Anthony Viola

AS+GG Director Anthony Viola, AIA, LEED AP, works on high-performance projects that focus on the design, development, and use of parametric computational tools that push the boundaries of integrated performance-based design.

During his 12+ years of experience, Anthony has designed many structures through this integrated design process. He seeks to find new ways to realize a project using low-tech methods—such as 3D physical models—and high-tech processes like advanced computer simulations. By developing a clear idea of how each project fits into its site parameters and user conditions he is able to sculpt the building to its most efficient form. Anthony’s methods have garnered attention in the architectural community, particularly in the younger generation, through dozens of workshops and other well-attended design events. His design process is both creative and analytical, bridging the gaps often associated with technical design.

Anthony has also been highly involved in mentoring the next generation of architects. Beginning in 2012 Anthony started a series of quarterly “hack-a-thons” to accelerate and organize research and development at AS+GG. The hack-a-thon’s after-hours format has become a vital, vibrant, and necessary program that allows Anthony’s fellow architects to be supported in their pursuits and interests. The group setting is often supported by an interdisciplinary set of colleagues, allowing the attendees—as a collective—to learn, discuss, and imagine new possibilities and to understand how those possibilities can change the built environment.

Anthony has also been active within AIA Chicago as co-chair for the AIA Chicago Design Knowledge Community. From 2009 to 2014, Anthony organized discussions and presentations with some of the leading designers practicing in Chicago along with their multidisciplinary teams. Each project or firm was made up of an interdisciplinary team of people that executed their craft at an incredibly high level. By bringing together these groups and combining their individual contributions more is gained for not only the project but for the larger professional community. This idea later formed the basis for the creation of the Chicago Computation Group in 2014. Anthony shifted the focus from straight architectural design to a much wider field of practitioners in the fields of data science, artificial intelligence, and advanced building simulation with researchers that use advanced methods and technologies to engage the built environment.

Throughout his work experience, Anthony has sought to link the feedback that he receives through various sources and methods to form truly integrated design solutions. He understands that the more data you can obtain about a project throughout the design process, the more critical design choices can be explored, negotiated, and implemented. His process and integrated performance-based design methodology leads to forward-thinking projects that challenge the role of the profession in the creation of a sustainable built environment that embodies the notion “form follows performance.”

Education

Master of Architecture,University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 2005
Bachelor of Science, Architectural Studies, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 2000

Affiliations + Registrations

Registered Architect, State of Wisconsin
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP)
Chicago Computation Group, Coordinator, 2014 - present
AIA Chicago Design Knowledge Community, Co-Chair, 2008 - 2014

Presentations

Astana Expo 2017 Innovation Award, Chicago Computation Group, August 2017
Form Follows Performance, Chicago Computation Group, March 2015
Off the Grid link, Facades+ Chicago, July 2014
Form Follows Performance, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, June 2014
Computational Design Panel, Autodesk University, September 2013
[Interactive] Environmental Design, University of Illinois Chicago | ASHRAE, September 2013
Wuhan Greenland Tower, Chicago Council on High Rise Buildings, August 2013
Development of Façade Systems for Supertall Buildings, Facades+ Chicago, April 2013

Media

Megastructures: Astana, City of the Future, National Geographic Channel, August 2017
How to make a ‘pure’ glass sphere link, Building Design + Construction, February 2016
Sustainable Design Teams, Methods and Tools in International Practice, Detail Magazine - Green, May 2014
An Innovative Workflow for Bridging the Gap, Between Design and Environmental Analysis, International Building Performance Simulation Association, 2013

Major projects at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture:

The Canopy at Midtown Connector Park
200,00-sf outdoor venue designed to be flexible to support a variety of activities and audiences. The form’s biophilic attributes are blended with cutting-edge technology to be both beautiful and highly intelligent. The project’s main feature is a light-responsive canopy that covers the park-like lawn below during daylight hours and transforms into an LED projection experience at night. Atlanta, Georgia

Forbes International Tower
New mixed-use office tower in the heart of Cairo’s rising New Administrative Capital was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The curvilinear design of glass and steel will rise 43 floors and feature two stories of high-end retail spaces. Cairo, Egypt

Uptown District Tower
190,000 sm 72-story mixed-use tower includes office, residential, and hotel functions. The retail podium includes spaces for vehicle parking, MEP rooms, back of house spaces, a ballroom, and conference rooms, as well as separate entrances for the tower’s functions. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

LinkedIn Carbon Action Plan (CAP)
AS+GG was engaged to prepare a CAP for the LinkedIn Middlefield Campus. The project included conducting studies of existing designs and making recommendations on an approach to delivering a carbon negative campus. Mountain View, California

Golden Leaf Gardens
Highly sustainable mixed-use complex sets a new standard for buildings in Shanghai. The project manages 100% of rainwater on site, supporting a robust approach to resiliency. The buildings are designed to be certified LEED Platinum under the USGBC’s LEED rating scheme for core and shell. Shanghai, China

South HeXi Yuzui Tower (Runmao Tower)
500m supertall tower and retail podium. The tower will be one of the tallest in Nanjing and will feature a magnificent 360° open-air observatory at the tower’s top that will be one of the highest in the world. It will also be one of the tallest buildings to achieve LEED Gold certification when completed in 2025. Nanjing, China

South Bend Renaissance District
New campus design of a former 92,903 sm Studebaker manufacturing facility, located in the Renaissance District of South Bend. Redevelopment will provide a platform for data and technology companies. South Bend, Indiana

Imperial Tower 5
Pair of 200-meter-tall high-end luxury towers. To take advantage of the unique site geometry, an advanced 3D model and VR simulation with parametric interface was created to maximize the most optimal views of the city. Mumbai, India

New Baishizhou Shenzhen
Urban design and planning for mixed-use project that is providing a new development model for an old city district. This 46-hectare city design is flexible and adaptable to advances in technology, business, and lifestyle. Shenzhen, China

Tribune Tower East
Residential mixed-use project includes 200 hotel rooms, 125 condo units, and 439 rental units. Vehicle and pedestrian entries at multiple street levels are organized for specified pickup and drop off areas for tenants, visitors, rideshare services, and commercial vehicles. Chicago, Illinois

Global Mobility Center
Design Lead and Team Leader for the project. Competition design for 194,000 sf  Dubai Expo 2020 signature building with educational legacy as Institute for Global Mobility. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Wuhan Greenland Center
Tower Design Lead. 119-story, 606 m tall, 300,000 sm mixed-use tower will have office, serviced apartments, and hotel functions, and features an energy recovery using an enthalpy wheel integrated into the ventilation system. Wuhan, China

FKI Tower
Design Lead for the conference center. 50-story, 240-meter tower features an innovative exterior wall that helps reduce internal heating and cooling loads while collecting energy through photovoltaic panels. Seoul, Korea

Astana Expo City
Design Lead | Team Leader for Parcel B including Kazakhstan Pavilion, Energy Hall, and commercial pavilions. Master planning and architecture for 174 hectare international exposition site features exhibition and cultural pavilions, service areas including shopping, socio-cultural, educational and civic facilities, and site-wide parks. Astana, Kazakhstan

National Museum of Health and Medicine
Design Lead for concept design and temporary exhibition. 30,000 sf re-adapted three-story building will feature a virtual-reality chamber that allows visitors to interact with digital versions of biological specimens from the collections. Chicago, Illinois

Burj 2020
Tower 1 Design Lead. Commercial tower complex focuses on sustainability strategies including water use reduced by 51% and overall energy use reduced by 38% against baseline building design. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Jeddah Tower (formerly Kingdom Tower)
Design Lead for the base of tower including conference center, drop-offs, entries, and landscape. The next tallest building in the world will feature a luxury hotel, office space, serviced apartments, condominiums, and the world’s highest observatory. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Golden Horn Shipyard
Architecture Design Lead. Master plan for mixed-use district with 31 hectares of water frontage was developed for this important historical shipyard site in the heart of the city. Istanbul, Turkey

Chicago Central Area Decarbonization Plan
Parametric Model Team. Commission from the City of Chicago for a complete “Energy Master Plan” that assesses and looks at innovative solutions for the carbon performance of the downtown area Loop using a holistic urban design approach. Chicago, Illinois

Zhongzhou Holdings Finance Center
Designer for exterior wall design and link space. Exterior wall design for a mixed-use development in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District that optimizes solar and wind mitigation as well as human comfort levels. Shenzhen, China

High Tech Park
Designer. Research development includes R&D towers, three separate chairman villas, and a linked podium building with retail space, restaurant space, and a roof garden. Shenzhen, China

Crown Sydney Hotel Competition
Tower Design Lead. Hotel and residential towers designed to integrate sustainable strategies like self-shading balconies and a high-performance facade. Sydney, Australia

Jinan Pulimen Super High Rise Competition
Tower Design Lead. Integrated “smart shading” systems incorporated into each unit allow unit or building owners to control shades. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows also provide unobstructed views. Jinan, China

Willis Tower Modernization + Greening Project
Integration of sustainable systems to reduce energy consumption and design for highly sustainable, 50-story five-star hotel that will draw net-zero energy from the power grid. Chicago, Illinois

Masdar Headquarters
Interior Design Team. Positive-energy building in zero carbon, zero waste city.  Includes office, retail, transit circulation and landscaped green space. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Za’abeel Energy Master Plan
Designer. Master planning and architecture for large-scale mixed-use district, including office, hotel, parks and civic spaces. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Beijing Century City
Tower Design Lead. Design of a 200 meter office tower that features a split office plate that is linked by an full building interior atrium allowing for natural daylight and ventilation as well as inter-floor connectivity. Beijing, China

Centralcon Baishaling
Design Lead. Proposed design for a 700 meter next generation skyscraper and urban incubator which conceptualized the future of the super-tall building typology utilizing the latest technologies. Shenzhen, China

Jinan Greenland Supertall
Design Lead. Design of a 420 meter office tower and retail, conference center, and hotel complex. The light and faceted glass of the tower is complimented by the heavier stone façade of the hotel complex. Jinan, China

Imperial Tower 5
Design Lead. Design for a pair of 200 meter high-end luxury tower in Mumbai, India.  The design takes advantage of the unique site geometry to maximize the unique views afforded by the site. Mumbai, India

Suzhou Central Plaza Competition
Tower Design Lead. Iconic design for 700 meter mixed-use building that uses passive strategies to minimize building energy usage. The design is reinforced by the expressed lateral support system essential for a supertall building. Suzhou, China

Major projects prior to Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture:

Garmin Flagship Store
Designer for 15,000 sf flagship retail store on Michigan Avenue. Chicago, Illinois

Shedd Aquarium Master Plan and Renovations
Designer. Various exhibition spaces including a 24,000 sf office addition. Chicago, Illinois

Walsh College Barry Center
Designer of 36,000 sf addition to an existing college building including library, classrooms, lecture hall and seminar rooms.
Troy, Michigan