Living Design

In 1935, architects Lawrence Perkins (1907–98) and Philip Will Jr. (1906–85), who had met while studying Cornell University’s Department of Architecture, established their practice in Chicago. Over nine decades, Perkins & Will have grown into a global design firm with 32 studios in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Britain, China, Denmark, Ireland, and Singapore.

Living Design: Perkins & Will—Selected Projects, Volume 1 delves into the craft and design process behind 25 of their best projects from the years 2021–25. The featured designs are typologically varied and responsive to geography, climate, and culture. Most notable of them 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 neighbourhood 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 revitalisation of the Weldon Library at Western University in London, Ontario, updating a 1967 Brutalist monument for the 21st 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, the volume demonstrates the deep thought and humanistic approach behind Perkins & Will’s firm’s work.