The names are repeated by Chicagoans in reverent tones the same way other cities tick off sports heroes: Burnham, Sullivan, Wright, Van Der Rohe, Goldberg, Tigerman. Architects — whose work not only defines our town, but continually invented and reinvented the relationship between structure and people and place. Chicago is the perfect city to hold a festival showcasing work that’s being done around the world by architects who are pushing the boundaries and helping us redefine how we live and interact with our buildings, our environment and each other. Chicago’s Architecture Biennial begins this weekend, and runs for the next three months. Here to guide us through it is Zach Mortice, an architecture journalist based in Chicago who’s covered the lead up to the biennial for Architectural Record. (Flickr/Bert Kaufmann)