People and Places
                                                    . . . THIS WEEK

Chicago · 2006.1128
Adrian Smith, FAIA, RIBA, and Gordon Gill, AIA, have formed a new design practice, based in Chicago, Illinois: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Their firm will focus on the design of high-performance and sustainable architecture on an international scale. Both previously worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Smith as a design partner and Gill as an associate partner and senior designer. They have extensive international experience with mixed-use projects and supertall towers. At SOM they recently collaborated on a zero-energy tower in Guangzhou, China. Smith's SOM projects included Burj Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, slated to be the world's tallest tower, and Rowes Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. Gill's SOM work included Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou and the Virginia Beach Convention Center, recipient of an AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Award.

Tokyo · 2006.1124
The design has been unveiled for New Tokyo Tower, planned for the Sumida ward of Tokyo, Japan. At a height of 2,013 feet (614 meters), the broadcast tower is expected to become the world's tallest tower when it opens in 2011. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando and sculptor Kiichi Sumikawa designed the building as a roughly cylindrical form rising from a triangular foundation.

Washington, D.C. · 2006.1122
The United States General Services Administration (GSA) has appointed agency architect Leslie Shepherd, AIA, to be its chief architect. During his 18 years with GSA, Shepherd has managed major modernization and new construction projects, been responsible for the National Federal Buildings and Modernizations Program, and served as deputy chief architect. Shepherd will serve as a senior advisor to GSA administrator Lurita Doan and to David Winstead, commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service. He will also administer GSA's Design Excellence Program for all new construction and major repair projects. GSA's current design and construction work in progress is valued at approximately $12 billion.

Eagan · 2006.1120
In Eagan, Minnesota, construction is underway on Novus, a planned development for Trinity School with office buildings for future commercial use. The project architect is Minneapolis-based Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH). The Minneapolis office of multidisciplinary firm Landform provided planning, site design, civil engineering, and landscape architecture services for the project. Nearly 25 percent of the 26.9-acre (10.9-hectare) site will be permanently preserved, including woodland and wetlands areas.

New York · 2006.1120
Ground has been broken for the new Jacob & Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study at Yeshiva University in New York City. The New York office of international architecture firm Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK) designed the six-story, 59,000-square-foot (5,500-square-meter) building. Its simple rectangular form will align with the existing street wall and approximately align in height with a neighboring residential building. Cladding materials will include textured stone, precast concrete, brick, and metal. The design also incorporates a large amount of glass to provide daylight to interior spaces and to allow nighttime illumination from within. The curtainwall on the ground floor and in the study area of the second floor will be translucent and fritted for privacy. Completion is expected by fall 2008.

New York · 2006.1117
New York City-based international technology consulting firm Shen Milson & Wilke has named Gary Schiff a principal. Schiff is the founder and former president of Kroll Schiff & Associates, a security engineering and consulting firm based in Bastrop, Texas. He has experience on a variety of projects, including international airports, highrise office buildings, and government, education, and healthcare facilities. Schiff will expand the firm's security consulting practice.

Singita Grumeti Reserves · 2006.1117
Construction was recently completed for Sasakwa Hill Lodge at Singita Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania, Africa. The London, United Kingdom, office of international design firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) designed the hilltop lodge in the East African colonial manor home style, with views over the Serengeti plains. The resort also includes seven cottages, each with its own pool and garden. Building colors and heights match the landscape. Half of the project construction was performed by local villagers. All trees on site were moved or preserved. The lodge is on nearly 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares), and features an array of amenities. WATG senior associate Celia Geyer was lead architect on the project.

Seattle · 2006.1115
Northwest Architectural Company and Jubany Architecture have merged to form NAC|Architecture, with a staff of over 150. Northwest Architectural Company brings to the merger three offices, in Seattle and Spokane, Washington, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and experience in the education, healthcare, laboratory, biotechnology, recreation, hospitality, civic, and cultural sectors. Jubany Architecture's focus is education projects in Southern California. It will operate as Jubany-NAC|Architecture from its office in Los Angeles.

Washington, D.C. · 2006.1113
Ground has been broken for a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Capital Mall in Washington, D.C. Devrouax & Purnell Architects of Washington, D.C., and ROMA Design Group of San Francisco, California, designed the memorial as a joint venture. A line from King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech inspired the design: "We will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope." A large stone will represent the mountain of despair, with a section removed and placed inside, carved with King's likeness. The memorial will be located on a four-acre (1.6-hectare) site between the Lincoln and Roosevelt Memorials. Completion is scheduled for 2008.

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