Generation Next

Much has been said in this discussion about the need to nurture and promote talented architects from within the firm. How do you maintain a sense of continuity in the process of succession?

Adrian Smith: Many firms are structured around a single person, around the name on the door. What happens when that person retires? What happened to the offices of Mies van der Rohe or Frank Lloyd Wright when they were no longer in attendance? Little more than the firm name survived their departures. Because of its collaborative philosophy, SOM can survive change in its leadership and thrive on it. The firm is an organism as much as it is an organization. I think the current partners want SOM to not only survive them but surpass his or her own legacy.

Craig Hartman: Our ability to reinvent ourselves applies to both design and leadership.

T.J. Gottesdiener: With every promotion, I’ve been told that my most important responsibility to the firm is to find my successor. This is a profound charge to be handed well before I near retirement. It is my job and that of my colleagues to play a role in the continuous rejuvenation of the firm before we’ve had the opportunity to define ourselves as individuals. This is the key to SOM’s longevity—the smooth transition from one generation to the next.

David Childs: I made a comment at the opening of this discussion about SOM’s roots in a new form of architectural guild, where talented professionals joined together to create extraordinary buildings. Our futures should expand this model. We are now augmenting our studios with artists who work in glass or light. We are even collaborating with some of our most revered architectural colleagues. These people are adding to the range of our teams, broadening our ability to search for the most inventive architectural solutions of the future.