15Sep2009
big. bold. visionary.
Posted by timezoneone
In 1909, architects Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett published one of the most influential
documents in the history of urban planning: The Plan of Chicago. Responsible for many of the city’s most distinctive features, including its lakefront parks and roadways, the Magnificent Mile, and Navy Pier, the Plan reflected the city elite’s response to the massive influx of inhabitants to urban centers during America’s industrial age.
One hundred years later, architects, planners and landscape architects take a stab at becoming the heir apparent in an exhibition entitled “Big. Bold. Visionary: Chicago Considers the Next Century“
Taking Burnham’s advice to “make no little plans,” architects submitted proposals for the region over the next century. Among the project submissions are a high-speed rail system, water transit service, ecologically-driven skyscrapers and municipal pier for Northerly Island.
 “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.”Â
Lois Weisberg, commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs
Murray Grossmith
