23 of the Best Architecture Firms in Chicago Dominating the Field

Chicago is often cited as an example of a “green city.” Many architecture firms in Chicago have crafted distinctive aesthetics in response to the growing sustainable trend by drawing inspiration from the works of pioneering eco-conscious architects like Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The devastating fires of 1871, which destroyed a large portion of the city, marked a watershed moment in the city’s development, prompting a shift toward using fireproof materials and methods. Because of this, the so-called Chicago Architectural School was born, ushering in the era of high, practical structures made possible by using steel framework and innovative construction methods. During this time, skyscrapers began appearing and gradually began to define the city’s urban landscape.

Great Chicago Fire. ©The British Library

Best Architecture Firms in Chicago

Chicago now boasts a thriving architecture environment, with various cutting-edge firms pushing the field forward in groundbreaking new directions. Here we’ll look at 20 of the best architecture firms in Chicago responsible for some of the city’s most forward-thinking and imaginative buildings. Note that the following firms are listed in no particular order.

1) Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Founded in 1936, SOM is an architectural practice that values cross-disciplinary teamwork. The company has expanded to include creative designers, architects and engineers with advanced technical expertise, and economists and policy analysts in the planning department.
Lever House, Jin Mao Tower, and Jianianhua Center are just a few of SOM’s iconic buildings that showcase the firm’s signature integration of architectural and engineering skills. Because of its forward-thinking approach to design, the company has won approximately 2,000 accolades for leadership, excellence, and originality in the fields of architecture and engineering around the world.

From left to right: ©Ezra Stoller | Esto; Right, ©WatermanClark

2) Burns and Beyerl Architects (bba Architects)

Passion, dedication, teamwork, and harmonization are the cornerstones on which bba Architects was founded. The group’s end goal is to build eco-friendly houses that are also cheap to run. The excellent value bba Architects provides is a frequent source of praise from the firm’s 800+ satisfied customers.
bba Architects are well-known for their exquisite work on various single-family homes, from city rowhouses to lakeside retreats. They do more than just homes; they also do custom restaurants and renovations of historic estates and properties.

Cotswold Manor / bba Architects. ©Nick Johnson

3) Studio Gang

Studio Gang, established by Jeanne Gang, is a Chicago multi-office architectural and urban design firm. Other locations include New York, San Francisco, and Paris. Studio Gang can design and implement cutting-edge projects in architecture, urbanism, interior design, and exhibits by working closely with clients, specialists, and expert advisors from various fields. The firm aims to use cutting-edge design to aid communities, businesses, and individuals in shaping the future.

Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts / Studio Gang. ©Iwan Baan

4) FitzGerald Associates Architecture

FitzGerald Associates is a Chicago institution that has been around for a century and a half. FitzGerald Associates constructed a few of the first skyscrapers in Chicago. Their cutting-edge architecture can now be seen all over Chicago’s districts.
High-rise historic and contemporary structures, workplaces, schools, and factories are all part of the built environment. FitzGerald has been honored with several yearly accolades. Kid’s Choice Awards, community improvement, and new construction were all recognized.

727 West Madison / FitzGerald Associates. ©FitzGerald Associates

5) Goettsch Partners

Goettsch Partners (GP) is an internationally recognized Chicago-based architecture practice known for successfully blending expertise and technology. With initiatives on five continents, they aim to design iconic buildings that positively impact their communities.
They generate several potential designs and then assess each one for its merits, feasibility, and environmental effects. They advocate for technically sound strategies that achieve top-notch performance by emphasizing openness and spatial flexibility. GP can trace its lineage back to Mies van der Rohe’s Chicago office and hopes to continue the architect’s work by using classic materials and expressing ideas clearly.

Abu Dhabi Global Market Square / ©Goettsch Partners. Goettsch Partners

6) Cook Architectural Design Studio

Cook Architectural Design Studio is an all-encompassing company that puts Chicago’s dedication to environmental protection and sustainable practices front and center. Using Green technology, this small architecture firm in Chicago is one of the best in the city for designing commercial facilities that are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. The studio is a multiple-award-winning expert in residential as well as commercial design. The firm is responsible for designing several high-end homes in wealthy parts of the city.

Wabansia Row / Cook Architectural Design Studio. ©Cook Architectural Design Studio

7) CannonDesign

The architects, engineers, industry professionals, and builders at CannonDesign are united by a commitment to finding innovative solutions to the problems facing their clients and the world at large. CannonDesign partners with creative businesses to develop transformative strategies, innovations, building administration software, and manufacturing, emphasizing human health, fairness, business efficiency, and sustainable development.

Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation / CannonDesign. ©CannonDesign

8) Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture

Just shut your eyes and stroll around Chicago. If you can name a building, chances are it was designed and built by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. Hartshorne Plunkard was established in 1987 as a distinguished Chicago architectural practice. Office properties, custom residences, educational institutions, high-rise towers, retail centers, massive skyscrapers, and one-of-a-kind sports facilities are the most common forms of their construction projects.

Nashville Warehouse CO. ©Hartshorne Plunkard

9) Perkins and Will

Established in 1935 on the principle that “good design can change the world,” Perkins and Will is a multidisciplinary, research-driven firm. The company employs over 2,700 people in its various locations across the globe. It has more than 20 design studios focusing on architecture, interior design, sponsored environments, urban design, and landscape architecture.
The firm’s mission is to improve and beautify the world through the lens of its core principles of design quality, diversity and inclusiveness, inquiry, durability, social impact, ecological responsibility, and wellness. Perkins and Will is frequently ranked among the best design firms in the world, and it was recently named one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture.

Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge / ©Perkins&Will

10) dSPACE Studio

dSPACE’s goal is to have happy customers who are informed about and involved in every step of the process. This comprehensive company uses eco-friendly methods and supplies whenever possible. Their portfolio includes work for private homes, public spaces, businesses, and cultural institutions. Many of the AIA’s design awards have been given to the firm for their innovative and stylish homes over the years.

TREE HOUSE – BEVERLY SHORES / dSPACE Studio. ©dSPACE Studio

11) Moss Design

Moss is a Chicago-based, LEED-accredited, multi-state-licensed architecture and urban design firm—project types span from custom furniture to hotels to office buildings. Sustainable architecture is preferred because it is thought to be more economical and protective of cultural heritage when it uses daylight, ventilation, greenery, and nature. Their strategy centers on the innovative application of eco-friendly materials to provide residents with a gratifying environment while causing as minor damage as possible to the natural environment.

River St. Joe Brewery / moss Design. ©Kendall McCaugherty, Hall+Merrick Photographers

12) Booth Hansen

The values of Booth Hansen include caretaking, community, and soul. The firm combines architecture’s artistic and technical components with careful consideration of the ecological impact of its work. The firm has worked on various institutional, social, housing (multi- and single-family), and academic endeavors.

Learning Center – Chicago Botanic Garden / Booth Hansen. ©Booth Hansen

13) Ross Barney Architects

Chicago’s Ross Barney Architects is a multidisciplinary firm acclaimed for its innovative, eco-friendly, and user-driven methodology for designing long-lasting buildings and public spaces. Train stations, energy plants, government structures, schools, parks, and fast food chains are just some of the buildings and places the studio has helped bring back to life.

Railyard Park / Ross Barney Architects. ©Ross Barney Architects

14) Dirk Denison Architects

Dirk Denison tailors its work to meet the requirements of each client within the context of a project’s general area, aesthetic, durability, technique, relevance, and landscape. Their diverse portfolio includes residential, commercial, gallery, school, and furniture design work. However, the firms’ residential works have received the most attention.

©The Michelle Litvin Studio

15) Wheeler Kearns Architects

Award-winning architects Dan Wheeler and Larry Kearns founded their firm, Wheeler and Kearns Architects, in 1996. They were recognized as Chicago’s Architects of the Year in 2008. This forward-thinking firm’s designs are all over Chicago’s residential areas. Children’s museums, a collegiate art center, a preschool, individual projects for urban planning, a furniture catalog, landscapes, and LEED are just a few of Wheeler and Kearns’ many impressive accomplishments.

Mansueto High School / Wheeler Kearns Architects .©Steve Hall, Hall + Merrick Photographers

16) KOO LLC

KOO LLC is an innovative and exploratory company with a solid technical foundation. Jackie Koo, the firm’s founder, combined her interest in philosophy with her appreciation of beauty to develop original and long-lasting approaches to architectural design.
A wide variety of hospitality, residential, educational, conservation, organizational, and urban design projects have been undertaken by KOO LLC. The firm’s ability to win cutting-edge projects and prestigious design accolades sets it apart.

Altgeld Family Resource Center / KOO LLC. ©KOO LLC

17) JGMA

JGMA is an innovative firm confident in the power of cutting-edge, environmentally friendly buildings to revitalize neighborhoods. The company does a lot of voluntary work for the community, including helping with capital campaigns and engaging people with decision-makers, in addition to its charitable endeavors. Regarding architecture firms in Chicago, this one has garnered the most praise. As the company’s roster of backers grows, JGMA continues adorning the city’s skylines with sports arenas, cultural centers, hospitals, airports, universities, and businesses.

Esperanza Health Centers / JGMA. ©Maria Monteagudo | Focal Point

18) HED

HED is a nationwide organization that provides architecture, engineering, and urban planning services. The firm pledges to produce outstanding environmentally friendly alternatives for customers and local areas through collaboration, creative thinking, and innovative design.
Fairness, equality, variety, and openness are highly valued in the HED community, as is the celebration of uniqueness with the power of collaboration in making a difference. The firm’s comprehensive practice focuses on the knowledge and experience of a multifaceted team to produce innovative, effective, and emotionally engaging results.

Manhattan Beach Public Library / HED + Johnson Favaro. ©Eric Staudenmaier

19) John Ronan Architects

John Ronan Architects is a prominent Chicago-based architectural firm that emerged in 1999. This firm’s team of architects and designers is serious about creating groundbreaking buildings through interdisciplinary experimentation, material investigation, and meticulous focus on precision. John Ronan leads the company’s cooperative, research-based design process, which solicits input from various stakeholders to arrive at the most natural solution in each circumstance.

The company’s efforts have been recognized with some accolades, notably three AIA Institute National Honor Awards. The studio’s goal is to create designs that stand out and make an impression based on the unique requirements of each client and project.

The Gary Comer Youth Center / John Ronan Architects. ©Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing

20) Vladimir Radutny Architects

The Chicago office of Vladimir Radutny Architects debuted on August 16, 2008, and it’s a multi-service architecture business. In their work, they seek out novel approaches to design that question established ideas about how space, operation, and materials should be put to use.

They employ intuition and expertise to pick out the unique aspects of each project, and they stress repetition throughout the design process to arrive at practical solutions from which the final products blossom. Since its founding, the company has been featured in publications, receiving awards, and displaying its work in galleries. Vladimir Radutny Architects is always looking for fresh opportunities to apply its design skills, regardless of the project’s size, scope, or location.

21) Partners by Design (Pbd)

Since 1993, the creative professionals at Partners by Design have worked with many clients, using their expertise to craft practical, environmentally friendly spaces and uniquely their own. Crain’s Chicago Business Commercial Real Estate Awards awarded the firm Architect of the Year in 2013 and Interior Design Firm of the Year in 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2011, and 2006.
The firm has a growing international footprint and provides its clients with exceptional service by putting together teams dedicated to furthering their careers. Pbd is committed to maintaining a culture that is both innovative and entertaining, one that values and promotes individuality and new ideas.

22) Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB)

Solomon Cordwell Buenz is a multidisciplinary firm that creates innovative buildings and spaces nationwide. SCB has been visible on the nation’s skylines, colleges, and districts since 1931. The firm’s services are available nationwide through their Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle offices to better assist their clients in meeting their objectives, addressing the needs of their participants, and developing distinctive architectural spaces.

23) FGP atelier

FGP Atelier, a worldwide architecture firm based in Chicago, is shifting the standard for what makes a unique structure. After leaving his position as associate and chairman of JAHN in September 2017, award-winning Mexican architect Francisco Gonzalez Pulido (FGP) established FGP Atelier to lead his practice.

Architecture Firms in Chicago: In a Nutshell

Like San Diego and Miami, Chicago has a rich architectural history, and the city’s progressive shift toward environmental concern is reflected in the individuality of its architectural practices. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about Chicago and its architectural scene, you can find out when the Chicago Architecture Biennial and other exciting events will take place in this article.