It's Architecture Week! Thomas Gordon Smith, Lee Bey and Warren Berger on Thursday, Sam Guard on Saturday, plus a seven day Photo Party in Oak Park

Yes, April 12 to the 18th is national Architecture Week, so what better time to add a few more great events to the April calendar.

Seating is limited to 60 people, so it might already be sold out, but Notre Dame professor and architect Thomas Gordon Smith will be lecturing on Vocabulary, Proportion and Invention in Contemporary Classical Architecture for the Chicago-Midwest chapter of ICA-CA at the Richard Driehaus Museum this Thursday, April 15th, at
6:00 p.m., the same evening that Lee Bey will be talking about How Mayor Washington Changed the Face of the City at the Harold L. Washington Library, also at 6:00 p.m. As if that's not enough, at 5:30 the same day, there's a lecture and book-signing by Warren Berger, author of Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life, Your Business, and Maybe Even the World, at Siegel Hall at IIT, co-sponsored by the Harrington College of Design.

On Saturday, the 17th at the Manning Public Library, Mario Machnicki will lead a free workshop, The Care and Maintenance of Your Historic Masonry Home. And on Sunday, the 18th, Jack Spicer and Sam Guard will present An Architectural Walking Tour of Woodlawn Avenue, including the work of Pond and Pond and others.

The 12th through the 18th is also Architecture in Oak Park Week, with "three major architectural scavenger hunts." No, you won't be looking for Sam Zell, but you'll have your choice of a self-guided "Visitor Edition" that starts and ends at the Oak Park Visitors Center and will extend all week, and a "Seasoned Local Edition" on Saturday, the 17th. You'll be given photographs and clues and sent on your way to try to find the addresses of the buildings whose details are captured in the pics.

A third interactive event is being organized by Oak Park Education Foundation’s Architecture Adventure, geared towards families with school aged children. This event will showcase the work and projects of OPEF’s visiting architects program in District 97 schools.

There are still 42 events to come on the April architectural calendar - nearly 20 this week alone, including lectures by Edward Windhorst, Brett Steele, and Juhani Pallasmaa. Check it all out here.