Making the world a better, more beautiful place for over eight decades.
Visit history.perkinswill.com to explore a timeline of some of the most defining moments in our firm’s history.
Perkins&Will was founded.
1935
Lawrence (Larry) B. Perkins and Philip (Phil) Will, Jr. co-found an architecture firm in Chicago, Illinois and call it “Perkins&Will.”
1940
Crow Island School in Winnetka, Illinois is completed and celebrated widely for its innovative, human-centered design.
1949
Rugen Elementary School receives an AIA National Merit Award.
1957
We complete our first high-rise office building, the Lutheran Brotherhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
First significant
international project
1963
Work begins on our first significant international project—the National College of Agriculture in Chapingo, Mexico.
1964
We win the commission for the First National Bank of Chicago (along with C.F. Murphy Associates), the tallest bank structure and the world’s tallest skyscraper outside of New York at its completion.
1974
The Standard Oil Building in Chicago, Illinois is the tallest building in Chicago, and the fourth tallest building in the world at its completion.
1984
333 W. Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois, for which we are the associate architect alongside KPF, wins an AIA National Honor Award, strengthening our corporate practice.
1993
The International Terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport is completed.
2002
Chicago Tribune Pressroom (Tribune Interactive) in Chicago, Illinois receives the AIA Institute Honor Award for Interiors.
2016
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opens in Washington, D.C.; Phil Freelon serves as lead architect.
2019
We rebrand as “Perkins&Will,” ushering in a new visual identity and voice. Our new mark reintroduces an ampersand as a nod to our legacy.