Dirk Denison Architects

Dirk Denison is an architect and an educator. He trained at The University of Michigan, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.  In 1990, Denison established his practice, Dirk Denison Architects, in Chicago. His firm’s work has been recognized both nationally and internationally through awards and publications for outstanding residential and commercial design work. He was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in May of 2005.

In addition to studying at IIT, Denison has held multiple positions there as a full-time faculty member over the last two decades. As the Director of Graduate Programs, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Supervising Campus Architect and Design Studio Professor, his teaching has focused on community-based planning, multi-family housing, and urban design. Denison led a series of joint design studios between the College of Architecture at IIT and Harvard’s Design School between 1994 and 1997, focused on public housing and issues of urban renewal.

Denison devotes a significant amount of time outside the office and classroom to the community and to the arts. He has a keen interest in contemporary performing and visual arts, and in addition to supporting art through his personal collection, he serves in various roles supporting the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and several other Chicago arts organizations. He also serves as an executive board member at the Cranbrook schools and has participated as an alumni board member at The Harvard Graduate School of Design.