Perkins&Will

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.

Perkins&Will attracted national attention in 1940 with the Crow Island School in Winnetka, Illinois, designed in association with Eliel Saarinen and Eero Saarinen. In 1971, the American Institute of Architects named Crow Island School as the recipient of its Twenty-five Year Award, 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 (دار الهندسة), 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, Perkins&Will 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. Freelon joined Perkins and Will's board of directors and became managing and design director of the firm's North Carolina practice.


 * In November 2015, Perkins&Will acquired London-based branding, retail strategy, and design consultancy Portland Design Associates.
 * In May 2016, Perkins&Will acquired U.S. transportation planning firm Nelson\Nygaard.
 * In October 2017, Perkins&Will acquired sports and recreation architecture firm Sink Combs Dethlefs. Sink Combs Dethlefs, founded in 1962, operated offices in Denver and Chicago.


 * In February 2018, Perkins&Will acquired Danish practice Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects. Known for their work in the cultural sector, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects were founded in 1986 with offices in Copenhagen and Shanghai.


 * In March 2018, Perkins&Will acquired Dallas-based interiors firm Lauckgroup.
 * In March 2019, Perkins&Will acquired San Francisco-based Pfau Long Architecture.
 * In November 2019, Perkins&Will acquired London-based firm Penoyre & Prasad.
 * In July 2022, Perkins&Will acquired the Bainbridge Island, Washington, practice of architect Jason F. McLennan, creator of the Living Building Challenge. McLennan became Perkins&Will's chief sustainability officer.

Sustainable design
The firm's website claims to have more Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professionals than any other design firm in North America. In 2011, Perkins&Will announced the LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) platinum level certification for its 100th sustainable building, the Dockside Green Phase Two Balance project, located in Victoria, British Columbia.

Notable LEED projects:
 * University at Buffalo's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
 * VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre, Vancouver BC - LEED Canada Platinum certified, designed to meet the Living Building Challenge
 * Dockside Green in Victoria, BC.
 * Great River Energy Corporate Headquarters in Maple Grove, Minnesota - a LEED Platinum Building that is the first to combine Lake Source Geo-Exchange with displacement ventilation. The building has an urban wind turbine.
 * Discovery Health Center – 1st LEED NC Certified ambulatory care facility in the country.
 * Arlington Free Clinic – 1st LEED CI Gold free health clinic in the USA.
 * Rush University Medical Center, Orthopedic Ambulatory Building – Largest LEED CS Gold healthcare building in the country.
 * Target Retail Store, San Rafael, California - the first LEED Certified store for this company.
 * The Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA achieved LEED Gold certification

Notable buildings

 * 235 Van Buren, Chicago, Illinois
 * Aaniin Community Centre, Markham, Ontario, Canada
 * Antilia, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
 * Boeing International Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois
 * Bridgestone Tower, Nashville, Tennessee
 * Chase Tower (Chicago), Chicago, Illinois
 * The Clare, Chicago, Illinois
 * Concordia International School Shanghai, Shanghai, China
 * Cornell University College of Engineering, Ithaca, New York; complex of seven buildings in the 1950s, including Upson Hall
 * Crow Island School, Winnetka, Illinois
 * Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Durham, North Carolina
 * Florida Atlantic University, Schmidt Biomedical Science Center
 * Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado
 * GlenOak High School, Plain Township, Ohio
 * International School of Beijing, Beijing, China
 * Klaus Advanced Computing Building, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia
 * Knight Campus, Community College of Rhode Island (1972)
 * Lake Forest College, buildings in Middle and South Campus, Lake Forest, Illinois
 * Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago, Illinois
 * Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 * Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 * Proviso West High School, Hillside, Illinois
 * Riley Towers, Indianapolis, Indiana
 * Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, Chicago, Illinois
 * Signature Place, St. Petersburg, Florida
 * SoLo House, British Columbia, Canada
 * SRM University, Amaravati, India
 * Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Sahyadri Park Campus, Pune, India
 * Texas A&M University, Memorial Student Center 2012 Renovation, College Station, Texas.
 * True North Square, Winnipeg, Manitoba
 * Tufts University, Granoff Music Center, Boston
 * Tulane University, Mayer Residences, New Orleans, Louisiana
 * University Health System 2012 expansion project, San Antonio, Texas.
 * University at Buffalo, Davis Hall Building, UB's North Campus, Amherst, NY
 * University of Agostinho Neto, New Campus Master Plan, Luanda, Angola
 * University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, Champaign, Illinois
 * University of Miami, School of Communication, Miami, Florida
 * University of Pennsylvania, Biomedical Research Building II, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 * University of Southern California, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Los Angeles, California
 * Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, North Campus, Suzhou, China

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's Honor Award for Civic Innovation, the first architectural firm to be a recipient.
 * 2015 American Planning Association's National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm