Marketing for Chicago architecture firms that want the next commission

We turn a Chicago firm's finished buildings into the evidence a developer, a jury or a city panel needs before they call.

Book a strategy callHow we film buildings

In Chicago, architecture is the civic brand. Clients arrive having toured buildings during Open House Chicago and read the AIA Chicago shortlist. We photograph and film your built work, then publish it so people and AI assistants can find it by building type. See published pricing and our cinema-grade production.

Book a strategy callHow we film buildings
Built in Chicago, since 2019Architecture photography on ArchDailyClutch review from an architecture CEOOur own cinema cameras and drones

For studios and practices across Chicago, from our team here. Facts checked 3 October 2026.

Villa at dusk with lit interiors by Aristides Dallas Architects, photographed by TERAMOK

The Chicago buildings clients are measuring you against

Five headline projects of 2026. When a developer opens your portfolio, these are the reference points in their head. Filter by stage.

  1. Obama Presidential Center

    Obama Foundation; Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects with Interactive Design Architects; landscape by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

    $850M
    Opened 19 June 2026

    A 225-foot museum tower on nearly 20 acres of Jackson Park. It proved again that a Chicago building is judged on the public realm it returns, not only on its form.

  2. Bally's Chicago permanent casino

    Bally's Chicago; interiors led by WATG

    $1.7B
    Topped out 1 May 2026; spring 2027 opening

    A 500-room hotel tower and a 3,000-seat theater on the former Tribune printing site. Hospitality clients now expect to see interiors on film before they shortlist.

  3. Chicago Fire stadium at The 78

    Chicago Fire FC, privately funded; site owned by Related Midwest

    $750M
    Broke ground 3 March 2026

    A 22,000-seat anchor for a 62-acre neighborhood that does not exist yet. Masterplans sell on visualizations, so firms need render work labeled clearly.

  4. LaSalle Street conversions

    Private developers on six projects, with City of Chicago assistance

    $900M+
    Advancing with City support

    1,765 homes in former offices, 30% of them affordable, backed by more than $315 million in approved TIF. Adaptive reuse is now a portfolio category of its own.

  5. O'Hare Global Terminal

    Chicago Department of Aviation; design team led by Studio Gang

    Part of $8.8B ORDNext
    Construction from 2029, opening 2033

    2.2 million square feet and 11 gates. Public clients will keep commissioning work at this scale for a decade, and they shortlist on documented process.

Sources, each linked from its project: Architectural Record (19 June 2026); Bally's Chicago release on PR Newswire (1 May 2026); Chicago Sun-Times (3 March 2026); Chicago YIMBY (5 September 2026); City of Chicago LaSalle Street program page (figures as of January 2026).

Four audiences that decide a Chicago firm's year

Pick an audience. Each tab shows what it checks before it trusts a firm, and what we would publish so it finds you.

Conversion developers

Office-to-residential sponsors in the Loop and beyond

Six LaSalle Street conversions totaling 1,765 units and more than $900 million are advancing with City help, as of January 2026.

What this client checks

  • Completed adaptive reuse, not only new build
  • How the firm handled existing structure and code
  • Affordable housing experience
  • Schedule and cost discipline

What to publish for them

  • Before and after pages for each reuse project
  • Short films walking the converted floors
  • Facts on every page: type, size, year, role
  • A plain explainer of the conversion process

Homeowners adding ADUs

Owners of two-flats, three-flats and single-family lots

Since April 2026, ADUs are allowed by right in every multi-unit residential district and in single-family districts in 34 wards, more than doubling eligible parcels.

What this client checks

  • A fixed design fee they can understand
  • Built coach houses or basement units nearby
  • Who handles permits
  • Reviews from other owners

What to publish for them

  • An ADU page with typical sizes and fee ranges
  • Photos of finished units, with plans
  • A ward-by-ward eligibility note
  • Ask each owner for a review once they move in

Award juries

AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards

Entries for 2026 closed 12 June; built work had to be completed between May 2021 and May 2026. Designight, the awards night, was set for 1 October 2026.

What this client checks

  • Strong photography, at every scale from XS to XL
  • A clear design narrative
  • Evidence of performance after occupancy

What to publish for them

  • A shoot scheduled before the building is furnished
  • An entry narrative drafted from the same film
  • Award results added to project pages the same week

The architecture public

Open House Chicago visitors, Biennial audiences, the press

Open House Chicago runs 17 and 18 October 2026 across 200+ sites in 30 neighborhoods. The sixth Chicago Architecture Biennial ran from September 2025 to February 2026.

What this client checks

  • Can they see your building in person
  • Is there a story worth sharing
  • Who the architect was

What to publish for them

  • A visitor page for any of your buildings on the tour
  • Social clips from the open weekend
  • Press kit with captioned images
Kirill Samarits, Founder and CEO of TERAMOK
Kirill SamaritsFounder and CEO

Shoot the building while it still looks like the drawings

I have photographed architecture for years, and the best window is short. It opens when the contractor leaves and closes when the tenants move in their furniture.

Most firms miss it, then submit awards with phone photos. We book the shoot during construction so the crew is ready the week of handover.

Aristides Dallas Architects, a Greek practice we have served since 2021, shows what follows. Steady publishing of their built work turned 8,000 followers into 20,000 and now brings 40K website visitors a year who stay four minutes on average. Good photographs earn that attention.

What clients tell us

“I was impressed by their aesthetic and knowledge of the architecture and real estate development sector.”
Chief executive, FA Architecture and PartnersRated 4.5 of 5 stars · Left in July 2025 · Read it on Clutch

Chicago architects ask us these most

Before the building is occupied. For the 2026 Design Excellence Awards, entries closed on 12 June and built work had to be finished within the previous five years, so a shoot in spring of the completion year leaves time to edit and write the narrative.

Yes, if one of your buildings is open. The 2026 edition on 17 and 18 October covers more than 200 sites. We film the weekend, publish a visitor page beforehand and turn the footage into social posts that credit the firm.

Show completed reuse in detail. Sponsors of the LaSalle Street projects want proof you can handle old structure, code and affordability terms. Before and after project pages with a short film do that better than a gallery.

They can only cite what they can read. We give every project page the same facts: building type, neighborhood, size, year and your role. Consistent facts across your site and directories make a firm easier to name.

Studio films start at $15,000 and top out at $50,000. Search work on its own begins from $3,000 monthly; social begins from $3,500. Brand identity work, if the firm is renaming or repositioning, is $25,000 to $60,000.

Sources

  1. AIA Chicago, Design Excellence Award overview, 2026
  2. AIA Chicago, Designight 2026 announcement, 29 July 2026
  3. Chicago Sun-Times, Open House Chicago returns for 2026 with 20 new sites, 9 September 2026
  4. Chicago Architecture Biennial, 2025 dates, theme and artistic director announced
  5. City of Chicago, the LaSalle Street corridor program page
  6. City of Chicago, Mayor's Office, ADU expansion ordinance takes effect, April 2026

Show us the three buildings you are proudest of

We will tell you which one to shoot first, which audience it should reach, and what the page for it should say. A call with Kirill takes thirty minutes.

Book a portfolio review

+1 (312) 838-1826 · info@teramok.us