Adrian Smith. Architect

Adrian D. Smith is an American architect. He designed notable supertall skyscrapers such as the Burj Khalifa, Jin Mao Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower. He is one of the most recognized architects in the world.

Adrian Smith was born on August 19, 1944 in Chicago.  His family moved from Illinois when he was the age of five and settled in San Clemente, California.  Growing up within distance of the ocean and beach, the young Adrian was instilled with a respect for the relationship between a building and its environment. “It gave me a sense of place,” he has said.

His father, Alfred Smith, ran a department store and was a member of the city council.  But it was his mother who suggested to him when he was in high school that he become an architect based on his abilities with math and geometry.

Adrian went to Texas A&M University in College Station, TX from 1962–1966. While visiting home during 1966, he made small talk with an accountant at a wholesale warehouse in L.A. while his father picked out women’s dresses for the store. This accountant was the father-in-law of a Chicago architect.

And Adrian used the contact that he had made to write Bruce Graham, the son-in-law, and ask for a job.  Bruce Graham replied that Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was not hiring but that he should apply the following year.  In 1967 Adrian began his thirty nine year career at SOM as an intern working on the John Hancock Center, one of Graham’s building projects.

Adrian graduated from the University of Illinois – Chicago in 1969.

Adrian Smith was a Design Partner in the Chicago office of  Skidmore, Owings & Merrill from 1980 to 2003 and a Consulting Design Partner from 2004 to 2006. Adrian also served as the SOM’s Chief Executive Officer (1993 to 1995). He was the Chairman for the SOM Foundation (1990 to 1995) which serves to recognize and nurture students in architecture, design, urban design and structural engineering.

After nearly four decades with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1967–2006), Smith left and with Gordon Gill and Robert Forest to found their own firm, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG). AS+GG has declared that it will focus on design of high-performance, energy-efficient and sustainable architecture on an international scale.

Recognition

Projects under his design direction have won over 90 major awards for design excellence, including 5 international awards, 8 National AIA awards, 22 Chicago AIA awards, and 2 ULI Awards for Excellence. Smith’s work at SOM has been featured in major museums in the United States, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Selected projects

Projects under his design direction have won over 90 major awards for design excellence, including 5 international awards, 8 National AIA awards, 22 Chicago AIA awards, and 2 ULI Awards for Excellence. Smith’s work at SOM has been featured in major museums in the United States, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.