Exelon Pavilions, Chicago

Exelon Pavilions, built in 2004, are located in the Millennium Park and use state-of-the-art technology to convert solar energy into electricity. The pavilions provide enough electricity annually to power 16 energy-efficient houses in Chicago.

The northwest and northeast Pavilions are minimalist black cubes designed to complement the neighboring Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance. The northwest Pavilion houses the Millennium Park Welcome Center, as well as an Exelon energy display area. The northeast Pavilion provides pedestrian access to the parking garage below. The two Exelon Pavilions on the park's south end also provide pedestrian access to the Millennium Park Garage, and were designed by architect Renzo Piano to complement The Art Institute's future expansion.

The North Pavilions are the first Chicago buildings to use building integrated photovoltaic cells, which are a solar energy system incorporated into the building's structural elements. Millennium Park's planners claimed that the pavilions had the first electricity-generating curtain walls in the Midwest.