Transforming a city's atmosphere into a highly interactive, unique environment

City of Chicago Citywide Lighting Framework Plan

The City of Chicago engaged us to lead a diverse team of artists and consultants—including Chicago-based architects JGMA, engineers Buro Happold, lighting designers FMS, multi-sensory experience designers Obscura, KSLA, and Pentagram—in the design of a new Citywide Lighting Framework Plan (LFP). The plan proposes scalable "platforms of light" grounded by the functional understanding of the networks, nodes, and strata that define the city. Through urban design, architecture, and lighting the plan creates a flexible, immersive, interactive platform for wayfinding and cultural programming and installations across Chicago’s cityscape.

The overarching concept for the LFP is "The Big C"—a territory defined by an offset series of rings that grow dynamically outward from the harbor to the Loop and the ring once imagined by architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham. The Big C is populated with both permanent and temporary lighting "platforms" that are flexible, programmable, and multi-functional by design. Platforms include formal street, building, and sidewalk lighting. It also includes a series of scalable art and multimedia installations and light-born from architecture and landscape, which respond to seasonal flux.

The Chicago River forms the project's backbone, providing a full-circle connection from Navy Pier, along the river, to the Museum Campus. This naturally connecting loop joins together the following spectacles of light: the Chicago River, Firefly Park, The El, the bridges, Lower Wacker Drive, the buildings, the observation platform, and the Burnham Ring. The observation platform is situated in the harbor along the ferry route to complete the loop.

The existing bridges within "The Big C" present a unique opportunity for the LFP, extending beyond traditional lighting to a bold, multidimensional experience. The plan integrates innovative lighting strategies and activates ancillary spaces, transforming the bridges into dynamic event venues, seamlessly blending architecture, illumination, and public engagement. This approach redefines their presence, turning them into iconic landmarks that enhance the city's visual and cultural landscape.

By leveraging Chicago’s iconic structures, the LFP creates a dynamic interplay between spectacle, history, event, and architecture. This vision transforms the cityscape into a living canvas, where light, experience, and function converge in bold and unexpected ways. Rooted in flexibility and innovation, the building strategy adapts to various events and activations, making it one of the city's most versatile, thrilling, and immersive design opportunities.