The Dwell Guide to Events in Your City

Wednesday, May 7

The Chicago Architecture Foundation takes you all around town for this tour of Mies van der Rohe’s landmark buildings, including the twin skyscrapers 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive, Federal Center, IBM Building, Crown Hall, and the Farnsworth House. 9:30 a.m.; Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 S Michigan Ave.; www.architecture.org

Leon Despres has worked to preserve Chicago's landmark buildings since the 1950s. The survival of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, as well as Louis Sullivan’s Schiller and Stock Exchange buildings are only a fraction of his legacy. Tonight hear the preservationist and his biographer, Kenan Heise, speak at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, an organization Leon’s late wife, Marian, founded. 6-7 p.m.; The Chicago Architecture Foundation, John Buck Company Lecture Hall Gallery at the ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan Avenue; (312) 922-3432; www.architecture.org

Thursday, May 8

Shannon McDonald is the author of The Parking Garage: Design and Evolution of a Modern Urban Form, a book that traces the garage’s evolving form, as well as its architectural and environmental influence from the late 1890s to today. 12:15-1 p.m.; The Chicago Architecture Foundation, John Buck Company Lecture Hall Gallery at the ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan Avenue; (312) 922-3432; www.architecture.org

Friday, May 9

Design in the Age of Darwin, a new exhibit at the Block Museum, looks at evolutionism and its influence on English and American decorative arts from the late 1800s through 20th century modernist movement. (If you can’t make it today, sign up for AIA’s tour of the exhibit tomorrow from 12:15-1:15 p.m.) Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Dr.; (847) 491-4000 Evanston; www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

Saturday, May 10

The MCA kicks off a three-part exhibition series, featuring eight artists “collected in depth” by the institution. This first segment showcases drawings and film by artist William Kentridge. Through October 26. Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; (312) 280-2660; www.mcachicago.org

Last Chance: Today, the Art Institute of Chicago closes its exhibition of Edward Hopper’s paintings, followed by its display of Winslow Homer’s watercolors tomorrow. The Art Institute of Chicago,111 South Michigan Ave.; (312) 443-3600; www.artic.edu

Sunday, May 11

You can never have too much Bond. Particularly, the James Bond played by Sean Connery. From now through May 14, the Music Box screens Connery’s first four forays into international espionage: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave.; http://musicboxtheatre.com/comingsoon.html

Tuesday, May 13

Lise Anne Couture, whose New York-based firm Asymptote recently completed the HydraPier Pavilion in the Netherlands, discusses her work's fusion of art, architecture, and technical innovation. 6 p.m.; Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; (312) 280-2660; www.mcachicago.org

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