Adrian Smith (architect)

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.

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]

Smith spent many years at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in Chicago, beginning in 1967. He served as a Design Partner from 1980 to 2003 and as a Consulting Design Partner from 2003 to 2006.

In 2006, he founded Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), which is dedicated to designing high-performance, energy-efficient, and sustainable architecture on an international scale. In 2008, he co-founded the MEP firm PositivEnergy Practice (PEP), which specializes in environmental engineering for high-performance, energy-efficient architectural design.

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

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.^[7] He was the recipient of the CTBUH 2011 Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award.^[8] 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.^[9]

The following is an abridged list of work Smith was primarily responsible for, as a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill:^[10] or as Design Partner at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

• 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

• 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