The Chicago Architecture Biennial, the largest architecture exposition in North America, is prone to repeating itself.

The fifth and latest iteration of the festival, which opened in November at the ornate Chicago Cultural Center, charts its meta-turn as clearly as it can, starting with the event’s title: “This Is a Rehearsal.” Introductory wall text explains that the concept of rehearsal is a “feedback loop” meant to enable “uncertainty, progress, failure, and redemption.” The biennial itself is “a process of production.”