Edward Feiner, former U.S. Chief Architect, joins Perkins+Will as principal

Perkins+Will announces that Edward Feiner, FAIA, has joined the firm as a Principal, effective May 11, 2009. Feiner will assume a leadership position in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and will engage in all facets of the business, including business development, design and project delivery.

“Ed Feiner will have an immediate impact on our clients and our business,” said Phil Harrison, CEO of Perkins+Will. “He will enhance our commitment to design excellence across all projects in all sectors. His incredible networks and client side perspective will contribute to our growth.”

“I am thrilled to be joining a firm with a stated vision and strong commitment to meeting the evolving partnership between designer and client,” said Feiner. “I hope and expect that my background will be valuable in enhancing Perkins+Will’s competitive position within the industry and supporting the firm’s reputational legacy in the years to come.

Feiner is best known for his role as Chief Architect of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) from 1996 until 2005, where he led the agency’s nationwide design and construction program, which included the development of Federal courthouses, office buildings, national laboratories, border stations and special-use projects. While at the GSA, Feiner led the team that managed the largest public works program in the country since the 1930’s and was responsible for overseeing the redevelopment of many of our judiciary facilities.

While at GSA, Feiner founded the Design Excellence Program which reinvented the federal procurement process for architecture. The program streamlined the process of commissioning a new building and focused on design quality.

Feiner was instrumental in the development and execution of GSA’s Green Building Standards, program management, and the design of GSA’s first LEED® certified projects. Earlier in his career at the GSA, Feiner led the development of new standards for energy conservation, green architecture, universal accessibility, adaptive reuse of building, historic preservation, and urban planning.

“Ed joins our team at a critical juncture as we strive to produce a more sophisticated level of design to meet client demands in this era of responsible architecture,” said Harrison.

Prior to joining Perkins+Will, Feiner was Senior Vice President and Chief Architect at Sands Corporation in Las Vegas and Managing Director at the Washington, D.C. office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP.

Feiner is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture by the AIA in 1996. He is on the Board of Trustees of The Cooper Union in New York City, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree, and is on the Board of Regents at The American Architectural Foundation. He also has a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is a frequent guest lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has spoken at many schools of Architecture and Design.

About Perkins+Will

Established in 1935, Perkins+Will (www.perkinswill.com) is an interdisciplinary design practice serving clients from 21 offices around the world. The firm practices architecture, interiors, branded environments, planning + strategies and urban design with clients in the aviation + transit, corporate + commercial + civic, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, and science + technology markets. Perkins+Will routinely ranks among the world's top design firms and has received hundreds of awards, including the prestigious American Institute of Architects' "Firm of the Year Award." With more LEED® Accredited Professionals than any other firm, Perkins+Will is recognized as a leader in the sustainable design movement.