CHICAGO ARCHITECTS ENVISION 21ST CENTURY
AND BEYOND IN EXHIBITION PRESENTED AS PART OF
BURNHAM PLAN CENTENNIAL

Extended Through October 11 at Chicago Tourism Center
72 E. Randolph St.

Features Designs for Municipal Pier at Northerly Island, High-Speed Rail System, Water Transit Service, and Ecologically-Driven Skyscrapers

Includes Work by Carol Ross Barney, Larry Booth, Dirk Denison, Sarah Dunn, Martin Felsen, Paul Florian, Jeanne Gang, Doug Garofalo, Gordon Gill, Ralph Johnson, Dirk Lohan, Brad Lynch, John Ronan, Linda Searl, Adrian Smith, Stanley Tigerman, Joe Valerio, Brian Vitale
and David Woodhouse

PechaKucha Night Event on September 29 - Informal Showcase for Sharing Creative Ideas Features Chicago’s Current “Big Thinkers”

View Projects in the Exhibition at www.BurnhamPlan100.org 

More than three dozen Chicago architects, planners and landscape architects present their visions of the city and the region in the 21st century and beyond in Big. Bold. Visionary: Chicago Considers the Next Century, an exhibition at the Chicago Tourism Center, 72 E. Randolph Street, extended through October 11, www.explorechicago.org.

Part of the Burnham Plan Centennial commemorating Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, the exhibition features designs and proposals - including renderings, models and digital animation - for the lakefront, transportation, towers, public spaces, and rivers and trails in the next 100 years. Inspired by Burnham’s legacy of dreaming big and planning boldly, the designers have envisioned Chicago five generations in the future with submissions that range from a high-speed rail system that extends to the airport and a Municipal Pier at Northerly Island to a comprehensive water transit service and several ecologically-driven skyscrapers.

“These proposals represent the best thinking of Chicago today,” said noted architecture critic and educator Edward Keegan, who curated the exhibition. “The visions are rich and diverse, and representative of many cultures and ideas that have made this city the world capital of architecture. All are fundamentally Big, Bold, and Visionary – in the mold of Daniel Burnham.”

Chicago architects with work in Big. Bold. Visionary: Chicago Considers the Next Century include Carol Ross Barney, Larry Booth, Dirk Denison, Sarah Dunn, Martin Felsen, Paul Florian, Gordon Gill, Ralph Johnson, Dirk Lohan, Brad Lynch, John Ronan, Linda Searl, Adrian Smith, Stanley Tigerman, Joe Valerio, Brian Vitale and David Woodhouse.

“With this exhibition, we are honoring Chicago’s many talented architects by presenting designs that encourage viewers to imagine the future of our city,” said Lois Weisberg, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. “Proposals like these, created in the forward-thinking spirit of Daniel Burnham, reinforce Chicago’s reputation throughout the world as an innovator in architecture and design.”

“We hope this exhibition inspires visitors, residents and community leaders to think in new ways about how to create a future metropolis that works well for everyone,” said Emily Harris, Executive Director, Burnham Plan Centennial. “Some of the architects’ visions are attainable, others explore the limits of possibility, but all spark our imaginations to think and plan boldly for the next 100 years.”

Visitors will be able to “Invent the Future” with a kiosk in the gallery that lets them choose land-use and transportation alternatives for accommodating the region’s 2.8 million new residents expected over the next three decades. The kiosk is part of GO TO 2040, www.goto2040.org, the regional comprehensive plan in development by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. 

Gallery hours are Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 7 pm (6 pm on Friday); Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm (10am on Sunday). Admission is free.

On September 29, a PechaKucha Night Event, an informal showcase for sharing creative ideas, features Chicago’s current “big thinkers.” Doors open at 6 p.m.; the program begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25. Purchase tickets at www.dcatheater.org or call 1.312.742.TIXS (8487). Tickets can also be purchased at the box office located in the lobby of the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. Box office hours are Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. The PechaKucha Night Event is presented in collaboration with PechaKucha Night Chicago and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.

Big. Bold. Visionary: Chicago Considers the Next Century is presented by the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the exhibition, call 312.744.2400 or visit www.explorechicago.org.

The Burnham Plan Centennial and its more than 250 partner organizations are offering hundreds of ways for the people of Chicago’s three-state metropolitan region to dream big and plan boldly. This 100th anniversary of the Plan of Chicago is once again stirring a diverse community to action on a grand scale – building the best possible quality of life for all. See what you can do at www.BurnhamPlan100.org.

To commemorate the Centennial, two temporary pavilions–one designed by London-based Zaha Hadid and the other by Amsterdam-based Ben van Berkel of UNStudio have been installed in Millennium Park through October 31.

The Chicago Office of Tourism, a division of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, is the official city agency dedicated to promoting Chicago to domestic and international visitors and providing innovative visitor programs and service.

Visitors and Chicagoans planning to entertain out-of-town guests can receive Chicago brochures, reserve hotel accommodations and receive trip-planning assistance by calling toll-free 1.877.CHICAGO (1.877.244.2246) or visiting www.explorechicago.org. Brochures and information on Chicago events and activities are also available at the Visitor Information Centers. The centers are located at Chicago Water Works, 163 E. Pearson Street at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph Street. The TTY toll-free number for the hearing impaired is 1.866.710.0294. 

Images are available by contacting Joyce Rowe, joyce.rowe@cityofchicago.org, 312.742.2036

Contact:

Joyce Rowe, 312.742.2036
joyce.rowe@cityofchicago.org