CHICAGO.- A House for an Ecologist, the newest free exhibition to go on display at Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), 224 S. Michigan Avenue, opens Tuesday, March 20 and remains open through May 5, 2007.The exhibition consists of nine winning entries of a “green” design competition held in May of 2006.

While efforts to improve environmental performance often focus on the science of building, the House for an Ecologist competition focused on combining aesthetics and sustainability. The competition and exhibit strives to move beyond sustainable architecture’s technical and ethical agendas to include aesthetics as well.

The competition sought innovative environmental and aesthetic solutions for a fictitious live/work dwelling for an ecologist in residence at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, located on the grounds of the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The exhibition is co-presented with the AIA Committee on the Environment and the AIA Committee on Design.

“This exhibition illustrates that aesthetics and sustainability are not mutually exclusive,” said Lynn Osmond, Chicago Architecture Foundation President and CEO. “These innovative projects promote design excellence and environmental integrity by blending the technical and the inspirational.”

A free opening reception and panel discussion will be held Tuesday, March 20, 6:00-7:30pm at CAF. Local competition winner Florian Morozan with M3 Architectural Consultants will present his entry, followed by a panel discussion on the competition themes: “How can environmental innovation in building design contribute directly to design excellence?” and “What makes a project ecologically intelligent?” Please RSVP to lsmith@architecture.org or 312.922.3432 x224. Both the exhibition and the event are open to the public and free.