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About
Adrian Smith has been a practicing architect for over 40 years. His extraordinary body of work includes some of the world’s most recognizable landmark structures, including the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, China; Rowes Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts and the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, the world’s tallest structure.
Adrian’s unique design approach emphasizes sensitivity to the physical environment. He considers each project holistically, taking into consideration site orientation, climate and geography, cultural and social influences to create highly sustainable projects that achieve contextualism within the global environment.
As one of the world’s foremost experts of super tall towers, he collaborated with Gordon Gill to design the world’s first net Zero-Energy skyscraper, Pearl River Tower, built in Guangzhou China. The design harvests the natural forces of wind, sun and…
CTBUH Roles
Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award (2011)
Annual Conference, Presenter (New York 2015)
Annual Conference, Keynote Speaker (Seoul 2011; Shanghai 2012; Chicago 2019)
Awards Symposium, Speaker (2011)
CTBUH Initiatives
2019 International Forum on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
28 August 2019
Shanghai Congress News Day Congress: Day One
19 September 2012
CTBUH Celebrates First Exhibition
21 June 2012
Videos
26 October 2015
Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt...
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Research
11 October 2019
On the 50th anniversary of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s founding, the CTBUH 10th World Congress returns to the Council’s home: Chicago....
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Research
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Adrian Smith & Peter Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
AS+GG’s Director of Supertall Technology interviews AS+GG Partner Adrian Smith about the impact that supertall buildings have on a city’s identity, economy, ecological impact, and...
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CTBUH Initiatives
28 August 2019
2019 International Forum on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
In celebration of Jin Mao Tower's 20th anniversary, CTBUH China presents an international conference discussing the historical evolution and development trend of super tall buildings.
19 September 2012
Shanghai Congress News Day Congress: Day One
See the highlights from the first day of the CTBUH 2012 Shanghai Congress including the Opening Plenary and VIP Reception.
21 June 2012
CTBUH Celebrates First Exhibition
Chicago Architecture Foundation event spotlights work of CTBUH and AS+GG with Illinois Institute of Technology students: “Unseen City: Designs for a Future Chicago.”
Videos
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26 October 2015
Adrian Smith of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2015 CTBUH New York Conference at the Grand Hyatt...
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Supertall towers, when done correctly, are the catalyst for the city or district around them. They give an area an identity. They increase the local...
26 October 2015
2015 New York Conference - Session 1b - Q&A
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Keith Brooks, ARCADIS Architects; George Leventis, Langan; and Alan Poeppel, Langan, answer questions at the end of...
18 January 2013
How Will Tall Buildings be Different in 20 Years?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Kenneth Drucker, HOK; James Goettsch, Goettsch Partners; Keith Griffiths, Aedas; David Malott, KPF; Adrian Smith, AS+GG; Rafael Viñoly, Rafael...
20 December 2012
What do you think is the best tall building in existence today, and why?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Adrian Smith, AS+GG; Joseph Rechichi, Forest City Ratner Companies;Toby Blunt, Foster + Partners; Werner Sobek, Werner Sobek Group; John...
20 December 2012
Industry leaders answering this question include: Werner Sobek, Werner Sobek Group; Chris Wilkinson, Wilkinson Eyre Architects; Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Dr....
20 December 2012
Can tall buildings ever truly become carbon-neutral?
Industry leaders answering this question include: Adrian Smith, AS+GG; Craig Webb, Gehry Partners; Matthias Sauerbruch, Sauerbruch Hutton; Chris Wilkinson, Wilkinson Eyre Architects; Craig Gibbons, Arup;...
20 December 2012
Industry leaders answering this question include: Michael Kwok, Arup; Adrian Smith, AS+GG; Dr. Akira Wada, Architectural Institute of Japan; Dominic Bettison, Wilkinson Eyre; Craig Gibbons,...
Research
11 October 2019
On the 50th anniversary of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s founding, the CTBUH 10th World Congress returns to the Council’s home: Chicago....
26 October 2015
The Tall Building Impact: From Local to Global
Adrian Smith & Peter Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
AS+GG’s Director of Supertall Technology interviews AS+GG Partner Adrian Smith about the impact that supertall buildings have on a city’s identity, economy, ecological impact, and...
19 September 2012
A Sustainable Solution For Urbanization In China
Christopher Drew, Dennis Rehill, Keara Fanning & Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
This paper presents a design solution for a new high density vertical City in China for 100,000 residents sharing a live-work environment. The built up...
19 September 2012
From Jin Mao to Kingdom: Search for an Asian Supertall Vernacular
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
The paper traces the evolution of Mr. Smith’s career as a designer of supertall buildings, the Jin Mao Tower (1999) to Kingdom Tower, to be...
27 January 2012
Debating Tall: A Supertall Future in the US?
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; Paul Beitler, Beitler Real Estate Services LLC
In 1990, only 11 buildings in the world could be counted as a “supertall” (defined as a building over 300 meters tall), and all but...
03 March 2008
Burj Dubai: Designing the World’s Tallest
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
This paper discusses the process of the Burj Dubai's design, offering insights into the refinement and development of the design in response to programmatic requirements,...
03 March 2008
Burj Dubai: Designing the World's Tallest
Adrian Smith, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
This paper discusses the process of the Burj Dubai's design, offering insights into the refinement and development of the design in response to programmatic requirements,...
03 March 2008
Global Environmental Contextualism
Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill & Robert Forest, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
This paper examines how the design philosophy, ‘global environmental contextualism’, is predicated on the understanding that everything within the built and natural environment is connected.
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