Preservation Futures
Preservationists, Architect and Historian
Chicago, Illinois
Preservation Futures is a Chicago-based firm exploring the future of historic preservation through research, action, and design. Founded by Elizabeth Blasius (Historian and Preservationist) and Jonathan Solomon (Architect and Preservationist) in 2021, Preservation Futures goes beyond historic preservation’s traditional approach to saving buildings to identify and shepherd future landmarks that elevate the social and cultural history embedded in places and spaces. Their work includes preservation of public buildings and spaces; preservation of the recent past; and preservation as a tool to increase justice, equity, and resiliency in the built environment.
Elizabeth Blasius is an architectural historian and writer, and partner in the firm Preservation Futures. She has worked extensively in the public and private sectors, consulting clients in following the National Environmental Policy Actand Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Her specialization within this work is how preservation policies come into play in the recovery and mitigation of the historic built environment following an event of climate violence, or other act of destruction. Blasius writes a monthly column for MAS Context, a non-profit architecture and design platform. She has previously served as the Midwest Editor of The Architect’s Newspaper and has been published in Bloomberg CityLab, Curbed, The Chicago Tribune, and Block Club Chicago.
Jonathan Solomon, FAIA, is Professor of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago and partner in the firm Preservation Futures. His work includes award-winning adaptive reuse design, preservation consultation, and scholarship. Solomon has extensive international experience in arts leadership. He has directed schools, taught, and developed programming with institutions worldwide, including serving as founding editor of 306090 Books, curator of the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and director of the independent Chicago gallery Space p11. Solomon is a registered architect in the State of Illinois and a Member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.