Could Be Architecture

Could Be Architecture Could Be is the award-winning design practice of Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison. We work at all scales of the designed and built environment.

Could Be Architecture is the design practice of Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison that takes pleasure in projecting what the world could be. We believe that architecture enacts its greatest potential when it builds audiences that didn't previously exist; when it communicates a story, resonates with people's emotions, and instigates enthusiasm around the activities and aesthetics that it stages. W

e're invested in architecture that might be playfully sincere and seriously funny. We enjoy eyeing the everyday, drawing details, and strategizing scenarios. We're interested in borrowing familiar forms from our surroundings to unlock their latent potentials, and in coupling forms and graphics to propel performance and conjure meaning. Fueled by a collaborative adventure with clients, consultants and colleagues, our designs deliver objects and spaces of desire, both built and speculative, endowed with dreamy but calculated optimism. By positioning architecture as an active character in the world, we envision a future full of surprise, wonder, and delight.

Happy 2026 from Could Be! Here’s peek at last year’s highlights:—Designing ‘Little Second City’, an interactive play spa...
01/01/2026

Happy 2026 from Could Be! Here’s peek at last year’s highlights:

—Designing ‘Little Second City’, an interactive play space for and . 📸
—Visioning urban design frameworks for public art and public spaces in Bloomington, Indiana . With and .
—Curating the 2024–25 cycle of ‘YES AND,’ featuring 12 public installations from August–November. With curatorial partners .i.am and Mila Lipinski. 📸
— Welcoming over 1,000 visitors to the 4th edition of the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival in October, with , , , and .
—Contributing scholarly drawings and showcasing students’ work at the ‘Time Space Existence’ exhibition () at the .architecture.biennale.
—Contributing our Festival Cartography drawing to the ‘Common Chicago’ exhibition, part of the —on view at the Reading Room until Jan 31, 2026! 📸 Dan Kelleghan.
—Repping at the ‘Everything Chicago’ symposium.
—Designing ’s new taproom in Urbana, IL.
—Giving public lectures at UC Denver (), University of Nebraska (), and College of DuPage (). Repping on the road!
—Winning the 2025 Global Design Award for the ‘Carousel for Companionship’!
—Debuting a short film, ‘GATEWAYS’, co-produced with Myles Emmons, streaming on YouTube (link in bio!).
—Collaborating with ’ Don Patton to develop early concepts of a future commemorative park in Cairo, IL, and supporting Don’s team, , and to help launch the first phase of the Cairo African American Heritage Trail.

Thank you to all our community partners, visionary clients, and creative collaborators! Deep gratitude to our super talented project team members , , .lida! Looking forward to future world-mending and worldmaking in 2026!

We’re excited to share photographs of Cloud Mountain Kombucha’s new taproom, a locally minded brewery in Urbana, Illinoi...
12/04/2025

We’re excited to share photographs of Cloud Mountain Kombucha’s new taproom, a locally minded brewery in Urbana, Illinois, serving up the many flavors of the Midwest. Our design centers on flexible furnishings, bold graphics, and vibrant colors—an identity as funky and refreshing as the kombucha itself. A built-in communal table folds into the more traditional bar, creating an open zone for conversation and conviviality. Overhead, a felt canopy sweeps through the space as a single curving gesture, guiding visitors from the entry toward the bar. Be sure to sample Cloud Mountain’s impeccable Spirulina & Spearmint kombucha—the beverage’s brilliant teal hue echoes the taproom’s graphics.

Design team: Joseph Altshuler, Zack Morrison
Client:
📸 Photographs:

This past weekend, The Society for Experiential Graphic Design () recognized Carousel for Companionship, our social infr...
11/17/2025

This past weekend, The Society for Experiential Graphic Design () recognized Carousel for Companionship, our social infrastructure design and supergraphic landscape in Columbus, Indiana, with a 2025 SEGD Global Design Award (https://segd.org/projects/carousel-for-companionship/) in the Public Installation category. Since 1987, the SEGD Global Design Awards have set the standard of excellence for experiential design, honoring work that connects people to place. Honor awards recognize exemplary distinction in completed experience design projects. Juror 1 noted, “It’s joyful, generous, and full of heart—turning a vacant space into a vibrant gathering place that invites connection, play, and shared experience. It’s a beautiful reminder of what design can do with very little.” Juror 2 reflected, “Bold and eye-catching, this public installation is a seemingly simple mix of graphics and community building interactives that packs a big punch.” We’re happy also happy to share that the Carousel was acquired by the City of Columbus’s Department of Parks and Recreation () and is spinning again and open the public at NexusPark (). Stay tuned for grand re-opening event in 2026.

Many thanks to for your ongoing partnership! Cheers to the original commissioners .columbus and , with design research support from and . Deep gratitude to muralist partners and . Hats off to fabricators for the initial build and for the reinstallation and tune-up. Photo by .

Design team: Joseph Altshuler, Zack Morrison, and Amir Zarei ().
More info
: https://segd.org/projects/carousel-for-companionship/

Join us TODAY (Oct 5 from 1-5pm) for the Opening Celebration of the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival’s 4th edition! Explor...
10/05/2025

Join us TODAY (Oct 5 from 1-5pm) for the Opening Celebration of the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival’s 4th edition! Explore the five new sukkahs for the first time and enjoy an afternoon of free, family-friendly intercultural programming:

1:00-3:00pm :: Art-making Workshop - Co-creating sanctuary and hospitality: rooted in the spirit and teachings of Sukkot, join the for collaborative art-making designed for people of all ages.
2:00-3:00 :: Afro-futurist Dance Workshop - a participatory, communal experience led by Ytasha Womack (), a critically acclaimed author, filmmaker, dancer, and champion of the imagination. Beats and grooves by
3:00-5:00 :: Make-Your-Own-Lulav Workshop - join artists and for an interactive, sensory lulav building experience where you will use local plants provided by to create an (un)traditional lulav.
3:00-4:00 :: Capoeira workshop featuring Lotta Yanong on . This workshop introduces participants to the Afro-Brazilian martial art which has played a central role in resistance to oppression.
4:00-5:00 :: Chicago Klezmer Ensemble performance and communal dancing featuring famed clarinetist Kurt Bjorling.

Design/Build Contributors: , , , , , .mees, .m97, .works, .o, ,
Community Organization Participants: , .lawndale.arts.activism, , , , Stone Temple Baptist Church

Artistic Director:
Venue Director:
Community Design Director:
Public Programming Co-Directors:
Festival Lot Stewards: .fitzpatrick
Fiscal Agent:
Logo:
Web Design: .nala
Program Partners:
Sponsors: Driehaus Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, , The Jules and Gwen Knapp Charitable Foundation

We’re thrilled to share that the Langham Children’s Suite celebrated its grand opening this week! The Langham Children’s...
08/22/2025

We’re thrilled to share that the Langham Children’s Suite celebrated its grand opening this week! The Langham Children’s Suite is a Chicago Children’s Museum () outpost located at The Langham () hotel in downtown Chicago. Our exhibition design features five interactive zones that offer developmentally appropriate playful learning experiences for kids age 3–8.

—Seen here, the Physics Nook features wall-mounted, interactive tracks for kids to design their own ball-falling scenarios. ⏩️Swipe to see it in action!⏩️
—The Skyline Alley is a gross motor area that invites kiddos to climb along a path of soft sculptures.

Exhibition Design: Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison
Content Partner:
Fabrication:
Photography:

We’re thrilled to share that the Langham Children’s Suite celebrated its grand opening this week! The Langham Children’s...
08/21/2025

We’re thrilled to share that the Langham Children’s Suite celebrated its grand opening this week! The Langham Children’s Suite is a Chicago Children’s Museum () outpost located at The Langham () hotel in downtown Chicago. Our exhibition design features five interactive zones that offer developmentally appropriate playful learning experiences for kids age 3–8.

—The Chicago Skyline Screen presents building-shaped pegboards that invite you to create multi-colored patterns of “windows” on iconic Chicago skyscrapers. 
—The Skyline Alley is a gross motor area that invites kiddos to climb along a path of soft sculptures.
—The Skyline Activity Wall is a magnetic wall for playing with tangrams and other interactive tiles.
—The Small Worlds Play Zone features a custom graphic cityscape rug, with blocks and vehicles for pretend play.
—Finally, the Physics Nook features wall-mounted, interactive tracks for kids to design their own ball-falling scenarios.

Exhibition Design: Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison
Content Partner:
Fabrication:
Photography:

We’re thrilled to share that the Langham Children’s Suite celebrated its grand opening this week! The Langham Children’s...
08/21/2025

We’re thrilled to share that the Langham Children’s Suite celebrated its grand opening this week! The Langham Children’s Suite is a Chicago Children’s Museum () outpost located at The Langham () hotel in downtown Chicago. Our exhibition design features five interactive zones that offer developmentally appropriate playful learning experiences for kids age 3–8.

—The Chicago Skyline Screen presents building-shaped pegboards that invite you to create multi-colored patterns of “windows” on iconic Chicago skyscrapers. 
—The Skyline Alley is a gross motor area that invites kiddos to climb along a path of soft sculptures.
—The Skyline Activity Wall is a magnetic wall for playing with tangrams and other interactive tiles.
—The Small Worlds Play Zone features a custom graphic cityscape rug, with blocks and vehicles for pretend play.
—Finally, the Physics Nook features wall-mounted, interactive tracks for kids to design their own ball-falling scenarios.

Exhibition Design: Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison
Content Partner:
Fabrication:
Photography:

We’re thrilled to announce that the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival (CSDF) returns for its 3rd edition, opening this SUND...
09/30/2024

We’re thrilled to announce that the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival (CSDF) returns for its 3rd edition, opening this SUNDAY, OCT 6 and running through Oct 26! Sukkahs are temporary outdoor structures built for Sukkot, a Jewish holiday of the harvest and collective liberation. CSDF celebrates how these usually temporary structures can be repurposed to build community in new contexts. It celebrates the cultural heritage of North Lawndale and builds solidarity among multiple communities.

5 Chicago-based design teams collaborate with 5 community organizations to co-create sukkahs dedicated to the organizations’ missions. During CSDF, the landscape of unique sukkah structures is open to the public and activated with programming. After CSDF, each sukkah is relocated and re-installed at the organizations that co-designed them as permanent program spaces, including a communal table, seed library, garden material recycling station, literacy landmark, and hospital campus stoop.

CSDF is part of , a citywide collaboration initiated by the that highlights the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.

Artistic Director:
Venue Director:
Community Design Director: ,
Public Program Director: ,
Festival Lot Steward: Stone Temple Baptist Church, .fitzpatrick
Exhibition Design:

Design/Build Contributors: .racine, , , , .dillon, .online, , , , ,
Community Organization Participants: Chicago Street Vendors Association, , , , , ,
Program Partners: , , , , , Flava Food 4 the Soul, Chicago Klezmer Ensemble, ,
Storytelling partner:
Fiscal Agent:
Sponsors: Driehaus Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, , Jules and Gwen Knapp Charitable Foundation

‘LOOP AS LAB: Reshaping Downtown’ is a new exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center () that examines the challenges...
06/10/2024

‘LOOP AS LAB: Reshaping Downtown’ is a new exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center () that examines the challenges and opportunities facing urban cores like Chicago’s Loop in the post-pandemic era. The exhibition creates new entry points into the creative processes, people, and projects that have shaped the histories and futures of Chicago’s downtown district, offering guiding questions and inspirations for other cities. Our exhibition design riffs on the multiple meanings of the term ‘framework’—framework as a planning tool, street grid, and structural innovation that accelerated the city’s development. Organized around the curatorial themes of residing, renewing, reconnecting, and rewilding downtowns, the show features case studies and architectural follies that provide interactive experiences designed to spark dialogue and participatory exchange. For example:
—peek into a periscope to Reconnect with the river that links the city’s north and south sides;
—step into the Thompson Center voting booth to weigh in on adaptive reuse scenarios to Renew our built environment with unique public spaces;
—sit, Reside, and linger at the civic stoop to discuss priorities for Chicago’s futures before voicing your opinion at the ballot box; and
—dive deep into scenarios for Rewilding our urban core by dissecting layers of the Wild Mile.

A supergraphic floor pattern inspired by civic gathering spaces near and far (from the Piazza del Campidoglio to the James R. Thompson Center) brings the follies together in a radial configuration, inviting visitors to explore and crisscross the gallery in any sequence. Vote early and often at the Renew and Reside follies! The exhibition runs through the end of 2024.

Exhibition Design: (Joseph Altshuler & Zack Morrison)
Graphic Design: (Bud Rodecker, Marisa Cruz, Alec Hudson and Alyssa Arnesen)
Chicago Architecture Center Curatorial Team: Eve Fineman, Ian Spula, Adam Rubin
Fabrication:
Photography:

We’re excited to share the Animated Arcade was recognized by the Architects’ Newspaper () 2023 Best of Design Awards hon...
12/14/2023

We’re excited to share the Animated Arcade was recognized by the Architects’ Newspaper () 2023 Best of Design Awards honorable mention in the Installation category. Visit the public spaces at the Siebel Center for Design to experience this family architectural “creatures” that provide intimatic pockets of personable programming. The project includes a welcome desk, a gateway arch, a mobile amphitheater backdrop for lectures/performances, and a roving exhibition display kiosk that has wandered away from the pack.
 
 
Like all design projects, this award is shared by our amazing team:
 
Design Team:  Joseph Altshuler, Zack Morrison, Julia Sedlock, Efrain Araujo
Fabrication: Erica Gressman (), Andrés Lemus-Spont ()
Installation Assistants: Shravan Arun .arun, Amir Zarei 
Photography: Brian Griffin 
Photography Assistants: Amir Zarei, Krishna Jayachandran .j , Atousa Esmaeil, Alejandro Toro-Acosta 
Finally: thank you to visionary team at for believing in this unconventional project and for bringing it into being! We admire the leadership of Rachel Switzky and are grateful for the expertise of Nicholas Puddicombe ().
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We’re excited to share the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival was recognized by the Architects’ Newspaper () 2023 Best of De...
12/13/2023

We’re excited to share the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival was recognized by the Architects’ Newspaper () 2023 Best of Design Awards, Editor’s Pick for Social Impact.
 
THANK YOU to the coalition of community partners that collectively enacted this now award-winning civic project that debuted to the public in October 2023:
 
Artistic Director: Could Be Design (Joseph Altshuler + Zack Morrison)
Venue Director:
Landscape Design, Exhibition Design, and Creative Placemaking: Could Be Design and Nekita Thomas ()
Festival Lot Steward: Stone Temple Baptist Church (Pastor .fitzpatrick,and )
Public Program Coordinator: Craig Stevenson ()
Sukkah Design/Build Contributors: + ; ; .rchi + ; .beckerxu; ; + ; with a special appearance by
Sukkah Community Participants: I AM ABLE (); North Lawndale Greening Committee + ; One Lawndale Children’s Discovery Center; ;  + .legal;
Landscape Installation Contributors: ;
Fabrication Partner:
Sponsors: Driehaus Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, , Chicago Jewish Teen Foundation, ,  is a contribution to ’s 5th edition.


P.S. Kudos to our colleague, Prof. .erickson, who was also recognized with an honorable mention in the 2023 Best of Design Awards in the Social Impact category for his inspiring project, the Hip-Hop Xpress!

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