Perkins&Will is a global design practice founded in 1935. Since 1986, the group has been a subsidiary of Lebanon-based Dar Al-Handasah (Arabic: دار الهندسة).

History

The firm was established in Chicago by Lawrence Perkins (1907–1998) and Philip Will Jr. (1906–1985). Perkins and Will met while studying architecture at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Perkins&Will attracted national attention in 1940 with the

Crow Island School Crow Island School in Winnetka, Illinois, is an elementary school operated by Winnetka Public Schools. It is significant for its progressive philosophy and its International Style architecture. The design of its building was a collaboration betw ...

in Winnetka, Illinois, designed in association with

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

and

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

. In 1971, the American Institute of Architects named Crow Island School as the recipient of its

Twenty-five Year Award The Twenty-five Year Award is an architecture prize awarded each year by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to "a building that has set a precedent for the last 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architec ...

, which annually recognizes "a building that has set a precedent for the last 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architectural design and significance." In 1986,

Dar Al-Handasah Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners; ) is a privately owned international consulting company active in engineering, architecture, planning, environmental consulting, project and construction management, facilities management, and econ ...

(), a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, purchased Perkins&Will. Together with global engineering, management, planning, and energy firms TYLin, Currie & Brown, Introba, Landrum & Brown, and Penspen, Perkins&Will and Dar now form the Dar Group, which is registered in Dubai. Starting in 2000, Perkins&Will began to acquire other firms in the U.S. and abroad. In August 2004, they merged with the Vancouver practice of architect Peter Busby. In March 2014, Perkins&Will announced its planned acquisition of The Freelon Group, led by the late

Philip Freelon Philip Goodwin Freelon (March 26, 1953 – July 9, 2019) was an American architect. He was best known for leading the design team (with J. Max Bond Jr. of Davis Brody Bond, and David Adjaye) of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of A ...

. Freelon joined Perkins and Will's board of directors and became managing and design director of the firm's North Carolina practice.In 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively, they acquired London-based consultancy Portland Design Associates, U.S. transportation planning firm Nelson\Nygaard. and architecture firm Sink Combs Dethlefs. Sink Combs Dethlefs. In February 2018, Perkins&Will acquired Danish practice

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) is an international architectural firm founded by a group of Danish architects in 1986 in Aarhus, Denmark. It has offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark, and Shanghai, China. In 2018, SHL became part of global arc ...

. Known for their work in the cultural sector, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects were founded in 1986 with offices in Copenhagen and Shanghai.In 2018, they acquired Dallas-based interiors firm Lauckgroup, followed by San Francisco-based Pfau Long Architecture and the London-based firm Penoyre & Prasad in 2019.In July 2022, Perkins&Will acquired the Bainbridge Island, Washington, practice of architect Jason F. McLennan. McLennan became Perkins&Will's chief sustainability officer.

Sustainable design

The firm's website claims to have more

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

(LEED) accredited professionals than any other design firm in North America. In 2011, they announced the LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) platinum level certification for their 100th sustainable building, the Dockside Green Phase Two Balance project, located in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. Notable LEED projects: * University at Buffalo's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences *

Rush University Medical Center Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is an academic medical center in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the hospital for the Rush University System for Health, which includes Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rus ...

, Orthopedic Ambulatory Building – Largest LEED CS Gold healthcare building in the country. * The

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

achieved

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

Gold certification

Notable buildings

2010-07-12 1580x2800 chicago 235 van buren

A secenic view from Plaza inbetween Classes and Hostels in SRM Amaravati - 2

235 Van Buren 235 Van Buren is a high-rise condominium building located in Chicago's Loop neighborhood near the Willis Tower and the 311 South Wacker Drive Building. The 46 story skyscraper was designed by Perkins & Will and built bCMK Companies a Chicago- ...

, Chicago, Illinois * Antilia,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India *

Boeing International Headquarters The Boeing Building (formerly known as the Boeing International Headquarters and previously to that as the Morton-Thiokol International Building) is a 36-floor skyscraper located in the Near West Side of Chicago. The building, at 100 North Riv ...

, Chicago, Illinois * Bridgestone Tower, Nashville, Tennessee *

Chase Tower (Chicago) Chase Tower, located in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago, Illinois, at 10 South Dearborn Street, is a 60-story skyscraper completed in 1969. At 850 feet (259 m) tall, it is the fourteenth-tallest building in Chicago and the tallest building ins ...

, Chicago, Illinois * The Clare, Chicago, Illinois *

Concordia International School Shanghai Concordia International School () is a private, Christian, co-educational international school located in Pudong, Shanghai, China. Founded in 1998, the school is a part of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS). It provides an Ameri ...

, Shanghai, China *

Cornell University College of Engineering The Cornell University College of Engineering (branded as Cornell Engineering) is the engineering school of Cornell University. It was founded in 1870 as the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts. It is one of four private u ...

, Ithaca, New York; complex of seven buildings in the 1950s, including Upson Hall *

, Winnetka, Illinois *

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Fuqua School of Business, Durham, North Carolina *

Fort Collins High School Fort Collins High School is located at 3400 Lambkin Way, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is one of six comprehensive public senior high schools in the Poudre School District. The school colors are purple and gold, and its mascot is the ...

, Fort Collins, Colorado *

GlenOak High School GlenOak High School is a public high school in Plain Township, Stark County, Ohio, Plain Township, Ohio, United States, near Canton, Ohio, Canton. It is the only high school in the Plain Local School District. Sports teams are called the Golden E ...

, Plain Township, Ohio *

Halifax Central Library The Halifax Central Library is a public library in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located on the corner of Spring Garden Road and Queen Street in Downtown Halifax. It serves as the flagship library of the Halifax Public Libraries, repla ...

, Nova Scotia * International School of Beijing, Beijing, China *

Klaus Advanced Computing Building The Christopher W. Klaus Advanced Computing Building is a three-story academic building at the Georgia Institute of Technology that houses a portion of its Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing, College of Computing, Georgia Institut ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, Atlanta, Georgia *

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a natural history museum located in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences. The museum traces its history to the founding collection of the academy in 1857. After a ...

, Chicago, Illinois *

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the Logan Square, Philadelphia, Logan Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. Completed in 2016, the intent to ...

, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University,

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia. *

Proviso West High School Proviso West High School (PWHS) is a public high school located in Hillside, Illinois, United States. It is a part of Proviso Township High Schools District 209, and was opened in 1958. Its sister schools are Proviso East High School and Provi ...

Hillside, Illinois Hillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 8,320. It is a suburb of Chicago. Geography Hillside is located at (41.874797, −87.900372). According to the 2021 census gazetteer fi ...

* Riley Towers, Indianapolis, Indiana *

Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center The Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center is a medical facility in the Illinois Medical District, located at 2020 West Harrison Street in Chicago. It was founded by the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, and cares for people with diseases such as HIV/ ...

, Chicago, Illinois * Signature Place, St. Petersburg, Florida * SoLo House, British Columbia, Canada *

SRM University SRM University (Shri Ramasamy Memorial University) may refer to these related private universities in India: * SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly SRM University), in Tamil Nadu; flagship * SRM University, Andhra Pradesh * SRM Univ ...

Amaravati Amaravati ( , Telugu language, Telugu: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Guntur district on the right bank of the Krishna River, southwest of Vijayawada. The city derives its name from the nearby his ...

, India *

True North Square True North Square is a public plaza and mixed-use development in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. Managed by True North Real Estate Development, a joint venture between James Richardson & Sons and True North Sports & Entertainment, it is still under ...

, Winnipeg, Manitoba *

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, Granoff Music Center, Boston *

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, Davis Hall Building, UB's North Campus,

Amherst, NY Amherst () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. This represents an increase from 122,366 as reported in the 2010 census. It is the 14th most populat ...

Awards

* 2008 CoreNet Sustainability Leadership Award for Sustainable Development * 2008 BusinessWeek and Architectural Record "Good Design is Good Business" Award for Haworth Headquarters * 2009 and 2008 Practice Greenhealth Champion for Change Award * 2009 COTE Top 10 Green Projects, Dockside Green and Great River Energy * 2010

National Building Museum The National Building Museum is a museum of architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning in Northwest Washington, D.C., U.S. It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private non-profit institution. Located at ...

's Honor Award for Civic Innovation, the first architectural firm to be a recipient. * 2015

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

's National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm

References

External links