Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill were Honored at the Seventeenth Annual Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate Annual Gala
On November 8, Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, the leaders of renowned Chicago architecture firm, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) were honored with the Lifetime Industry Leadership Award. More than 450 industry leaders attended the gala which was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago.
Also honored were founders Anthony Pasquinelli, Gerald Fogelson and Marshall Bennet. Mr. Bennett passed away earlier in the month, and a tribute video was shown in his honor.
Dennis Harder was given the Distinguished Service Award in recognition for his many years as an adjunct professor.
Adrian Smith, FAIA, RIBA is an architect of international renown, having designed Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest structure, as well as the soon to be completed new world’s tallest tower, Jeddah Tower now under construction in Saudi Arabia. He was a partner in the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) from 1980 through 2006 and was its Chairman in 1994 through 1995. During that time, he was responsible for the design of many notable and landmark structures including Rowes Wharf in Boston; as well as the Trump International Hotel + Tower, ATT and USG Headquarters Towers, NBC Tower, the Lakeshore East Master Plan, and the Millennium Park Master Plan, all in Chicago. His international projects include Broadgate/Bishopsgate Tower, 10 Ludgate Place, and the Canary Wharf Master Plan all in London, United Kingdom; Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai China; and Zifeng Tower (formerly Nanjing Greenland Financial Complex) in Nanjing, China.
In 2006, Adrian established Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG)with design partnerGordon Gill, FAIA and management partner, Robert Forest, FAIA. The firm is dedicated to the design of large-scale, highly complex, high-performance, and sustainable architecture on an international scale, embracing the concept of Global Environmental Contextualism. AS+GG’s first design was Clean Technology Tower in Chicago, Illinois, designed as the firm’s first net-zero energy tower. Other prominent projects now under construction include Central Park Tower in New York City, soon to be the tallest residential tower in the United States; Burj Vista and the Uptown District Tower, both in Dubai; and Wuhan Greenland Tower and Chengdu Greenland Tower, two supertall towers in China. Adrian’s work has been honored with over 145 Chicago AIA, National AIA, and International Design awards, including 3 ULI Awards for Excellence. He has received the 2011 Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Letters Degree from Texas A&M.
Gordon Gill, FAIA, is one of the world’s foremost exponents of performance-based architecture. Prior to co-founding AS+GG with Adrian Smith and Robert Forest, he was an associate partner at SOM, where he had the distinction of being responsible forPearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China, designed as the world’s first net-zero-energy supertall. Since then, his designs include the world’s first large-scale energy-positive building, Masdar Headquarters; the world’s next tallest tower, Jeddah Tower;Expo-2017, which included the sustainable master planning and architecture for last year’s international exposition in Astana, Kazakhstan, as well as the upcoming Dubai Expo2020 hallmark project: Al Wasl Plaza.
Gordon’s designs share a keen awareness of local environmental conditions as they capitalize on physical, social,and environmental features to maximize building performance. These ecological strategies are legible in his projects’ architectural vocabulary and are a hallmark of his philosophy,Form Follows Performance.Gordon’s work has been globally recognized with over 100 architectural awards including severalAIA National awards. He continues to expand his contribution to the practice of Architecture through his teaching at his alma mater, Harvard University and most recently serves as an advisor on urban and architectural design for the leadership of his birthplace country of Jamaica.
AS+GG’s practice is defining the buildings and the cities of the future around the globe from their studio in Chicago. Since the firm’s inception in 2006, the firm has continued to design dozens of large-scale projects, bothnationally and internationally including, 160 Front Street in Toronto, currently under design; Tribune East Tower in Chicago, which once completed will be the second tallest tower in Chicago; and Al Wasl Plaza, the engaging centerpiece of Dubai EXPO-2020, which will be the world’s largest immersive projection experience at the next international exposition.
AS+GGpractices within a range of scales from megaprojects to the more intimate, including the beautiful bronze-clad Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beijing; the framework plan for the Pullman Historic District in Chicago; the new Willow Creek North Shore in Glenview, Illinois;at Navy Pier, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; as well as the recently completed Chicago Architecture Center for the former Chicago Architectural Foundation. The firm has also influenced the built environment around the world with recent master planning efforts including several new satellite cities in China, the master planning of Astana Expo City, the legacy master plan for Expo-2017’s international exhibition in Astana, and the sustainable legacy plan for Expo-2020 in Dubai.In 2011, AS+GG published the nationally awarded, Toward Zero Carbon: The Chicago Central DeCarbonization Plan, which laid out a vision for achieving Chicago’s carbon goals for 2030.
AS+GG has been listed as one of the top 10 firms in the nation by Architect Magazine for the past six years, garnering the number one position in 2015. The firm has won over 150 international, national, and local design awards in their 12-year history. They have also been honored for excellence in architecture and urban planning from the Society of Architectural Historians in 2013 and received the Vision into Reality Award from the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR) in 2009.
All proceeds benefit the student and industry education programs of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate in the Heller College of Business at Roosevelt University.