The Wall Street Journal focuses on Gordon Gill and his work with tall buildings around the world and his design process for the Pearl River Tower. Mr. Gill finds more inspiration in trees, lakes and wind than in actual buildings, the Journal reports.

While his firm, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, employs scientific tools in the design and analysis of their buildings, Gordon Gill sketches and models his ideas with whatever is handy--scraps of paper, notebooks and even mud.

An excerpt:
Mr. Gill came up with the shape of the Pearl River building early one Saturday morning while sitting in the living room of his family's apartment, which had a panoramic view of Lake Michigan. He had two ideas for its shape: a catcher's mitt or a sail, designed to catch wind from many angles; and an elliptical form that would keep the sun from striking the entire facade at any one time, preventing overheating. When he mashed together the two shapes, he came up with his basic form, which resembles a plush, upholstered car seat.

Watch a video clip of Mr. Gill describing his work below.