A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.

Chicago based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designs Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beijing

Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS + GG) has designed the new Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beijing, currently featured on The Architect’s Newspaper Blog. The building has a bronze façade and frame inspired by Beijing’s traditional architecture (the Forbidden City is blocks away) and provides solar shade and an excellent view from each of the 176 rooms.

AS + GG won a Civic Trust Award for this building, which is “given to projects that demonstrate high-quality architecture or design, have demonstrated sustainability, are accessible to all users, and have made a positive cultural, social, or economic contribution to the local community.”

Adrian Smith has served as a member of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Board of Governors since 1999.

Image: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture