SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm based in Detroit, Michigan. 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
Revenue354,000,000 United States dollar (2023) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
1,500 (2024) 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

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

Date

Architects Note

Central United Methodist Church

Detroit, Michigan 1866

Detroit Opera House

Detroit, Michigan 1868
Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Detroit, Michigan 1904

Dodge Main Factory

Detroit, Michigan 1910

Central Power Plant,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan 1914

Fyfe Building

Detroit, Michigan 1919 Amedeo Leone

Hilberry Theatre

Detroit, Michigan 1917 Field, Hinchman and Smith originally the First Church of Christ Scientist

Yost Ice Arena,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan 1923 T. J. Hinchman[7] formerly, Yost Field House
J. L. Hudson Department Store and Addition Detroit, Michigan 1946 Demolished in 1998[8]
Bankers Trust Building Detroit, Michigan 1925 Wirt C. Rowland
The Players Clubhouse Detroit, Michigan 1925 William E. Kapp
Buhl Building Detroit, Michigan 1925 Wirt C. Rowland
Mistersky Power Plant Detroit, Michigan 1925 Amedeo Leone[9]
Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church Indian Village, Detroit 1926 Wirt C. Rowland
Meadow Brook Hall Rochester, Michigan 1926 William E. Kapp
Parke-Davis Administration Building Detroit, Michigan 1926 Amedeo Leone[9]
Michigan Bell (now AT&T)

Detroit-Columbia Central Office Building

Detroit, Michigan 1927 Wirt C. Rowland
Kelvinator Administration Building Detroit, Michigan 1927 Amedeo Leone[9] known as Plymouth Road Office Complex (PROC)
League of Catholic Women Building Detroit, Michigan 1927
Country Club of Detroit Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Amedeo Leone[9]
School and convent buildings,

Saint Paul Catholic Church

Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts Detroit, Michigan 1928 William E. Kapp
Intramural Sports Building,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan 1928 Theodore J. Hinchman[7]
Penobscot Building Detroit, Michigan 1928 Wirt C. Rowland
Guardian Building Detroit, Michigan 1929 Wirt C. Rowland Current home of SmithGroup's Detroit office
Denby High School Detroit, Michigan 1930 Wirt C. Rowland
Pershing High School Detroit, Michigan 1930 Wirt C. Rowland
Detroit Public Library Detroit, Michigan 1932
Rackham School of Graduate Studies,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan 1938
Pease Auditorium,

Eastern Michigan University

Ypsilanti, Michigan 1941
GM Tech Center Warren, Michigan 1955 [Architect of Record]
1001 Woodward Detroit, Michigan 1965 the former First Federal Building
Whiting Auditorium Flint, Michigan[10] 1967
National Institutes of Health Research Laboratories Bethesda, Maryland 1968
Kmart Corporation International Headquarters Troy, Michigan 1969
Harper Hospital in the Detroit Medical Center Detroit, Michigan 1970
Hart Plaza Detroit, Michigan 1978 including the Dodge Fountain designed by Isamu Noguchi
Joe Louis Arena Detroit, Michigan 1979 former home of the NHL Detroit Red Wings
IBM Corporation Manufacturing and Engineering Complex Tucson, Arizona 1979
Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters Washington, DC 1984
Eli Lilly and Company Biomedical Research Center Indianapolis, Indiana 1984
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois 1989
Chrysler World Headquarters Auburn Hills, Michigan 1996
Comerica Park Detroit, Michigan 2000 home of the MLB Detroit Tigers
Phelps Dodge Corporate Headquarters Phoenix, Arizona 2001
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Headquarters Annapolis, Maryland 2001 the first building in the United States to earn a LEED Platinum certification
Edward H. McNamara Terminal Detroit Metropolitan Airport Romulus, Michigan 2002
University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay Genentech Hall San Francisco, California 2002
Ford Field Detroit, Michigan 2002 home of the NFL Detroit Lions
Consumers Energy, Corporate Headquarters Jackson, Michigan 2003
Discovery Communications World Headquarters Silver Spring, Maryland 2003
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Detroit Branch Detroit, Michigan 2004
Visteon Village, Corporate Headquarters Detroit, Michigan 2004
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Molecular Foundry Berkeley, California 2006
National Academies Building Washington, DC
Chandler City Hall Chandler, Arizona 2010
GateWay Community College, Integrated Education Building Phoenix, Arizona 2012
Brock Environmental Center Virginia Beach, Virginia 2014
University of Illinois, Electrical and Computer Engineering Building Urbana, Illinois 2014
University of Pennsylvania, Stephen A. Levin Building Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2016
Museum of the Bible Washington, DC 2017
DC Water Headquarters Washington, DC 2018 the first building in the United States to use a wastewater heat recovery system for heating and cooling[11]
University of Texas at Dallas Engineering Building Dallas, Texas 2018
California Pacific Medical Center - Van Ness Campus San Francisco, California 2019
University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Ann Arbor, Michigan 2019
California Institute of Technology - Chen Neuroscience Research Building Pasadena, California 2020

References

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  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

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