2025 SEGD Xlab Offsite Chicago

Sep 17 – 18, 2025
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Presented by DCL and Nanolumens

  1. Historic Roundhouse, DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center

Date

Location

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center – Historic Roundhouse
740 East 56th Place
Chicago, Illinois
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Experimentation as a form of civic and cultural imagination.

Design is evolving. This is your invitation to experiment.

This isn’t business as usual—it’s a two-day immersive experience designed to challenge your thinking, push boundaries, and recharge your practice.

We’re exploring the value of experimentation across every part of the program, through the lenses of Imagination and Inspiration. As our work, communities, and environments evolve, experimentation isn’t optional—it’s essential. It keeps us connected, relevant, and human.

You’ll spend one day out in the city—touring studios, cultural spaces, and meeting the creators reshaping Chicago’s creative landscape. The next, you’ll dive into hands-on workshops, in-the-round talks, and interactive showcases designed to break silos and spark new ways of working.

Timed with the opening of the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial, 2025 SEGD Xlab Offsite Chicago is where design meets disruption—and possibility takes center stage.

Hotel Accommodations
SEGD does not have an official room block for Xlab Offsite Chicago, but there are a few hotels nearby The DuSable including Sophy Hyde Park, Hyatt Place Chicago–South/University Medical Center, and The Study at the University of Chicago Hotel. That said, since it’s Chicago, you may already have a favorite spot to stay—and there are lots of great options throughout the area!

Practice Areas

Focus Areas

Gain a new perspective at The DuSable Museum in Chicago’s South Side (see lower left). Image courtesy of Civic Projects.

Join us at the Historic Roundhouse

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center—a cultural landmark on Chicago’s South Side.

Discover new perspectives at Xlab Offsite Chicago.

Hosted in the historic Roundhouse at The DuSable Museum—the nation’s oldest independent African American museum—this South Side landmark invites bold thinking and hands-on exploration.

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Speakers

Why experimentation?

This year’s Xlab isn’t about comfort—it’s about curiosity.

We’re diving deep into experimentation as a force for creative evolution—in our work, our mindsets, and our communities. Framed by Imagination and Inspiration, the event asks: What happens when we break the mold? What do we leave behind? And what new connections—and futures—might emerge?

Xlab Offsite Chicago invites you to reimagine how we practice, see, work, and belong. It’s not just about tools and tech—it’s about shifting mindsets. We’re calling on designers to remix their practice, challenge assumptions, and embrace the unexpected. This isn’t just a conference—it’s a creative recharge.
Traci Sym, Aki Carpenter, and Monica Chadha, Co-Chairs, 2025 SEGD Xlab Offsite Chicago

Agenda

Explore Xlab Event Details | Speakers & Tours

Partnership Opportunities

Position your brand at the intersection of experimentation, storytelling, and design.

SEGD Xlab connects you with the creatives and change-makers shaping the future of experience—across disciplines and across cities.

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Our Partners

Presenting Sponsors

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