SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a wholly owned subsidiary.[1] The firm's name was changed to Field, Hinchman & Smith in 1903, and it was renamed Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in 1907.[2] In 2000, the firm changed its name to SmithGroup. In 2011, the firm incorporated its sister firm, JJR, into its name, becoming SmithGroupJJR. As of August 1, 2018, the firm changed its name back to SmithGroup.[3]

SmithGroup
IndustryArchitecture
Founded1853; 171 years ago (1853)
FounderSheldon Smith
ServicesArchitecture, Building Enclosure Consulting, Campus Planning, Campus Strategy & Analytics, Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering, Energy & Environmental Modeling, Fire Protection & Life Safety Engineering, Historic Preservation, Interiors, Lab Planning, Landscape Architecture, Lighting Design, Medical Planning, MEP Engineering, Programming, Strategy, Structural Engineering, Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Urban Planning
Revenue256,700,000 United States dollar (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
1,400 (2023) Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.smithgroup.com

As of 2019, it ranks among the top 50 architecture firms according to Architect Magazine, the official magazine of AIA[4] and also ranked as the 5th largest architecture/engineering firm in the U.S.[5] The firm is composed of client industry-focused practices serving Cultural, Government, Healthcare, Higher Education, Mixed-Use, Parks & Open Spaces, Science & Technology, Senior Living, Urban Environments, Waterfront and Workplace markets. The firm has offices in 20 cities: Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Madison, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.

The firm expanded outside North America by opening an office in Shanghai, China, in December 2013.[6]

Notable architects and engineers from the firm include Wilfred Armster, C. Howard Crane, David DiLaura, Rainy Hamilton Jr., Robert F. Hastings, Julius Goldman, William Kapp, Wirt C. Rowland, Rosa T. Sheng and Minoru Yamasaki.

Notable projects edit

Edward H. McNamara Terminal Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Guardian Building, Detroit, Michigan
The Brock Environmental Center
ProjectLocationCompletion

Date

ArchitectsNote

Central United Methodist Church

Detroit, Michigan1866

Detroit Opera House

Detroit, Michigan1868
Ford Piquette Avenue PlantDetroit, Michigan1904

Dodge Main Factory

Detroit, Michigan1910

Central Power Plant,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan1914

Fyfe Building

Detroit, Michigan1919Amedeo Leone

Hilberry Theatre

Detroit, Michigan1917Field, Hinchman and Smithoriginally the First Church of Christ Scientist

Yost Ice Arena,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan1923T. J. Hinchman[7]formerly, Yost Field House
J. L. Hudson Department Store and AdditionDetroit, Michigan1946Demolished in 1998[8]
Bankers Trust BuildingDetroit, Michigan1925Wirt C. Rowland
The Players ClubhouseDetroit, Michigan1925William E. Kapp
Buhl BuildingDetroit, Michigan1925Wirt C. Rowland
Mistersky Power PlantDetroit, Michigan1925Amedeo Leone[9]
Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian ChurchIndian Village, Detroit1926Wirt C. Rowland
Meadow Brook HallRochester, Michigan1926William E. Kapp
Parke-Davis Administration BuildingDetroit, Michigan1926Amedeo Leone[9]
Michigan Bell (now AT&T)

Detroit-Columbia Central Office Building

Detroit, Michigan1927Wirt C. Rowland
Kelvinator Administration BuildingDetroit, Michigan1927Amedeo Leone[9]known as Plymouth Road Office Complex (PROC)
League of Catholic Women BuildingDetroit, Michigan1927
Country Club of DetroitGrosse Pointe Farms, MichiganAmedeo Leone[9]
School and convent buildings,

Saint Paul Catholic Church

Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
Music Hall Center for the Performing ArtsDetroit, Michigan1928William E. Kapp
Intramural Sports Building,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan1928Theodore J. Hinchman[7]
Penobscot BuildingDetroit, Michigan1928Wirt C. Rowland
Guardian BuildingDetroit, Michigan1929Wirt C. RowlandCurrent home of SmithGroup's Detroit office
Denby High SchoolDetroit, Michigan1930Wirt C. Rowland
Pershing High SchoolDetroit, Michigan1930Wirt C. Rowland
Detroit Public LibraryDetroit, Michigan1932
Rackham School of Graduate Studies,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan1938
Pease Auditorium,

Eastern Michigan University

Ypsilanti, Michigan1941
GM Tech CenterWarren, Michigan1955[Architect of Record]
1001 WoodwardDetroit, Michigan1965the former First Federal Building
Whiting AuditoriumFlint, Michigan[10]1967
National Institutes of Health Research LaboratoriesBethesda, Maryland1968
Kmart Corporation International HeadquartersTroy, Michigan1969
Harper Hospital in the Detroit Medical CenterDetroit, Michigan1970
Hart PlazaDetroit, Michigan1978including the Dodge Fountain designed by Isamu Noguchi
Joe Louis ArenaDetroit, Michigan1979former home of the NHL Detroit Red Wings
IBM Corporation Manufacturing and Engineering ComplexTucson, Arizona1979
Defense Intelligence Agency HeadquartersWashington, DC1984
Eli Lilly and Company Biomedical Research CenterIndianapolis, Indiana1984
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbana, Illinois1989
Chrysler World HeadquartersAuburn Hills, Michigan1996
Comerica ParkDetroit, Michigan2000home of the MLB Detroit Tigers
Phelps Dodge Corporate HeadquartersPhoenix, Arizona2001
Chesapeake Bay Foundation HeadquartersAnnapolis, Maryland2001the first building in the United States to earn a LEED Platinum certification
Edward H. McNamara Terminal Detroit Metropolitan AirportRomulus, Michigan2002
University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay Genentech HallSan Francisco, California2002
Ford FieldDetroit, Michigan2002home of the NFL Detroit Lions
Consumers Energy, Corporate HeadquartersJackson, Michigan2003
Discovery Communications World HeadquartersSilver Spring, Maryland2003
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Detroit BranchDetroit, Michigan2004
Visteon Village, Corporate HeadquartersDetroit, Michigan2004
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Molecular FoundryBerkeley, California2006
National Academies BuildingWashington, DC
Chandler City HallChandler, Arizona2010
GateWay Community College, Integrated Education BuildingPhoenix, Arizona2012
Brock Environmental CenterVirginia Beach, Virginia2014
University of Illinois, Electrical and Computer Engineering BuildingUrbana, Illinois2014
University of Pennsylvania, Stephen A. Levin BuildingPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania2016
Museum of the BibleWashington, DC2017
DC Water HeadquartersWashington, DC2018the first building in the United States to use a wastewater heat recovery system for heating and cooling[11]
University of Texas at Dallas Engineering BuildingDallas, Texas2018
California Pacific Medical Center - Van Ness CampusSan Francisco, California2019
University of Michigan Museum of Natural HistoryAnn Arbor, Michigan2019
California Institute of Technology - Chen Neuroscience Research BuildingPasadena, California2020

References edit

  1. ^ Cramer, James P. (2005). Almanac of Architecture and Design. Atlanta, GA: Greenway Communications. p. 348. ISBN 0-9675477-9-2.
  2. ^ Lebovich, William (August 6, 2003). "150 Years of SmithGroup". ArchitectureWeek. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "Rebranded SmithGroup Debuts Mission to Design a Better Future". SmithGroup. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  4. ^ "The 2019 Architect 50". Architect. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  5. ^ "Building Design and Construction August 2022". Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  6. ^ Criswell, Jakita (9 December 2013). "Architectural Firm SmithGroupJJR Launches Office in Shanghai, China". DBusiness Magazine. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  7. ^ a b Original Smith, Hinchman & Grylls building plan sheets
  8. ^ "Fourteen Years Ago Today, Detroit Imploded The Hudson's Department Store Building". Curbed Detroit. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  9. ^ a b c d American Institute of Architects application
  10. ^ "Smith, Hinchman & Grylls". Michigan Modern. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  11. ^ "DC Water installs thermal energy exchange system at new headquarters". WaterWorld. Retrieved 28 October 2023.

Further reading edit

External links edit