13 apr 12 | Building Design + Construction

40 Under 40, the Class of 2012

by Tim Gregorski

Sara Beardsley, AIA, LEED AP
Senior Architect | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago
Age: 32
BArch, Illinois Institute of Technology

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Leading design efforts on AS+GG’s Yongsan project, two super-tall towers (1,476 and 1,082 feet) in Seoul, Korea.

Led firm’s modernization and greening of Chicago’s Willis Tower.

Team member on the design and development of the Kingdom Tower, the >3,000-foot structure under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Played critical role in the design of the Federation of Korean Industries headquarters in Seoul, the Incheon International Airport in Korea, the Verde Offices, and the Chicago Central Area Decarbonization Plan.

As technical studio head at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, contributed to the design of Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago and led renovation design of Mies van der Rohe’s Dirksen Federal Building.

EXTRACURRICULAR
Recipient, AIA Young Architects Award, 2011.

Winner, Dubin Family Young Architect Award, AIA Chicago, 2010.

OFF THE CLOCK
Favorite hobbies: traveling to national parks, photography, and drawing.

Favorite movie: “Gattaca.”

Skydiver.

SECRET LIFE
Almost became a structural engineer instead of an architect.