Creativity, tradition and experience: the Detroiter salutes Troy-based architecture, interior design and planning firm Yamasaki Inc. as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Before establishing his practice in 1955, Minoru Yamasaki had already gained a reputation as a design architect in New York and Detroit. Early award-winning projects, such as the Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. headquarters (now One Woodward Avenue), McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University, the Federal Science Pavilion in Seattle and Dhahran International Air Terminal in Saudi Arabia, were notable for scale, proportion and texture that responded to human experience. Much of his early work also embraced planning and design principles that are consistent with contemporary sustainability concepts, while many of his later works brought acclaim for integration of aesthetics and building technology unmatched in many high-rise buildings of the same era. His extensive design legacy established Minoru Yamasaki as a world figure and propelled his practice into the international spotlight.

Following his death in 1986, Yamasaki's associates saw fewer opportunities in international settings and began to focus on commercial office development in the United States. The highly creative culture of the firm quickly adapted to meet the needs and expectations of the commercial building market, establishing a new paradigm that emphasized building economics along with design aesthetics. Under the second generation of leadership, opportunities followed in the public sector with schools and public institutions eager to benefit from the firm's unique understanding of design and building economics. With a culture of listening and creatively responding to client concerns and its history of international work, it wasn't long before Yamasaki Inc. began to gain recognition by large commercial clients entering emerging Asian markets.

Our third generation of leaders is well suited to the realities of today's marketplace. Robert Szantner, AIA, whose MBA in real estate and land use economics complements his architectural education and training with Yamasaki, provides design leadership to a team of more than 65 professionals. Among his early design projects is Columbia Centre, Troy--a 600,000-square-foot complex that helped to establish Yamasaki's leadership in the commercial building sector. Tae Sun Hong, AIA, who received his Master of Architecture degree from Yale University and bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, has also studied at Florence Center in Italy and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Guiding many of Yamasaki's projects in Asia, he brings practical experience managing large commercial and corporate works for high tech, computer software and large corporate clients to bear on current work of the firm.

Our popularity among commercial developers in Michigan, the U.S. and overseas stems from our ability to bring design aesthetics and building economics together with the right balance. The firm has designed more than 3 million square feet of commercial office space in Southeast Michigan during the last several years. Our practice has adapted to the new market realities in creative and distinctive ways, for example, by accommodating advanced communication and security requirements for Federal Reserve Bank facilities with design guidelines that address functional, aesthetic and financial considerations. We continue to listen to our customers and explore other client concerns as a sign of future growth opportunities. Recently, we assembled a team of consultants to develop a Vision Plan for Detroit's "West Riverfront" and were honored to receive a 2004 Award from the AIA Detroit Chapter for our team's work.

In marking our 50th year, we look forward to demonstrating this continued spirit of creativity, where cultural traditions and human experience remain fundamental in our design approach, and where new and unique forms give expression to human aspirations while adding value to corporate, commercial and institutional projects worldwide.

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By Arnold Mikon, FAIA 

Principal

Yamasaki Inc.

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Yamasaki Inc. is a Silver-level member of the Detroit Regional Chamber; Arnold Mikon is a member of the Chamber's board of directors.