Adrian Smith Claims Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is Trying to Erase His Legacy

There’s some hostility here in Chicago of late, all due to the launch of the Burj Dubai (or, as it was recently renamed, the Burj Khalifa). It’s well known that legendary local architect Adrian Smith was the lead designer behind the world’s tallest building, but he did so back when he was employed at the equally legendary firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, before he left to start his own company with Gordon Gill. And it wasn’t just the Burj, but three more of the world’s tallest buildings, too.