From his home city, Chicago, Doug leads urban design of the world’s great places, both old and new. As the leader of SOM’s global urban design and planning studio, Doug balances conceptual thinking with a realistic, hands-on approach to creating spaces and cities.
Since joining SOM in 1995, Doug has focused on complex urban plans and architectural projects. Through his leadership as Urban Planning and Design Partner, he is interested in the capacity of design to build community and connect people to one another. Doug’s work is distinguished by a passionate appreciation for each project’s unique challenges and the need for a comprehensive and innovative response. Over the last two decades, he has been able to unite disparate stakeholders under a cohesive vision, transforming abstract ideas into physical realities.
We focus on the holistic design of cities to find balance within the built and natural environments that connect us all.
Doug has brought his expertise to large scale, complex and neighborhood projects for public and private sectors for more than two decades. He draws on TOD experience in Chicago, nationally and internationally. He is experienced in leading large-scale and complex projects, and has expertise in organizing all workstreams into a single project vision and direction.
