'Local Legend' and Architect Adrian Smith Puts Big Buildings in Context

As an architect designing some of the world’s tallest and most important buildings, has rubbed elbows with kings and sheiks — and even locked horns with “The Donald.”

In a wide-ranging interview with journalist Bill Kurtis at Saturday's Local Legends program, presented by the , Smith laid out his vision for the architecture of tomorrow and gave up some of the juicy behind-the-scenes details of his dealings that made the audience titter.

For example, Dubai’s ruler Sheik Mohammed (bin Rashid Al Maktoum) is known to his friends as “Sheik Mo,” which Smith learned while project architect on the world’s largest building, the 2,717 foot-tall Burj Khalifa. The building broke ground in 2004 and opened in 2010.

And yes, Donald Trump is apparently that hard to work for, Smith said. He joked that he almost got the TV star’s signature kiss off “You’re fired” while designing Chicago’s Trump Hotel and Towers.

Among other Chicago buildings that bear Smith’s stamp are the AT&T Corporate Center and NBC Towers, both of which Smith designed while employed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill.

City of Big Shoulders Drew Him In

Though born in Chicago, he was raised in San Clemente, Calif., and returned in the late 1960s to work at SOM. Smith said that when he visited Chicago during his college days as an architecture student, he was impressed with how the skyline resembled manmade mountains.

Five years ago, Smith struck out with partner Gordon Gill to form a Chicago-based firm that specializes in tall buildings and green architecture. Signed copies of his book, Towards Zero Carbon, were available at Saturday night’s Local Legends fundraiser for the .

While Smith works in the city, he said he always has preferred the more bucolic pace of life in Lake Forest, where he and his wife live in a home he designed with Mount Vernon in mind. At one point, they raised sheep and even threw shearing parties, he said, but they since have subdivided their property and sold all but two acres.

Thinking Tall, Really Tall

Literally his largest commission to date will be “topping” his own previous building with one more than twice the size of Chicago’s Willis Tower, the largest building in this country. Saudi Arabia’s planned Kingdom Tower (click here to see images) will stand at least 1 kilometer tall, or 3,280 feet over the waterfront town of Jeddah.

Smith talked a little bit about the logistics of building the Kingdom Tower, which he said is fully financed and set to begin construction in January. It will take 63 months with shifts of workers around the clock.

The walls of these super-high buildings are made of a super strong concrete that is pumped from the ground up to the tallest part of the structure, straight down “in one continuous pour,” Smith said.

It is not like your backyard cement, he said. It is much more liquefied and stronger.

China: Cities Built Without Cars

Kurtis called Smith “the architect of the future,” and audience members were treated to a slideshow of projects Smith has designed in China and in the Middle East, where construction presses forward despite the worldwide economic recession.

In China, Smith is designing walkable circular cities of no more than 1.3 kilometers in diameter that feature nosebleed structures and public transit, with the idea that everything from groceries, doctor’s offices and employment will be reachable without cars.

Though tall buildings grab a lot of attention, Smith said what is important to him is designing with sustainability and context in mind.

“Sustainability is about more than preserving the environment,” Smith said. “Sustainability is about preserving culture.”