Award to be given on September 18th at Designight 2025, AIA Chicago’s signature award program, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
AIA Chicago, the second largest local chapter of The American Institute of Architects and the collective voice of over 4,000 licensed architects, emerging professionals, architecture students, and allied professionals, today announced that Adrian Smith, FAIA, RIBA, founding partner of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) and former partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), will receive the 2025 AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award. Smith will be honored at Designight 2025, AIA Chicago’s signature awards program honoring Chicago architects’ global design achievements, which will be held at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
“Adrian Smith has fundamentally redefined supertall building design, transforming skylines in cities across the globe,” said AIA Chicago President Jason Golub, AIA. “Locally, his impact on the master plans for some of our most important public spaces, represents the very best of Chicago’s architectural excellence.”
Over the last 55 years, first as design partner at SOM then as founding partner at his own firm, AS+GG, Adrian Smith FAIA, RIBA has been instrumental to the design and realization of Chicago’s most iconic structures and public spaces, transforming the skyline and positively shaping everyday life. Smith’s work has been guided by a civic duty to give back to the city and its people. As an advocate for the public in his projects, he has strived to ensure that Chicago’s world renown destinations are designed for the benefit of local communities, such as the revitalization of Lakeshore East from an abandoned freight yard into a thriving neighborhood that is 40% open space and centered around a six-acre park; Millennium Park, which welcomes over 25 million visitors every year; and the re-establishment of the historically significant State Street, the heart of the Chicago Loop.
Adrian Smith has designed over 20 projects in Chicago, including: Neiman Marcus on Michigan Avenue; Olympia Center; NBC Tower; AT&T and USG Center; 3 First National; Trump International Hotel and Tower; Continental Branch Bank on State and Dearborn; the European Galleries at The Art Institute of Chicago; The East Entry and the overall Master Plan for the Field Museum of Natural History. His international portfolio includes buildings and master plans in Bahrain, Brazil, China, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Canada, England, Germany, Guatemala, Indonesia, Korea, Egypt, Israel, Chechnya, Kuwait, Mexico, and throughout the United States.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is nominated by the AIA Chicago general membership and selected by the AIA Chicago Board of Directors.
In awarding the Lifetime Achievement Award, the AIA Chicago Board of Directors noted how Smith’s transformative projects have reinforced Chicago’s reputation as the preeminent global center of expertise for the design of tall buildings and mixed-use master plans.
Previous recipients include Linda Searl, FAIA (2024), Cynthia Weese, FAIA (2023), Ralph Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP (2022) Stuart Cohen, FAIA (2021); Phillip C. Johnson, FAIA (2020); John Syvertsen, FAIA (2019); Peter Landon, FAIA (2018); Carol Ross Barney, FAIA (2017) among many others.
Adrian Smith attended the School of Architecture, Texas A & M University from 1962-66. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1969.
Central to Adrian Smith’s practice is the merging of architectural thought with industry and community involvement. His personal time has been dedicated to pro bono efforts, which have had long-lasting impacts on the social, cultural, and environmental wellbeing of Chicago.
He developed a new master plan and Plan of Action as a member and past president of the Chicago Central Area Committee, which multiple Mayors have relied on while planning their agenda. Smith also created a plan while on the Board of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for the school to expand by partnering with a developer who built the school in exchange for air rights. Many of Smith’s mentees have since opened their own impactful firms.
Among Adrian Smith’s most significant designs are:
State Street Renovation, urban design and renewal of “that great street” including lighting, subway entrances, landscaping, and paving. Coordination with City of Chicago, public and private agencies, citizens and owners. Chicago, 1996
Millennium Park Master Plan, master planning and architectural design for 16.5-acre performance park, including stage house, artistic support spaces, public park and multi-modal transit facility. Chicago, 2002
Lake Shore East Master Plan, mixed-use development created a high-density downtown community on a challenging 28-acre parcel of land where Lake Michigan meets the Chicago River. By designing the neighborhood around a central park, the plan solves the connectivity issues that had perplexed planners for decades. Chicago, 2003
Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, is a supertall mixed-use tower comprising residential, commercial, hotel, and retail spaces. Dubai, UAE, 2009
Chicago Central Area Decarbonization Plan, self-commissioned by AS+GG, a complete “Energy Master Plan” assessed innovative solutions for the carbon performance of the downtown area Loop using a holistic urban design approach. Chicago, 2012
Central Park Tower, residential, mixed-use tower includes Nordstrom’s new 7-story flagship store. Top floors of the residences feature stunning city and park views. New York, NY, 2021
Jeddah Tower, the next tallest building in the world, this multi-use Tower will feature a luxury hotel, office space, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and the world’s highest observatory. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under construction
Over the course of his career, Smith has championed small, diverse firms by including them in meaningful roles on significant public and private projects. He believes that effective architectural responses require the collaborative effort of people from myriad fields and backgrounds, allowing them to craft unique solutions to complex community challenges. These opportunities have not only expanded the reach and portfolio of these firms but earned them more visibility, stronger reputations and significant fees. Throughout the design process, Smith provided leadership education to other founders and design leaders, offering them the tools to grow their practices and capabilities. Across his career, he has mentored over a thousand architects.
“Adrian’s commitment to our city – through projects such as the Chicago Central Area Decarbonization Plan, the transformative master plan of Millennium Park, and his mentoring of generations of young architects – truly exemplifies his role as a civic leader,” said AIA Chicago’s Executive Director Jen Masengarb.
Long before sustainability and interdisciplinary collaboration became an industry-wide focus, Adrian Smith was engaging with experts across fields to mitigate the negative impacts of the built environment. Since the development of a prototype in 2006, Adrian has been combining passive strategies and energy generation technologies for buildings to produce more power than needed to operate. The concept suggests possibilities for sharing energy among buildings and city blocks around the world. In 2012, Smith co-authored the “Chicago Central Area DeCarbonization Plan,” a proposal to reduce the environmental impact and carbon emissions of Chicago’s downtown business district. Since then, Chicago has implemented several projects that originated from the plan, including increased residential density, upgrades to the pedway system, further activation of green spaces, the addition of new schools to the downtown district, and designated express bus and bike lanes for more efficient public transportation.
Projects under Adrian Smith’s leadership have received more than 150 design awards, including dozens of international awards, 14 National AlA awards, 50 AlA Chicago and local AIA chapter awards, three ULI Awards for Excellence, and three Progressive Architecture Design Awards.
- AIA Chicago Honor Award, Banco de Occidente with Bruce Graham, 1981
- National Honor Award, United Gulf Bank, 1986
- Civic Trust Award, 10 Ludgate in London, 1994
- National AIA Honor Award, Rowes Wharf, 1994
- National AIA Honor Award, State Street Renovation, 1997
- National AIA Honor Award, Lakeshore East Master Plan, 2003
- National AIA Honor Award, Millennium Park Master Plan, 2006
- AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Award, 601 Congress Street, 2006
- CTBUH Global Icon Award, Burj Khalifa, 2010
- National AIA Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design, Chicago Central Area Decarbonization Plan, 2011
- Civic Trust Awards for FKI Tower and Waldorf Astoria Beijing, 2015
- AIA Illinois Daniel Burnham Award, Positioning Pullman, 2016
- AIA Chicago Interior Architecture Award, Chicago Architecture Center, 2020
- CTBUH Awards for Best Tall Building 400 meters and above and Award of Excellence, Central Park Tower, 2021
- AIA Chicago Design Excellence Award, Central Park Tower, 2022
In addition to the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award, other awards to be given during Designight 2025 are the Design Excellence Awards that recognize projects of all scales, from Architecture Extra Small to Extra Large, and Interior Architecture Small to Large. Separate awards, chosen by additional juries/committees, will be given: the Decarbonization Award, the Unbuilt Award and the Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award which is administered by the AIA Chicago Foundation. Designight 2025 will also feature the fourth annual Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center. Finalists for the juried awards and the Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards will be announced in August along with information on how the public can vote for their favorite designs.
Designight 2025
Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
205 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601
Thursday, September 18, 2025
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with After Party to follow
To purchase Award Ceremony tickets call or visit:
Harris Theater Box Office: 312.334.7777
Harris Theater Website: https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/performance/designight-2025
Harris Theater Address: 205 East Randolph Drive
Theater rental and services have been underwritten through support of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.
To purchase combined Awards Ceremony / After Party tickets visit: AIAChicago.org/Designight2025
About AIA Chicago
The American Institute of Architects Chicago (AIA Chicago) serves nearly 4,000 architect members in Chicago. AIA Chicago’s mission champions members by celebrating their impact, promoting learning, and advocating for a thriving architectural community. It fosters a culture of design excellence for equitable, sustainable places and spaces.
AIA Chicago offers lectures and continuing education courses; specialized, issue-specific Knowledge Communities; advocacy for architects; and help for consumers looking for an architect.
AIA Chicago is the local Chicago chapter of The American Institute of Architects. Based in Washington, D.C., The AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1869. Learn more by visiting www.aiachicago.org.