| Industry | Architecture |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1853 (age 173) |
| Founder | Sheldon Smith |
| Website | www.smithgroup.com |
SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a wholly owned subsidiary.[1] As of 2025, SmithGroup ranks #7 among the top 100 architecture engineering firms according to Building Design + Construction,[2] with offices in 20 cities around the United States.[3] The firm serves a range of clients, including cities, commercial, higher education, healthcare, science & technology, and cultural markets.[4]
History
SmithGroup was founded in 1853 by Sheldon Smith, a self-taught architect.[5] He opened an office in Ohio, and his first credited project was a hotel in Sandusky, Ohio later that year.[6] In 1855, Smith moved the firm to Detroit.[7] Smith's son Mortimer became a partner in the firm in 1861, and took over for his father after the latter's death in 1869. Mortimer's son Fred joined the firm in 1881, and led the firm after Mortimer's death in 1896.[7] At this time, Fred brought in two University of Michigan College of Engineering graduates, Henry G. Field and Theodore H. Hinchman, Jr. The firm's name was changed to Field, Hinchman & Smith in 1903.[7]
In 1907, H.J. Maxwell Grylls, a British-trained architect, joined the firm, and the name changed to Smith, Hinchman and Grylls (SH+G).[7][5] In the 1920s, Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, and architect Wirt C. Rowland, designed some of Detroit’s most notable skyscrapers. In 1945, Minoru Yamasaki, American architect best known for designing the original World Trade Center, joined the firm as Director of Design.[7]
Later years saw Smith, Hinchman and Grylls merge with other firms. In 1971, the firm merged with Johnson, Johnson & Roy (JJR), expanding the firm’s capabilities in landscape architecture, civil engineering and environmental science.[8] In 1996, Smith, Hinchman and Grylls merged with the Washington DC firm of Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon[9] and in 1998 they merged with Stone Marraccini & Patterson of San Francisco and Los Angeles.[10] In 2000, Tobey + Davis, Reston, Virginia, joined Smith, Hinchman and Grylls.[11]
In 2000, the firm changed its name to SmithGroup.[12]
Notable staff
Notable architects and engineers from the firm include Wilfred Armster, C. Howard Crane, David DiLaura, Rainy Hamilton Jr., Robert F. Hastings, Julius Goldman, William Kapp, Wirt C. Rowland, Rosa T. Sheng and Minoru Yamasaki.
Notable projects
References
- ^ Cramer, James P. (2005). Almanac of Architecture and Design. Atlanta, GA: Greenway Communications. p. 348. ISBN 0-9675477-9-2.
- ^ David Barista (September 10, 2025). "Top 100 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2025". Building Design + Construction
- ^ "Locations". SmithGroup. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "Markets and Services". SmithGroup. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "Smith, Hinchman and Grylls architectural drawings, 1908-1937 (majority within 1908-1928, 1936-1937)". University of Michigan Library. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ Lebovich, William (August 6, 2003). "150 Years of SmithGroup". ArchitectureWeek. Archived December 22, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- ^ "Smith, Hinchman & Grylls". Michigan Modern. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ "Johnson, Johnson and Roy". The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ "Smith Group, Perkins & Will Acquire Firms". Architecture. No. 34. December 1996.
- ^ "Stone, Marraccini, and Patterson, Architects (Partnership)". PCAD. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ "Architecture Firms to Merge". Washington Post. February 15, 2000.
- ^ Tom Walsh (May 23, 2015). "Changing fate: 162-year-old firm reinvents succession". Detroit Free Press
- ^ Original Smith, Hinchman & Grylls building plan sheets
- ^ "Fourteen Years Ago Today, Detroit Imploded The Hudson's Department Store Building". Curbed Detroit. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- ^ American Institute of Architects application
- ^ "Smith, Hinchman & Grylls". Michigan Modern. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "DC Water installs thermal energy exchange system at new headquarters". WaterWorld. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
Further reading
- Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture: A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
- Thomas J Holleman & James P Gallagher (1978). Smith, Hinchman & Grylls: 125 Years of Architecture and Engineering, 1853-1978. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1615-8.