A New Community for Thinking Big

A New Community for Thinking Big

Chicago has a legacy of inspiring big plans. And we have some too. We're building a community that will inspire and cultivate technology innovation in the industries that serve the "built environment."

Technology is keeping up its end of the bargain -- by disrupting everything in its path. But the industries that design, build and maintain the built environment have, generally, been slow to adapt.  Maybe because it's the most brick-and-mortar environment in the world.  Or maybe it's just the size. You have big industries like architecture, engineering, construction, real estate, building materials, and equipment, serving even bigger sectors like buildings, mining, power & energy, infrastructure, oil & gas, and so on.   Just navigating this ecosystem for a holistic perspective is difficult, let alone trying to solve problems and understand technology.

But in that challenge, lies the opportunity. If you could get major players across this broad continuum to come together to tackle common problems and investigate new solutions, the entire ecosystem would reap the rewards.  

We started Burnham Works to do just that.

We want to engage the companies, individuals, universities, research centers, entrepreneurs and investors in a productive conversation. Then we'll research -- from reviews of new products and services to exclusive member-funded research charters to new business opportunities. The insight will be shared across a growing digital community of like-minded stakeholders who want to advance the industry. 

But, we'll also bring it all to life in a very high-energy, brick-and-mortar way in Chicago, the place where Daniel Burnham called us all to think bigger, because "(Little plans) have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized."

So we're going to think big, build a community and tackle tech head-on.  We're looking for companies who want to develop new solutions, researchers who want to join a movement, entrepreneurs who need to develop their ideas, and the investors who want to back them, and the individuals who design, build and maintain this $5 trillion environment to contribute their broad knowledge capital.

Doing so will help companies and industries become more efficient, but maybe even more importantly, we'll all have the opportunity to lead instead of follow. 

Stay tuned.

--Burnham Works