Practices led by Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni are well represented on this year’s Architect 50, Architect magazine’s annual ranking of top architecture and design firms, announced earlier this month.
Ranked first overall on this year’s list is Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, where founding partner Gordon Gill (MArch ’93) has worked on landmark projects that include design of the world’s first net zero-energy skyscraper, the Pearl River Tower (designed at SOM Chicago), as well as design of what will become the world’s tallest tower, Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2014, the firm completed its first two megabuildings: the FKI Tower in Seoul, South Korea, and the Waldorf Astoria Beijing. It also undertook a major project for the Astana Expo City 2017 in Kazakhstan, including design of a master plan and 19 buildings.
In addition to its top spot on the Architect 50 list, the firm also triumphed in one of this year’s three subcategories: business.
Elsewhere on the 2015 Architect 50 is NADAAA, ranked 16 on the overall Architect 50 list and first in the design category. NADAAA is led by principal Nader Tehrani (MAUD ’91), who was recently appointed dean of Cooper Union’s Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture.
Other alumni-led firms on the list include William Rawn Associates, whose principals include Douglas C. Johnston (MArch ’87), Clifford V. Gayley (MArch ’89), and Samuel M. Lasky (MArch ’97); Studio Gang Architects, led by founder and principal Jeanne Gang (MArch ’93); and Bruner/Cott & Associates, with founding principal Leland Cott (MAUD ’70).
To see the full list, click here.