Architects and Designers

Adrian Smith

Also Known As Adrian Devaun Smith

Contemporary

Citation Formats

General Reference

Architecture and Design Atlas. "Adrian Smith." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://architecture.interactiveatlas.org/architects/adrian-smith.

APA Style

Architecture and Design Atlas. (n.d.). Adrian Smith. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://architecture.interactiveatlas.org/architects/adrian-smith

BibTeX

@misc{architectureanddesignatlas-adrian-smith,
  author = {Architecture and Design Atlas},
  title = {Adrian Smith},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://architecture.interactiveatlas.org/architects/adrian-smith},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Adrian Devaun Smith (born 19 August 1944 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American architect known for designing some of the tallest buildings in the world. He spent much of his career at the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago, beginning in 1967 and serving as a design partner from 1980 to 2003, where his completed work included the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai and the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. While still at SOM he designed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building on its 2010 completion, and later the still unfinished Jeddah Tower, designed to surpass it. In 2006 he co-founded the firm Adrian Smith plus Gordon Gill Architecture, dedicated to high performance, energy efficient design, and later added Central Park Tower in New York to his completed projects; he received the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Facts

Birth Date

1944-08-19 1

Birth Year

1944 1

Nationality

American 1

Defining Contribution

Designed the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building on its 2010 completion, while a design partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Completion of the Burj Khalifa

Adrian Smith served as chief architect of the Burj Khalifa at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

Source Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

Works Designed

Burj Khalifa

Designed by Adrian Smith as design partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), the architecture firm of record, before he left to found Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in 2006.

Source Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

WikipediaBirth infobox

Quote, Birth infobox

Adrian Devaun Smith (born August 19, 1944)

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1. Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

WikipediaLead sentence

Quote, Lead sentence

Adrian Devaun Smith (born August 19, 1944) is an American architect.

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1. Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

WikipediaBurj Khalifa credit

Quote, Burj Khalifa credit

He designed the world's tallest structure, Burj Khalifa, as well as the building projected to surpass it, the Jeddah Tower.

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1. Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

WikipediaAS+GG founding

Quote, AS+GG founding

In 2006, he founded Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), which is dedicated to designing high-performance, energy-efficient, and sustainable architecture.

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1. Wikipedia: Adrian Smith (architect)

WikipediaWorks Designed: Burj Khalifa, Burj Khalifa design credit

Quote, Works Designed: Burj Khalifa, Burj Khalifa design credit