Flat Out 3 plots an escape from the incessant demands and feedback loops of the present, calling forward alternative futures via flat-earth conspiracy theories, productive working relationships, Bertolt Brecht’s fascination with Chicago, and punching bags.

The Odd Couple hashes out travel photographs depicting bewildering contemporary conditions. The Outsider appraises his own visits to football stadiums (including one by the Challenger, who targets Mario Carpo’s take on the “digital turn”). The Graphic Essayist recasts the history of architectural exhibitions in ligne claire, while the Ad Man evaluates the ends of history at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. The Inventor uncovers an underexplored architectural state; the Opinionator weighs an overexplored material analogy. And You seek a quiet moment in the porous plan of Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s Meri House.

The cast for this issue features (in order of appearance) Penelope Dean, Ellen Grimes, R. E. Somol, Sophia Vyzoviti, Albert Pope, Francesco Marullo, Jonathan Miller, Roemer van Toorn, Julia McMorrough, Brett Steele, Mauricio Pezo, Jayne Kelley, James Carter, Sarah Blankenbaker, Emanuel Admassu, Adam Doster, Peter Eisenman, and John McMorrough. Character portraits are by Na Kim.