Adrian Smith, Chicago Design Office, AS+GG Studio, American Skyscraper Designs

Adrian Smith Architect, USA : AS+GG

AS+GG Architects – US Design Studio Information

post updated May 20, 2021 ; Aug 20, 2017

Adrian Smith – Major Design

Burj Khalifa skyscraper, Dubai, UAE

photo © Adrian Welch
Burj Khalifa skyscraper designed by Adrian Smith architect
The world’s tallest building opened on Jan 4 2010. Architect Adrian Smith, who designed Burj Khalifa while at the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), attended the opening ceremonies. Burj Khalifa’s is 828 metres / 2,716.5 feet high.

“It was the culmination of many years of work and one of the most thrilling moments of my career,” said Adrian, who left SOM in 2006 to start his own firm, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.”

Adrian Smith Award

Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award

photo © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

ADRIAN SMITH WINS 2011 LYNN S. BEEDLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM THE COUNCIL ON TALL BUILDINGS AND URBAN HABITAT

CHICAGO, June 22, 2011 – Adrian Smith, FAIA, RIBA, is the 2011 winner of the Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for his extraordinary contribution to the supertall building typology.

The award will be presented at the CTBUH 10th annual awards ceremony and dinner on Oct. 27 at Illinois Institute of Technology’s Crown Hall. Recent winners of the award include John C. Portman Jr. of John Portman & Associates and William Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.

Masdar HQ in Abu Dhabi, UAE:

image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

“Adrian is one of a relatively small number of architects who has designed and built a significant number of not only tall, but supertall, buildings internationally,” said Antony Wood, CTBUH’s executive director. “As such, his contribution to the development of the typology is beyond doubt. Equally as exciting are the ‘as yet unannounced’ tall projects that I know of that are scheduled to come from his office in the coming months.”

Smith, the senior Design Partner at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago, is one of the world’s most prolific and celebrated designers of supertall towers. As of mid-2011, he has designed four of the world’s eleven tallest completed buildings: Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (No. 1), Nanjing’s Zifeng Tower at Nanjing Greenland Financial Center (No. 7), Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower (No. 10) and Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower (No. 11), all at his former firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Last year, the CTBUH named Burj Khalifa the Best Tall Building completed in the Middle East and Asia, and also presented Burj with the Global Icon Award.

Smith’s design portfolio at SOM also includes London’s 201 Bishopsgate/Broadgate Tower, which the CTBUH named the Best Tall Building completed in Europe in 2009. Also at SOM, Smith was the Design Partner of the 71-story, 310-meter Pearl River Tower, scheduled to open this fall in Guangzhou, China, as the world’s most highly sustainable supertall building.

Federation of Korean Industries HQ in Korea:

image © AS+GG

At AS+GG, which Smith co-founded with Gordon Gill and Robert Forest in 2006, his portfolio includes the recently announced Wuhan Greenland Center, a 606-meter tower in China, and another supertall tower in the Middle East to be announced later this year. Earlier supertall designs at AS+GG include 1 Dubai, 1 Park Avenue and Meraas Tower, all commissioned by the government-backed Meraas Development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“Adrian’s body of work includes some of the world’s tallest and most recognized buildings,” noted CTBUH Trustee Peter Irwin, “yet his designs transcend mere height and have become landmarks because of their graceful design and inherent sensitivity to local context and culture.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award is named after the late CTBUH founder Lynn S. Beedle, a leader in the study, design and building of skyscrapers.

“This is a great honor,” Smith said of the award. “The CTBUH is a great organization and I’m extremely proud of this recognition.”

Chicago Central Area DeCarbonization Plan:

image © AS+GG

In addition to his tall building experience, Smith is co-author of the recently published book Toward Zero Carbon: The Chicago Central Area DeCarbonization Plan (Images Publishing Group), which outlines a comprehensive strategy to bring Chicago’s downtown Loop to carbon neutrality by 2030.

CTBUH Awards 2011 – Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award

More information about Adrian Smith online soon

Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America

AS+GG Architects Practice Information

Adrian Smith works with Gordon Gill in Chicago architecture practice Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill.

photo © AS+GG

Chicago Architects

Previously Adrian was a design partner at the Chicago office – Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) – who won the design competition for this UAE skyscraper in 2003. He designed the Burj Dubai while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill:

American Architects

Burj Dubai

Website: smithgill.com