Talks with the Team

Talks with the Team is a series of free informal tours of, and talks about the Burnham Pavilions featuring the staff and professionals involved with the project. The tours, which start at 5:30 pm every other Wednesday from July through October, give the public the opportunity to learn directly from the insiders about the planning, design, construction, techniques, artistry and technology involved in making the Burnham Pavilions a reality. Each team member brings their own emphasis to the talk, and will share their unique perspective. The schedule includes:

• July 22: Ed Uhlir and Adele Simmons
• August 5: Chris Rockey and Emily Harris
• August 19: Donna Robertson, Marco Alvarez and Tracey Dear
• September 2: Julie Burros, Joe Rosa and Emily Harris
• September 16: Ed Uhlir and Chris Rockey
• September 30: Thomas Gray, Dan Sheehy and Grant Gibson
• October 14: Emily Harris, Gordon Hill, Lou Mallozzi
• October 28: Julie Burros and Chris Rockey

Marco Alvarez is President of Fabric Images, the fabricator that completed the Zaha Hadid pavilion.

Julie Burros is Director of Cultural Planning, Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago, and is the project manager for constructing and programming the pavilions.

Tracey Dear is owner of Dear Productions and the lighting designer for both Burnham Pavilions.

Thomas Gray – founder of The Gray Circle – is a filmmaker, photographer and projection visual artist who created the multilayered film installation for the Zaha Hadid Pavilion. Gray graduated from UIC before moving to London in 1991.

Grant Gibson worked with Doug Garofalo Architects, the architects of record who supervised the construction of the UNStudio pavilion.

Emily Harris is Executive Director of the Burnham Plan Centennial and with Julie Burros, Ed Uhlir and Joe Rosa led development of the pavilions from concept to completion. She helped to conceptualize how the pavilions fit into the Centennial celebration of Burnham's bold vision.

Gordon Hill is Executive Vice President of Fabric Images and a graduate of the architecture school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Fabric Images constructed the zippered fabric skin for the Zaha Hadid pavilion.

 Lou Mallozzi, with Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago, is creator of the multi-channel soundtrack accompanying the film installation in the Burnham Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Donna Robertson is Dean of the School of Architecture at IIT. Together with faculty members Dirk Dennison and Jonathan Miller, she brought Zaha's team into contact with IIT students and can talk about how their perspective and new design techniques stimulated dialog on campus.

Chris Rockey — principal of Rockey Structures, LLC, and a member of the faculty at IIT — is the structural engineer for both pavilions.

Joe Rosa is the John H. Bryan Curator of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute of Chicago.  He developed the initial concept for bringing temporary pavilions to Millennium Park, identified the architects and has been a point of contact with the firms and their university partners throughout the project.

Dan Sheehy is the principal for 3rd Coast Construction, the contractor for the UNStudio pavilion.

Adele Simmons is Vice Chair of the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee and Chicago Metropolis 2020, and is Co-Chair of Chicago Climate Action Plan. She will offer a broad perspective on the pavilions and Centennial.

Ed Uhlir, Executive Director of Millennium Park Inc,  helped to conceptualize the pavilions, select the architects and coordinate construction.