Adrian Smith (architect)

This article is about the architect. For other people with the same name, see Adrian Smith.

Adrian D. Smith
Born	(1944-08-19) August 19, 1944 (age 80) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Illinois, Chicago, Texas A&M University, College Station
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Buildings	Burj Khalifa Jin Mao Tower Pearl River Tower Trump International Hotel & Tower Central Park Tower
Projects	Jeddah Tower Azerbaijan Tower

Adrian Devaun Smith (born August 19, 1944) is an American architect. He designed the world's tallest structure, Burj Khalifa, as well as the building projected to surpass it, the Jeddah Tower. A long-time principal of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he founded his own architectural partnership firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago in 2006. Among his other projects, he was the senior architect for Central Park Tower in New York City, Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, and Zifeng Tower in Nanjing.

Early life and education

Adrian Smith was born in Chicago in 1944. When he was four years old, his family moved to Southern California, where he grew up. His interest in drawing led his mother to suggest that he study architecture.^[1]

Smith attended Texas A&M University, pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture while being involved with the Corps of Cadets. However, he did not graduate and instead started working for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in 1967.^[2] He finished his education at the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Architecture and Arts, graduating in 1969. In 2013, Smith was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from Texas A&M University.^[3]

Career

Smith spent many years at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Chicago, beginning in 1967 and was a Design Partner from 1980 to 2003 and a Consulting Design Partner from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, he founded Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), which is dedicated to the design of high-performance, energy-efficient and sustainable architecture on an international scale. In 2008, he co-founded the MEP firm of PositivEnergy Practice (PEP), which specializes in the environmental engineering of high-performance, energy-efficient architecture design.

Contributions to architecture

The petal shape of Burj Khalifa was a major architectural contribution by Smith. The shape of Burj Khalifa was inspired by the Spider Lily flower. The three petal shape re-configures as the building height increases. The change in pattern along the height does not allow flow pattern to organize. This confuses the wind and saves the building from the effect of vortex shedding.^[4][5][6] Smith was also credited to introduce the first large-scale commercial passive double-wall structure in the United States located at 601 Congress Street in Boston in 2006.^[7]

Recognition

Projects Smith designed have won over 125 awards including 5 international awards, 9 National American Institute of Architects Awards, 35 State and Chicago AIA Awards, and 3 Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence.^[8] He was the recipient of the CTBUH 2011 Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award.^[9] Smith's work at SOM has been featured in museums in the United States, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.^[10]

Selected projects

The following is an abridged list of work Smith was primarily responsible for as a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill:^[11] or as Design Partner at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

Completed

Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai

Building	Year	City	Country	Firm
Central Park Tower	2021	New York City	United States	AS+GG
Expo 2017	2017	Astana	Kazakhstan	AS+GG
Waldorf Astoria Beijing	2014	Beijing	China	AS+GG
FKI Tower	2013	Seoul	Korea	AS+GG
Chicago Central Area Decarbonization Plan	2011	Chicago	United States	AS+GG
Pearl River Tower	2011	Guangzhou	China	SOM
Burj Khalifa	2010	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	SOM
Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)	2009	Chicago	United States	SOM
Broadgate Tower	2009	London	United Kingdom	SOM
Chemsunny Plaza	2008	Beijing	China	SOM
Jubilee Park Pavilion	2004	London	United Kingdom	SOM
Tower Palace III	2004	Seoul	Korea	SOM
Canary Wharf, International banking headquarters buildings: HQ1, DS1, DS3, DS4; FC2	1991–2004	London	United Kingdom	SOM
601 Congress Street, Manulife Financial	2003	Boston	United States	SOM
General Motors Renaissance Center	2003	Detroit	United States	SOM
Millennium Park and Millennium Park Master Plan	2002	Chicago	United States	SOM
Sede do BankBoston	2002	São Paulo	Brazil	SOM
Washington University Arts and Sciences Building	2000	St. Louis	United States	SOM
Jin Mao Tower	1998	Shanghai	China	SOM
Washington University Psychology Building	1996	St. Louis	United States	SOM
Summer of New Hope – Warren Blvd Project	1996	Chicago	United States	SOM
Aramco Headquarters Office Building	1993	Dhahran	Saudi Arabia	SOM
10 Ludgate Place	1992	London	United Kingdom	SOM
AT&T Corporate Center (currently Franklin Center)	1991	Chicago	United States	SOM
NBC Tower	1989	Chicago	United States	SOM
Rowes Wharf	1988	Boston	United States	SOM
Olympia Centre	1986	Chicago	United States	SOM
United Gulf Bank Building	1986	Manama	Bahrain	SOM
Banco de Occidente	1980	Guatemala City	Guatemala	SOM

Currently under construction

Project	Type	City	Country	Status	Completion Date	Firm
Wuhan Greenland Center	Supertall	Wuhan	China	Construction[12]	2022	AS+GG
Chengdu Greenland Tower	Supertall	Chengdu	China	Construction[13]	2022	AS+GG
Jeddah Tower	Megatall	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	On-Hold[14]	TBA	AS+GG
830 Brickell	Office/ Retail	Miami	United States	Construction[15]	2022	AS+GG

Significant unbuilt projects

Building	City	Country	Firm
Masdar Headquarters	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	AS+GG
1 Dubai	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	AS+GG
7 South Dearborn	Chicago	United States	SOM
King Abdullah City	King Abdullah City	Saudi Arabia	SOM
Mitsui Headquarters Competition	Tokyo	Japan	SOM
Samsung Togok	Seoul	Korea	SOM
Xiamen Posts and Telecommunications Building	Xiamen	China	SOM

Monographs

• Smith, Adrian, The Architecture of Adrian Smith, SOM: Toward a Sustainable Future, Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd, ISBN 1-86470-169-2
• Smith, Adrian, Pro Architect 24: Adrian D Smith, Archiworld Company Ltd, ISBN 89-87223-24-8

References

1. Chiarella, Tom (June 7, 2016). "The Man with His Head in the Clouds". Chicago.
2. Texas A&M "Archone". Archived from the original on 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
3. Texas A&M "Outstanding alum chosen to receive honorary Ph.D. - ArchONE". Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2015-01-20.
4. "How the Burj Khalifa was built". ICE.
5. C Feblowitz, Joshua (2010). "Confusing The Wind: The Burj Khalifa, Mother Nature, and the Modern Skyscraper". Inquiries Journal. 2 (1): 1–2.
6. "Burj Khalifa: Unveiling the Engineering Marvel".
7. "Adrian Smith - Design Partner at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture".
8. "Adrian Smith biography at smithgill.com".
9. "CTBUH 10th Annual Awards, 2011". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Archived from the original on 31 December 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
10. Design Futures Council Senior Fellows
11. Smith, Adrian (2007). The Architecture of Adrian Smith, SOM: Toward a Sustainable Future. Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86470-169-2.
12. ctbuh. "Wuhan High-Rise, Designed to be China's Tallest, Receives Height Cuts". ctbuh. Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
13. "Chengdu Greenland Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
14. "Jeddah Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
15. "830 Brickell - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2021-08-12.

External links

• Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture - official website
• Bloomberg Businessweek 'Shedding the Vortex' March 24, 2014
• Popular Science 'The Rise of the Supertall' February 15, 2013 Archived June 29, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• Modern Luxury 'On Top of the World' March 15, 2012
• The Wall Street Journal 'The State of Super-Tall Towers' July 8, 2011
• The Architect's Newspaper 'Smart Grid City' January 17, 2011 Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
• Chicago Tribune Article 'Sweet new start for architect Adrian Smith' Feb 24, 2008