Perkins&Will

The Sorting Office has been shortlisted for the 2025 Irish Construction Excellence Awards! In collaboration with STO Building Group, our entry is a finalist in the Fit Out or Refurbishment over €5M category. Located in the heart of Dublin’s Silicon Docks, the eight-story commercial space draws inspiration from the city’s creativity and culture. Curved lighting, local artist murals, and bold, monochromatic interiors bring Dublin’s vibrancy indoors, while each floor has a distinct identity. Biophilic elements, abundant natural light, and a south-facing terrace with city views enhance the regenerative design. Congratulations to all the finalists—we look forward to celebrating in May! Read more about the project: https://lnkd.in/gwzNGyYM

The UK government has greenlit our plans to expand James Paget University Hospital (JPUH), advancing healthcare in Great Yarmouth! Set to complete by 2032, the project is part of Wave 1 of the government’s New Hospital Programme. JPUH will join six other hospitals originally built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, all being modernised to strengthen the UK’s healthcare infrastructure. Our design framework prioritises future development, enhancing acute care, ambulatory services, staff training, and administration. As one of the largest construction efforts in the area in decades, the expansion will drive economic growth and create job opportunities, while supporting the government’s vision for a modern healthcare system. We’re honoured to be part of such a meaningful project. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g8P7EiJw James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Honoring heritage through design, the Carver Museum stands as a tribute to the rich history, culture, and traditions of the African American experience. Located in Central East Austin—a historically Black neighborhood—the Carver is deeply rooted in a community that has shown incredible resilience in the face of segregation, displacement, and disinvestment. Our design process centered on preserving memories and elevating local voices. Through meaningful conversations with artists, civic leaders, historians, and longtime advocates, we established guiding principles grounded in remembrance and cultural identity. The result is a space that honors the past while ensuring its history and collective memory endure. Read more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/gM293QEt #BlackHistoryMonth #ItsNotAMoment #ItsAMindset

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), almost 14 million new electric vehicles were registered globally in 2023, accounting for close to a fifth of total car sales. That number represented a 35% year-on-year increase from 2022. This growth trend is only expected to continue, setting up a highly competitive field as more players move into the business.  William Li, CEO of global automaker NIO, shares his insights into the market and his inspiration for NIO Houses, which are user clubs, showrooms, and delivery centers. NIO House at NeoPark in Hefei is NIO’s first club designed to be carbon-neutral, with all its power coming from renewable energy sources.   Learn more about the future of electric vehicles: https://lnkd.in/eyJAeZbU #connectionsilluminated #PWinsights #designinsights 

Thank you, Architectural Record, for featuring our Shenzhen Energy Ring project in this month’s sustainability-focused issue: https://shorturl.at/rvHSj Designed by our Shanghai studio, part of SHL - Schmidt Hammer Lassen, the project reimagines the typical waste-to-energy plant as a simple, efficient, and iconic structure that showcases China’s progress in sustainable waste management. Its circular design reduces the facility’s footprint and minimizes excavation, while its advanced capacity makes it the largest waste-to-energy plant of its kind. With the ability to process 5,000 tons of waste daily and generate 550 million kWh annually, it sets the stage for a cleaner, more sustainable future. Like the U.S., China is one of the world’s largest waste producers. “You want it to stand out,” says Chris Hardie, design director of our Shanghai studio. “You want people to know their taxes are paying for tackling waste, a problem that they’re creating.” This vision is realized in the plant’s bold, burnt-orange steel lamella facade—a striking, human-made contrast to the surrounding rolling hills.

Let's talk: #acoustics. Acoustics is the science of sound—how it’s created, how it moves, and how it shapes the way we experience a space. In architecture, acoustics are key to creating environments that are both functional and immersive. Thoughtful design can enhance everything from speech clarity in classrooms to the richness of music in theaters, and even improve focus in offices or homes by minimizing unwanted noise. Achieving this involves strategic zoning and selecting materials that absorb, reflect, or diffuse sound effectively. When science meets purpose, acoustics help a space truly come alive. Featured Projects: 1. Beijing Performing Arts Center 2. Global FinTech HQ 3. Austin Community College Highland Campus, Phase II 4. Indeed Dublin 5. Malmö Live, Sweden 6. Haskins Library Renovation 7. Western University, Weldon Library Revitalization 8. Our Houston Studio

As online shopping gained popularity over past decades, the number of brick-and-mortar shopping malls in the U.S. dramatically declined.  Although the retail landscape has changed, these properties’ desirable locations, ample parking, and sturdy structures often make them smart investments as adaptive re-use projects. Preserving the steel, concrete, and other materials makes sense from a sustainability perspective, too.  Check out these four conversions to see how thoughtful development can conserve resources and rekindle old malls past prestige: https://lnkd.in/gcwdRRn6 Featured Projects:  1. Austin Community College Highland Campus 2. WeStreet Ice Center 3. NexusPark 4. UT Southwestern Medical Center at RedBird #connectionsilluminated #PWinsights #designinsights 

"We'll always be an opportunity engine, working to make learning available and accessible for all," says Raj Echambadi, President of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Before taking on this role, Raj led the successful launch of an online MBA at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and introduced cross-disciplinary research at Northeastern University’s business school. Now, he's on a mission to make technology education more rigorous and relevant than ever. In a conversation with our Urban Design Principal, Gautam Sundaram, Raj shares his bold vision for the future of education, partnerships with private industry, and the evolving role of place: https://lnkd.in/gC2uWzWc

Why circular design? The 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴 distills the best practices of circular design from projects across our global practice. Through a comprehensive set of strategies and five compelling case studies, we showcase how teams have met ambitious sustainability goals and set new precedents for broader adoption of circular outcomes. Learn more about circular design here: https://lnkd.in/g3TVXXjf

Located in Tongzhou on the banks of the Grand Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Beijing Performing Arts Centre embodies its site’s storied history and its bright future in a subtle poetic expression. Designed to cultivate community while promoting health and well-being, the complex includes an opera house, a performance theater, and a concert hall, as well as black box and outdoor stages. The forms simultaneously evoke the rooflines of storehouses that formerly lined the canal’s banks, the sails of traditional canal boats, and a theater curtain parting at the beginning of a performance. A raised plinth unites the complex and terraced landscaping absorbs rainwater, reducing flooding risk.   See how a simple expression can contain so much: https://lnkd.in/gchRtyaE #connectionsilluminated #PWinsights #designinsights