Christopher Hurst

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Christopher Hurst

Christopher Hurst AIA

Senior Architect Christopher Hurst’s experience at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has been as design team leader on a variety of mixed-use developments around the globe, including supertall buildings in China. Chris has an extensive background in large-scale commercial and residential projects in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

With a focus on sustainability, he has led design efforts on such projects as a 50,000 sf net-zero-energy high school on Chicago’s north side, a new 940,000 sm central business district in Beijing and Ahlamana, a 36,000 sm mixed-use highrise building at King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has also participated in the design development of Kingdom Tower, to be the world’s tallest building when completed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2017.

Before joining AS+GG in 2008, Christopher worked as an associate at Lohan Anderson on various projects in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. He directed projects from early schematic design through construction administration. His projects included as a $9 million private residence in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, several FBI field offices in various cities in the United States, and a research laboratory building in Riyadh. While working on the FBI field offices, he attained an expertise in the development of blast-resistant curtain-wall design.

From 2000 to 2004, Christopher held positions at the San Francisco and Chicago offices of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, where he worked with both Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill. While at SOM, Christopher was a project architect and designer on buildings in Chicago, London and Beijing, including Veteran’s Memorial Hospital Westside in Chicago, Huron Quay One at London’s Canary Wharf and China World Trade Center in Beijing.

Education

Bachelor or Architecture and Bachelor of Environmental Design, Ball State University, 1997

Affiliations

American Institute of Architects
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards

Awards

American Architecture Award, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, 2012

Presentations + Publications

Concepts Magazine, 2003
Visionary Chicago Architecture, 2005
Im Fokus

Major projects at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture:

Ahlamana
Senior Designer for mixed-use 74.5 m and 105 m residential and office towers consisting of 5,612 sm of area. The program includes four to five below-grade levels for partial storage, parking and support areas.  Sustainable elements include district cooling, solar hot water, energy-efficient lighting and equipment, a greywater system and highly efficient HVAC and MEP Systems. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Private Chicago Residence
Renovation and addition of single family home, based on the reversal of natural light relationships between the interior and exterior spaces.  Material section based on life cycle assessments which yield more durable and VOC free materials for the life of the project . Chicago, Illinois

Kingdom Tower Master Plan
Master planning for the land surrounding the next tallest building in the world. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Confidential Girls High School
Private girl’s high school on the north side of Chicago includes 10 classrooms, science lab, computer lab, lunchroom for 200 students with kitchen. Multi-purpose spaces include a 200 seat auditorium with stage, full library and flexible student space.  Chicago, Illinois

Yixing Dongju Far East Development
Master planning and architectural design for 5,200,00 sf (484,455 sm) development consisting of two towers, a mixed-use office and hotel tower and a neighboring residential tower. Intersecting buildings create a central park space, which can convert to a dramatic theater space. Yixing, China

KAPSARC Competition Entry
Competition entry for research facility for major international corporation’s headquarters. The design was developed specifically for extreme weather conditions and features a high-performance, lightweight ETFE skin, intelligent cladding to respond to solar radiation and wind, and the incorporation of a building-integrated photovoltaic system. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Kuwait University Master Plan Competition Entry
Master planning competition entry for university’s central administration facilities complex which includes administration building, conference center, convocation hall, cultural center, library, visitor center and grand mosque. Shadadiyah, Kuwait

Masdar Headquarters
Positive Energy building (generating more energy than it consumes) in zero-carbon, zero-waste city outside of Abu Dhabi. Project includes office and residential space, retail, transit circulation and incorporates landscaped green space. Masdar City at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates


At previous employers:

Seigle House
10,000 square foot private residence in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. Chicago, Illinois

Haffencity Master Plan
544,000 square meter mixed use masterplan for Hamburg's Hafencity Island in the River Elbe. Hamburg, Germany

KACST Laboratory
26,000 square meter biotechnology laboratory at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Jesse Brown Medical Center
200-bed inpatient expansion to the existing VA Westside Medical Center including new Departments for ICU, Surgery and Emergency Medicine. The 8-story, 240,000 sf building achieves a creative allocation of space, establishing a new entry sequence and clearly articulated wayfinding on the tight, urban site. Chicago, Illinois

GSA Office Building
177,000 square foot office building for the FBI Charlotte Field Office. Charlotte, North Carolina

Dubai Maritime City R15
50,000 square meter high rise residential tower at Dubai Maritime City. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai Industrial City
1,000,000 square meter residential and hotel complete at Dubai's new Industrial City. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Adler Planetarium
Lobby renovation and museum expansion. Chicago, Illinois

China Central Television
5,000,000 square meter television broadcast facility. Beijing, China

BTV Television Studios
Broadcast facility. Beijing, China

China World Trade Center
Convention center. Beijing, China

World Finance Street
Office towers. Beijing, China

HQ1
International banking headquarters building at Canary Wharf. London, England

DS1
International banking headquarters building at Canary Wharf. London, England

Christopher Hurst on…

…design
Design to me is something that is a reflection of your personality and how you see the world. Forms found in nature and mathematics give me direction and solitude when I design buildings. Sitting and sketching an idea to solve a problem in a simple, rational and innovative way is very therapeutic. I relate sketching ideas to a composer putting notes on a sheet of paper for the first time, or the painter sitting with his blank canvas. I like to look at buildings very simply and get the big idea right away. I also find that the best design happens when you work with restraints, be they site-related or cultural. These restraints can really inform the building's form and give it its life and character. Imagine how different such masterworks as the Guggenheim Museum in New York or Louis Kahn's Exeter Academy Library would be without their restraints. Buildings should be beautiful and funtional.

…where he finds inspiration
In the modern movement. The avant-garde of the 1950s and '60s architecture is where I go when looking for inspiration or just to be reenergized about my profession. Louis Kahn, Eero Saarinen and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe are my heroes.

…his favorite "moment" in architecture
When seeing something I have designed constructed. There is nothing more rewarding. It really moves my soul to walk through something I have conjured up in my mind.

…his favorite city architecturally
I am not sure I can narrow it down to just one. There are aspects of many cities that I find myself wanting to see more of. I really enjoy the old modern buildings in New York. Their scale is perfect. I also love London, where there is such an intimacy about the scale of the streets intertwined with the grandness of the buildings. I think Rome is every architect's first love, but maybe that's a bit too stereotypical.

…his favorite thing about a collaborative design process
Realizing that I don't have all of the answers. It's very humbling working with very talented people. It keeps you honest.

…what he'd be if he weren't an architect
An airline pilot. I think it's because I have a love of jumbo jets.

…what he does when he's not designing
I am exploring cities, mine or someone else's. I go on vacation to see buildings, never to relax. When at home I enjoy walking around my Lincoln Park neighborhood here in Chicago and discovering new things about it. I do enjoy getting out into nature as well. The American national parks are as inspiring to me as anything else. When there I find myself a star gazer.