Christopher Burman

Designer, Technologist & Researcher

Christopher Burman is a designer and technologist whose work spans architecture, climate adaptation, and software.

He is director of Bureau Burman, a London-based studio specialising in digital systems for the built environment.

He is currently Senior Research Fellow at The Bartlett, UCL and Co-investigator of SHAPES, a multi-year research project evaluating the effectiveness of building adaptation to extreme heat.

His work as a designer and artist explores the politics of technology and digital production through the use of installation, software and audio and has been shown internationally including at São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, MANIFESTA12, Palermo, KW Institute, Berlin, Jupiter Woods, London and Kunsthalle Lissabon, Portugal.

In 2018 he co-founded Heat Island, a climate focused architecture practice. In 2013 he was a founding associate of the arts organisation STORE Projects.

He was previously a post-graduate researcher at The Strelka Institute, and Director of Digital Strategy at Strelka KB, where he co-ordinated digital urban masterplans for several major cities. Prior to that, he was part of the team that launched Pachube (now Xively), a sensor data platform acquired by Google in 2018, for which he was nominated for a Design of the Year award by The Design Museum, London.

Current Positions

2021–

Senior Research Fellow & Lecturer

The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

Grants & Funding

2023–2026

SHAPES — Heat Adaptation Interventions

Co-Investigator (UCL)

A multi-year research project that is evaluating low-cost, building-scale heat adaptation measures for vulnerable populations in urban and rural Pakistan through clinical trials, in collaboration with Aga Khan University and LSHTM.

Funded by Wellcome Trust

2025

Action Builder – Zero Carbon Schools Pilot Platform

Technical Lead

Led the development of the Action Builder platform, awarded a £100,000 grant to help schools and estates take coordinated action on decarbonising their buildings. Selected by the Mayor of London as a strategic decarbonisation partner.

Funded by Ashden / Let's Go Zero / Mayor of London

2008–2011

Pachube (Acquired by LogMeIn / Google)

Designer / Developer

Core team member of the IoT platform for storing and sharing real-time sensor data. Pachube was acquired by LogMeIn in 2011, rebranded as Xively, and later acquired by Google in 2018.

Funded by LogMeIn (2011) → Google (2018)