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It’s a small city: 3D model of Chicago on display at Sante Fe Building
June 13, 2009 – Marina City and 999 other downtown buildings are represented in a detailed scale model of Chicago on display at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Chicago Model City is part of the centennial celebration of Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago that was an important influence on how the city developed. The 25 x 35-foot exhibition fills the atrium of the Santa Fe Building, Burnham’s former headquarters, located at 224 South Michigan. The scale of the models is one inch for every 50 feet, making Sears Tower nearly three feet tall.
The four square miles represented by the model cover 400 city blocks, from Lake Michigan west to Halsted Street, Oak Street south to 16th Street. Every building is depicted. Lighting simulates a 24-hour day, going from morning to night every 15 minutes. Architects, model makers, and industrial designers worked together to create the exhibit. Columbian Model & Exhibit Works, Ltd., a Chicago company featured in Marina City Online in April, created the models using specialized software and a three-dimensional printer. The exhibit is “designed to get people thinking about how cities develop,” according to a news release. “The exhibition shows how Chicago is a model for understanding all cities.” The exhibition is free and open daily through November 20, 2009.
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