Perkins+Will’s Austin Studio Expands Corporate, Commercial, & Civic Practice with Hire of Key Principal

AUSTIN, TEXAS – April 16, 2019 – Perkins+Will, an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm, is pleased to announce the addition of Chi Lee, AIA, LEED AP, to its Austin studio.  Chi, who joined in April, is the Austin studio’s Corporate, Commercial, and Civic (CCC) Practice Leader.

Chi has over a decade of experience designing buildings for corporate and commercial clients.  After graduating from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science, Chi began honing his skills as an architect with boutique firms focusing on retail, corporate, and commercial projects, as well as luxury residential work. Throughout that time, Chi managed and delivered over $5 billion worth of critical facilities projects for notable clients such as Microsoft, Bank of America, Healthcare Corporation of America, and United Airlines.

Most recently in the Austin area, Chi has added other notable clients and projects to his portfolio, including Central Health Master Plan, the SXSW Headquarters, Third + Shoal Office Building (home to Facebook and Bank of America), Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility, the Planning Development Center for the City of Austin, and 600 Guadalupe, which is a vertical mixed-use development poised to be the tallest building in Austin upon completion.  

“We are thrilled to have Chi join our team.” said Stephen Coulston, principal at Perkins+Will.  “His impressive experience and commitment to community involvement is a perfect match for our firm and our Austin studio, and we look forward to growing our practice with him on board.”

Currently, Chi is working on a number of large, complex developments in downtown Austin, as well as programs that will help strengthen the firm’s presence in the Austin community — something he has been passionate about throughout his entire career. 

Established in 2013, the Austin studio recently expanded with the acquisition of lauckgroup, a regional interior design firm noted for awarded-winning projects such as Dropbox, Yeti Flagship Experience Store, Galvanize, and Cirrus Logic. Chi joins Perkins+Will as it prepares to consolidate the firm’s two Austin locations into a single workspace on the East side in the coming months.

About Perkins+Will

Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm established in 1935. Founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance communities, we collaborate with clients all over the world to create healthy, sustainable places in which to live, learn, work, play, heal, move, and explore. More than 2,200 professionals across over 20 Perkins+Will design studios include some of the brightest minds in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, and landscape architecture. Clients consistently turn to us for our leadership in areas like sustainability, resilience, health and wellness, and mobility. Additionally, our Research Labs innovate design technologies and solutions that result in better, smarter, more competitive built environments. In 2018, were named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture by Fast Company, and we are consistently ranked among the world’s top design firms. Our family of partner companies includes retail strategy and design consultancy Portland; sustainable transportation planning consultancy Nelson\Nygaard; healthcare technology planning firm Genesis; and luxury hospitality design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR).

For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.