David M. Childs, FAIA, touched countless lives through his leadership at SOM and his work around the world. Since his passing on March 26, we have been reflecting on his 50-year career—from his work on some of the most complex projects in the firm’s history to the era of growth he ushered near the turn of the century.

David had an outsize impact on the New York City skyline, Washington, D.C.’s downtown, and cities across the world. Often in the public spotlight, he led the design of many of New York’s highest profile projects, including One World Trade Center, One Worldwide Plaza, and the Time Warner Center (now Deutsche Bank Center) at Columbus Circle. In the nation’s capital, his master plan for Constitution Gardens transformed a vast portion of the National Mall into a pedestrian-centered public park, and his work in transportation—from expanding Toronto Pearson International Airport to fostering the creation of Moynihan Train Hall in New York—dramatically improved the travel experience in some of the world’s busiest transit hubs. 

David’s legacy is defined by these building projects, but also by his influence as an inspiring leader and mentor to generations of architects at SOM.

“He had such a profound impact on our lives,” said Partner Laura Ettelman, who serves on SOM’s Executive Committee. “We’ve had a lot of towering figures in SOM’s history, but few have had the kind of impact that David had. He was a visionary and cared deeply for the people he worked with and designed for, and that compassion came through in everything that he did. He saved our firm in the economic downturn of the 1990s, developed new areas of practice, and heralded an urbanistic design approach that persists across all our work today.”

Origins in the capital

“What is architecture? Is it a building? Is it a room? Is it a facade of an object or a piece of the city? They’re just different scales of the same design problem.” – David Childs, 2011

David was born in 1941 and attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, an institution that he would return to decades later to design a natatorium. He majored in zoology at Yale before a lecture by Vincent Scully on architecture sparked an interest in the built environment. In 1967, he graduated with a Master of Architecture and moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation—a public organization formed to revitalize “America’s Main Street.”

It was there that David met Nathaniel Owings, the visionary SOM founder, and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, with whom he’d collaborate decades later on early designs for Moynihan Train Hall. Owings persuaded David to join SOM and open an office in D.C. in 1971. There, David led the design of Constitution Gardens, the Four Seasons Hotel, and the National Geographic Headquarters. He rose at SOM rapidly, becoming a partner in 1975 and accepting a presidential appointment to chair the National Capital Planning Commission under President Richard Nixon that same year.

Then, in 1984, came a tap on the shoulder. Legendary designer Gordon Bunshaft had retired and the New York office needed new leadership.

Transforming the practice

“…the greatest work of man, the greatest piece of art of man, is New York City…Everything about it is exciting and moving and challenging.” – David M. Childs, 2005

For David, New York in the 1980s was a brand-new canvas: the city provided thrilling opportunities to design large-scale architecture and contribute to the revitalization of the public realm, while navigating the challenges of building under the New York limelight. But the stock market crash in 1987 brought commercial development, SOM’s mainstay in that era, to a near halt. To lead the firm through that crisis, the partners created a new position—a chairmanship—and elected David to that role.

“We needed to have one person at the helm, making the decisions for the firm, and he was the right person,” said former Partner T.J. Gottesdiener. “David rescued the firm. He made a lot of hard choices to consolidate the firm, and to watch him was to witness a master class in how to be an architect, a partner, a mentor, and a leader.”

This downsizing and restructuring gave rise to a new generation of leadership at SOM, and David mentored many of these young architects and gave them opportunities to grow.

“I never believed that leadership could be taught, but that’s exactly what David did,” said former Partner Gary Haney. “David had this way of including everyone in the design process, especially young architects. He’d find you and ask for your opinion, and in those moments, you’d feel like the only person with him in the room. He never had any problem starting over with a new idea. You always felt you were growing, and I carried that lesson with me as I, in turn, taught new generations.”

Those new ideas branched out beyond the commercial market. Under David’s leadership, SOM pursued and won new commissions in transportation, education, government buildings, and healthcare worldwide from Canada and Brazil to England, Germany, and Japan. Some of the major projects from that time were Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the renovation of the historic stations along Amtrak’s northeast corridor, the Columbia University East Campus master plan, Tokyo Midtown, and the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. 

“The early 1990s were very tough, but out of that, SOM became so much stronger,” said Senior Consulting Partner Craig Hartman. “Previously, each office operated like an individual fiefdom, linked by annual partner meetings and finances. That siloed attitude was antithetical to David’s way of thinking about architecture, cities, and SOM’s organization. A new generation of partners and David’s leadership transformed the firm into a borderless, collaborative entity, committed to a united design ethos.”

The urbanist

“…the real open space of New York is its streets and its grid. That’s what makes New York.” – David Childs, 2005

In all his work, David approached design with an eye toward the big picture: to look beyond a property line and consider how a building could improve the public realm. This urbanistic approach to design can be seen most evidently in the Time Warner Center and his work at both 7 World Trade Center and One World Trade Center, among the largest and most complicated buildings of David’s career.

Time Warner came first. It was envisioned as a “city within a building”: a 2.8-million-square-foot, mixed-use development along the western curve of Columbus Circle, where the derelict New York Coliseum had cut off much of 59th Street before it was demolished in 2000. The project had gone through multiple iterations by several architects since the 1980s, each scheme critiqued for the long shadows it would cast over Central Park. 

David saw the project differently—as an opportunity, he said in a 2005 interview, “to do a building that really was New York.” He described how the the design responds to its unique setting and the city’s classic architecture. “The end result was a building that was akin to the twin tower models along Central Park West, and it was based on the grid of the city. […] 59th Street is a special street, because it’s also Central Park South. I wanted to reestablish that street.”

Now called the Deutsche Bank Center, the 53-story tower knits retail, offices, a hotel, and residences into a single structure and deftly responds to its urban context. It follows the curve of Columbus Circle, re-extends the street grid, and rises in twin trapezoidal towers aligned with Broadway, echoing the historic apartment buildings along Central Park West.

Few projects in the nation’s history posed a greater challenge—emotionally, politically, technically, and culturally—than the World Trade Center. While SOM was originally approached to design the entire World Trade Center, David was adamant that multiple architects contribute designs for the new towers. He led the design for both One World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center, which were tasked with recapturing the New York skyline, reasserting Manhattan’s preeminence as a business center, and establishing a new civic landmark for the country after the devastation of September 11, 2001.

At 7 World Trade Center, David convinced the developer, Silverstein Properties, to rethink their plans for a replica of the original structure on site following the September 11 attacks. His proposal was to recreate the street grid, including reinstating Greenwich Street, which had been interrupted by the monolith of the original Trade Center, and to reestablish a crucial pedestrian connection between Tribeca and Battery Park. The result was a much smaller building than anticipated, but one that would have better views, more natural light, and a LEED Gold rating—the first office building in New York to earn this distinction.

Adjacent to the new tower, One World Trade Center was designed to be the tallest in America. It was required to be exceptionally secure, while bridging active train tracks and connecting to underground transit lines without disrupting service.

The needs of nearly two dozen stakeholders—including Silverstein Properties, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the city’s planning department, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, The Durst Organization, the NYPD, the FDNY, and so many more—all had to be addressed in the design and planning of the building.

“He was incredible at bringing everyone together to reach consensus on the larger direction of the design and the smallest details,” Partner Ken Lewis said. “He brought such a calm demeanor to the table. He had a kind word for everyone. No matter what anyone’s role was, he treated them equally and listened to what they had to say, and I think that was a major reason why the project was such a success.”

Rising 1,776 feet, One World Trade Center is regarded as an icon for the city and the nation, with a crystalline simplicity and innovative architectural and engineering solutions that meet the unprecedented site requirements. Its base is highly secure, while creating new public space for the city with transparent entrances that encourage tenants to flow into the surrounding plazas and provide public access to a concourse level and transit.

Serving the community

Beyond his work as chairman and lead designer, David found time to serve in numerous positions for civic organizations, including presidential appointments to chair the National Capital Planning Commission from 1975-1981 and the Commission of Fine Arts from 2003-2005. He also chaired the Municipal Art Society of New York, the American Academy in Rome, and the National Building Museum, and served as a Trustee of the National Housing Partnership Foundation and as a board member of the Museum of Modern Art. Informally, he brought architects around New York together for regular lunches to help them network and meet new clients—a tradition that started with an invitation from Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Philip Johnson, and one that David continued throughout his career.

David’s work is still very much underway. One Flagler, a new landmark office building in West Palm Beach, anchors a rapidly redeveloping waterfront with a beacon of light that transforms the city’s skyline. In Chicago, David’s last project, two residential towers at 400 Lake Shore Drive, is rising at the convergence of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. The developments include vast public spaces, with a reimagined park in West Palm Beach and a new, amenity-rich plaza connecting Chicago’s Riverwalk with DuSable Park—two final strokes of David’s signature urbanistic flair.