What is ACTUAL REPRESENTATION?
ACTUAL REPRESENTATION is a methodology which embraces more than the "FACTUAL" conditions of literal sites, programs or materials. 
ACTUAL REPRESENTATION creates a new field condition for the users experience which is constructed via wondrous storylines and imagery.
Our projects fit under the umbrella of ACTUAL REPRESENTATION, which directly affect people's perception of space through dream-like visions of architecture.

WE HAVE NO CLIENTS.
All of Chicago Underground Practice’s work is self initiated. This gives us the freedom that most architects lose over the course of their careers.
Chicago Underground Practice does not design architecture to be built.
​Our designs are fantastical in nature and are meant to push the boundaries of what architecture could be. Chicago Underground Practice's representations are not standard architectural drawings (plans, sections, elevations) which are required for construction but unique depictions of unforeseen environments, reminiscent of work seen by graphic designers and illustrators, etc.

Chicago Underground Practice starts each design by writing a text for the project. By writing our text first, we allow for research to guide our ideas in a verbal manner before it develops into a graphic one. In contrast, most architects start with simple sketches of what will later become the architectural building, only later writing out the architect's intentions with the benefit of hindsight. Although a deep-dive into the stories and history behind a project comes before form, once the design process starts, both narrative elements and design considerations equally affect the final product.
In our Design a Story entry, the narrative seems abstract, and it's unclear whether it's a chronology of events or all happening simultaneously. This written structure was inspired by one of our greatest heroes, architect John Hejduk, and his book Mask of Medusa.