Twenty-four recent designs from prolific Chicago-based design firm Perkins & Will.
In 1935, architects Lawrence Perkins (1907–98) and Philip Will Jr. (1906–85), who had met while studying at Cornell University’s Department of Architecture, established their practice in Chicago. Over nine decades, Perkins & Will has grown into a global design firm with thirty-two studios in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Britain, China, Denmark, Ireland, and Singapore.
Living Design: Perkins&Will Selected Projects, 2020-2025 delves into the craft and design process behind twenty-four of their best projects from the years 2021–25. The featured designs are typologically varied and responsive to geography, climate, and culture. Most notable are the Shanghai Library East, exploring the future of the library as more than a repository for books; Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line Damen station, restoring public transit access to the city's near West Side neighborhood for the first time since 1948; the Vridsløselille Master Plan to transform the site of an old prison in a suburb of Copenhagen into a vibrant residential district; the revitalization of the Weldon Library at Western University in London, Ontario, updating a 1967 Brutalist monument for the twenty-first century; and the Jackson West Medical Center in Doral, FL, transforming the character of healthcare by approaching the architecture as a civic gathering place.
Richly illustrated with sketches, drawings, diagrams, models, and photography, punctuated with Q&As with designers and other collaborators, this volume demonstrates the deep thought and humanistic approach behind the firm’s work and offers insights into how its global design teams develop their projects.
In 1935, architects Lawrence Perkins (1907–98) and Philip Will Jr. (1906–85), who had met while studying at Cornell University’s Department of Architecture, established their practice in Chicago. Over nine decades, Perkins & Will has grown into a global design firm with thirty-two studios in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Britain, China, Denmark, Ireland, and Singapore.
Living Design: Perkins&Will Selected Projects, 2020-2025 delves into the craft and design process behind twenty-four of their best projects from the years 2021–25. The featured designs are typologically varied and responsive to geography, climate, and culture. Most notable are the Shanghai Library East, exploring the future of the library as more than a repository for books; Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line Damen station, restoring public transit access to the city's near West Side neighborhood for the first time since 1948; the Vridsløselille Master Plan to transform the site of an old prison in a suburb of Copenhagen into a vibrant residential district; the revitalization of the Weldon Library at Western University in London, Ontario, updating a 1967 Brutalist monument for the twenty-first century; and the Jackson West Medical Center in Doral, FL, transforming the character of healthcare by approaching the architecture as a civic gathering place.
Richly illustrated with sketches, drawings, diagrams, models, and photography, punctuated with Q&As with designers and other collaborators, this volume demonstrates the deep thought and humanistic approach behind the firm’s work and offers insights into how its global design teams develop their projects.
320 pages | 400 color plates, 150 halftones | 7.99 x 10 | © 2026
Architecture: American Architecture
