SmithGroupJJR, the oldest architecture and engineering firm in the U.S., has opened an office in Shanghai, China.
The 160-year-old SmithGroupJJR, known for its award-winning designs and integrated services, will focus on several of China’s biggest growth markets: research and development, healthcare, continuing care/retirement communities, and higher education.
The new office follows a number of significant projects SmithGroupJJR has designed in China in recent years, serving Chinese clients and U.S-based companies expanding their operations to China. In Changchun, the firm designed the new 468,000-square-meter (5.0 million square feet) automotive research and development center for First Automotive Works, China’s leading manufacturer of passenger cars and commercial trucks and buses. Now under construction, the project will be completed in 2015.
Continuing care/retirement community design is another area of expertise successfully brought to China by SmithGroupJJR. Starting construction this fall in Shanghai is the 21-story ZhongShan Park, a continuing care retirement community SmithGroupJJR designed for the Vcanland Senior Living Group.
Leading SmithGroupJJR’s China operations is Russ Sykes, a 28-year veteran of the firm. Sykes is dividing his time between Shanghai and the SmithGroupJJR office in Detroit, Mich., where he’s spent most of his career.
“Many of our China-based clients, like First Automotive Works, traveled to the U.S and sought us out for our specialized design expertise,” Sykes said. “Now, with the new office, our clients in Shanghai have direct access to our services. Simultaneously, they benefit from the alliances we’ve established and our understanding of how to work in China,” Sykes added .
SmithGroupJJR President & CEO Carl Roehling believes the growing healthcare market in China will help the firm succeed.
“Clients are requesting the level of design expertise we possess,” Roehling said. “For the growing healthcare market in China, there is a need for firms that excel in healthcare design and the advanced technology used in hospitals. We have that expertise,” he added.
SmithGroupJJR is ranked as the10th largest healthcare design firm in the world by the 2013 edition of World Architecture 100, published by Building Design magazine. In Shanghai, SmithGroupJJR designed Shuguang Hospital for Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medical University. The firm’s U.S. clients include the National Institutes of Health, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, and Kaiser Permanente.
SmithGroupJJR’s China office is located in the Puxi area of Shanghai. The address is Suite A409, Tomorrow Square, 399 W. Nanjing Road, Shanghai, 200003. The phone number is 86 21 2308 1188.
About SmithGroupJJR
SmithGroupJJR is the oldest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the U.S., founded in 1853. The firm consistently ranks top 10 in the U.S in the primary client markets it serves: healthcare, science & technology, higher education and workplace. A leader in sustainable design, SmithGroupJJR has completed 91 LEED certified projects to- date. The firm’s U.S. offices are located in Ann Arbor, MI; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Detroit, MI; Madison, WI; Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix, AZ; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC.
Related Stories
Industrial Facilities | Jun 26, 2015
Google to convert an Alabama coal-burning plant to a data center running on clean energy
The $600 million conversion project will be Google's 14th data center globally, but the first it has committed to in eight years.
High-rise Construction | Jun 23, 2015
The world's best new skyscrapers for 2015
One World Trade Center and Abu Dhabi's Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower are among the four towers named Best Tall Buildings by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Building Materials | Jun 12, 2015
Construction materials prices up in May, down year-over-year
Prices for inputs to construction industries rose by 1.1% in May—the largest month-over-month increase in more than two years.
Office Buildings | Jun 12, 2015
Houston's energy sector keeps office construction humming
Colliers International projects continued expansion this year in its quarterly report on national office market.
Smart Buildings | Jun 11, 2015
Google launches company to improve city living
The search engine giant is yet again diversifying its products. Google has co-created a startup, called Sidewalk Labs, that will focus on “developing innovative technologies to improve cities.”
Contractors | Jun 1, 2015
Nonresidential construction spending surges in April
Nonresidential construction is up by a solid 8.8% over the past year, consistent with ABC's forecast of high single-digit growth.
Office Buildings | Jun 1, 2015
Can you make a new building as cool as a warehouse?
Just as we looked at that boarded up warehouse and thought it could be something other, office towers can be reborn, writes CannonDesign's Robert Benson.
Fire and Life Safety | May 27, 2015
7 bold applications and innovations for fire and life safety
BD+C’s roundup features colorful sprinklers for offices, hotels, museums; a fire-rated curtain wall at a transit hub in Manhattan; a combination CO/smoke detector; and more.
BIM and Information Technology | May 27, 2015
4 projects honored with AIA TAP Innovation Awards for excellence in BIM and project delivery
Morphosis Architects' Emerson College building in Los Angeles and the University of Delaware’s ISE Lab are among the projects honored by AIA for their use of BIM/VDC tools.
Healthcare Facilities | May 27, 2015
Rochester, Minn., looks to escape Twin Cities’ shadow with $6.5 billion biotech development
The 20-year plan would also be a boon to Mayo Clinic, this city’s best-known address.