Designing the Black Rock City of Burning Man's Dreams

An unofficial, international competition for the Black Rock City master plan applies the imagination inherent to its setting.

1 minute read

September 1, 2016, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Burning Man

LeStudio / Shutterstock

A group of Burning Man participants called the Black Rock City Ministry of Urban Planning held an unofficial design competition to gather inpit on the Black Rock City of dreams.

The results of the competition have been gathered in a book called The Big Book of Ideas. The design range from rough sketches to beautifully detailed renderings, explore the concept of Black Rock City as an imagined space, from straightforward adaptations to the current plan to completely new and science fictional cityscapes," according to the introduction to the book.

In the spirit of Burning Man, the book is available under a Creative Commons license [pdf], so it is free to read. 

Monday, August 22, 2016 in Black Rock City Ministry of Urban Planning

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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