Digital Burnham

Digital Burnham is an exploration of two conditions that exist in Chicago, one visible, the other invisible. The visible structure of Chicago is based on a series of urban layers, including Daniel Burnham's plan, which evolved during the mechanical age. This is Chicago's past, its rearview mirror as Marshall McLuhan would call it, in which most Chicagoans comfortably exist. The other condition, which is present yet invisible in the urban structure, is the series of connections and effects generated by electronic information media. Our project—parts of which are included in the Big. Bold. Visionary. exhibit—explores the tectonic and environmental potential of these new relationships as demonstrated through a combination of a movie and graphics.