Three major cities are within three hours by car from Champaign-Urbana, providing ready access to world-class dining, shopping, and entertainment and convenient national and international transportation options. Because of this proximity, individual students and classes can visit and learn from outstanding examples of historic and contemporary architecture first-hand.

In 1873, determined Chicagoans built skyscrapers from the ashes of their city, beginning an enduring commitment to innovative architecture. Chicago architects (think: Burnham, Sullivan, Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Jahn) have introduced generations of Americans to the latest ideas in design. Today, Chicago architects including Illinois alumni Jeanne Gang, Carol Ross Barney, and Ralph Johnson carry that tradition forward. Recent projects in Chicago by internationally-recognized architects such as Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano reveal the city’s continuing commitment to design excellence.

St. Louis also has a tradition of pioneering design, most clearly evidenced by Eero Saarinen's Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (better known as “The Arch”). Recent museum projects by Tadao Ando and Brad Cloepfil have again attracted national attention to the St. Louis design community.

Indianapolis presents many examples of vernacular American design. A planned city, based on L’Enfant’s plan for the District of Columbia, Indianapolis has several neighborhoods of well-preserved architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Indianapolis’ downtown includes many typical late-20th century office towers surrounding the beaux-arts Capitol.