for passing the (6) NCARB ARE 5.0 exams as well as advice from licensed Architects in navigating the Architectural Experience Program (AXP).

We will touch upon how to select mentors and advisors, logging hours, alternative paths to licensure, good study habits and focus areas of the exams, as well as the role of NCARB in relation to you, a future licensed Architect. 

Please visit our Events page for additional information.

Contact: Ricardo Sandoval

Arqui-Talks

A series of panel discussions hosted by Arquitectos with a focus on helping members start their own practices. Join us as we discuss first hand experience of the challenges and rewards of how each of these Arquitectos learned to set their own priorities and become their own boss.  

Contact: Cristina Gallo

Chicago Architecture Biennial Committee

For Arquitectos' 2019 edition of the CAB, Chicago Zoning: Partner or Adversary, highlighted a common Chicago Story, the struggles and successes of dealing with the Chicago Zoning Code through the lens of those who are affected by it most, our neighborhoods. Too often our small business owners learn of the restrictions of the Chicago Zoning code while in the middle of construction and are subject to a variety of fees and regulation as a result. Our exhibit works to bridge that gap of misinformation with interviews with City Officials, Architects, Urban Planners, Zoning Attorneys, Small Business Owners, Nonprofits dedicated to helping small businesses, and the small business owners themselves. 

If we have neighbors in need of help, well-meaning policy makers, and designers with great ideas, what is it that's holding us back? The exhibit seeks to highlight the challenges surrounding our city’s zoning policies limiting economic growth throughout our under-developed communities.

Arquitectos is ready to hear your ideas for CAB 2023 and we are excited to be a bridge for culture and change once again.

Contact: Emmanuel Garcia.

Arquitectos Colectivos

“Arquitectos Colectivos,” is our annual symposium of firms and emerging professionals, and we invite you to come join us for this exciting event!  We are fostering this talented generation of design professionals advocating for increased inclusiveness, diversity, fellowship, equity- and above all, excellence in design. This 3-day program focuses on bridging Arquitectos Members, and firms with Architecture practitioners, and students to network and explore ideas in the built environment. With your participation, we will be able to effectively partner to deliver this symposium to the architectural community that wants to be a catalyst for change through design and representation.

The program runs for three consecutive days. The firms will be free to choose to participate in any particular slot or all of them. We strongly encourage firms to join as much of the scheduled programming as possible to foster a sense of community. The program for each day will consist of Keynote Speakers, breakout sessions, Firm Tours, CEU accredited lectures, a variety of lectures, and a closing reception on the last day.

Please consider participating by registering for the Symposium, sponsoring our production, or asking us how you can help volunteer. 

Contact: Maria Tasada

Marketing and Rebranding Committee

This includes Committee oversees everything from our website, email updates, letterhead and logo. It takes a team of people to be able to get these updates out in a timely manner and look great while we do it. In addition, we are in the middle of rebranding effort to better reflect the dynamics of our evolving organization and help us futureproof our identity. If you have any ideas or would like to offer your time or skills, please let us know.

Contact: Amparito Martinez & Anjelica Hope Perez

Rebuilding Together

Rebuilding Together is a nonprofit community revitalization organization that Arquitectos partners with every year. We plan several months in advance for a hive of activity for one day, where a deserving family gets a helping hand from the Arquitectos team. Activities range from furniture salvaging, floor patching, painting, fixture replacement, etc. It's a great way to give back to the community, network with people from all parts of the building industry, and challenge ourselves to see how much change we can make in just one day's time.

Contact: James Ortega.

Scholarship Committee

Every year we award an Undergrad and Graduate scholarship to some of the most talented and deserving Architecture students in the nation. We are honored to be able to offer these small tokens of best wishes to our future colleagues. Distribution, review, and selection of eligible recipients takes place every year and we're always looking for volunteers to help improve our process. Please let us know if you'd like to contribute. 

We thank our current partner AIA IL and all of our donors and program participants for helping us foster our future industry leaders. We hope to expand this program in the near future and hope you'll join us in making it happen. Please visit our Donations page if you'd like to make a contribution and look out for Scholarship submission announcements in the Fall and Winter.

Contact: Elizabeth Fragoso.

Student Outreach

Arquitectos makes it a priority to connect with students at every level of interest in Architecture, whether they're just curious or seasoned studio seniors. We will often host portfolio reviews, firm tours, and casual meetups to help bring up the next generation of Architects. We're always looking for volunteers for events or new student chapters to help guide. Please let us know if you're interested in participating. 

Contact: Charmaine Gutierrez.

TRIO SSS and NEIU Program

TRIO’s mission is to help motivated students earn a college degree. TRIO SSS employs early intervention and communication with students and outreach to faculty  to provide needed academic supports,  educational access and retention. In partnership with TRIO SSS and NEIU, Arquitectos has developed a class curriculum and are helping shape the next generation of Architect students through an Arquitectos-led design studio.

Contact: Samra Qasim.

We Will Chicago

We Will Chicago is a citywide planning initiative under Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot that will encourage neighborhood growth and vibrancy while addressing social and economic inequities that impair Chicago’s legacy as a global city.

Currently, the We Will Chicago pillar research teams are seeking the public's input to direct their research, and provide the basis for objectives and recommendations in the citywide plan.

Arquitectos participated in the program as a Community Partner under the Transportation and Infrastructure pillar offering public presentations of the content being set forth by the program and providing feedback from the volunteer participants in return. 

We look forward to seeing our efforts turn into actionable policies over the course of 2022-23. 

Contact: Jose Estrada.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Every year the nation celebrates Hispanic Heritage September 15 through October 15th and Arquitectos looks forward to getting the opportunity to celebrate our members and the great work they do inside and outside the office. 

Our members range from students to seasoned small firm owners, from product reps and landscape Architects to skyscraper designers and everything in between. 

Come learn a little bit more about the people that make Arquitectos happen.

If you have an idea of how to celebrate our members and all their great work, please send us a note!

Contact: Anjelica Hope Perez.