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James R. DeStefano
Chief Executive Officer
DeStefano & Partners, Ltd.
James R. DeStefano, FAIA, RIBA, founded DeStefano and
Partners in 1988 after 27 years with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
(SOM) where he was a design principal and also managed
both the Chicago and London offices. DeStefano and Partners
offers architecture, planning and interior design services
and is one of the largest architectural practices in
Chicago.
While serving as the managing director for SOM’s
London office, Mr. DeStefano managed some of the
largest mixed-use projects ever to be constructed
in Europe, including the 5.3 million sf Broadgate
Development, a comprehensive urban master plan for
King’s Cross, and the ten million sf multi-use
Canary Wharf development, all in London. Mr. DeStefano’s
recent North American mixed-use experience includes
the 1.75 million sf Dearborn Center, a 37–story
office tower with retail; and the three-acre, two
million sf River East Center, comprised of a 58-story
residential tower, a 455-room Embassy Suites hotel,
150,000 sf of retail space and a 21 screen multiplex
theatre. Mr. DeStefano plays an active role in the
firm’s design direction, overseeing ongoing
work, including the design development of ABN AMRO
Plaza, a 2.5 million sf twin office tower complex
to be located in Chicago’s West Loop.
During nearly 40 years of architectural practice,
Mr. DeStefano has been involved with major master
planning, architectural design and program management
projects in the United States and abroad. Among these
are renovation and new construction projects for
educational institutions, such as Northwestern University,
University of Illinois at Chicago, MIT and King Abdul
Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. More recently, Mr.
DeStefano played a central role in steering the new
construction component of the Chicago Public Schools’ $3
billion Capital Improvement Program and in the development
of the unique Managing Architect Project Delivery
System, which facilitated the design and construction
of approximately 50 new schools and additions throughout
the city within an exceptionally compact four-year
time frame.
As a Chicago-based firm committed to preserving
and adding quality to the urban landscape, DeStefano
and Partners has devoted a significant portion of
its practice to the planning and design of infrastructure
improvements, buildings and other civic structures
for many City of Chicago departments and agencies.
Among these are high-visibility streetscape designs
for Division Street and North Halsted Street, the
renovation of City Hall, the popular lakefront Diversey
Driving Range, and the revitalization of Madison
Street Bridge and seven other major bridges across
the I 90/94 Kennedy Expressway Corridor in downtown
Chicago.
In addition, the broad-based practice serves clients
in the commercial, institutional, educational, residential
and retail sectors. DeStefano and Partners is the
architect for some of the largest projects under
construction or recently completed in Chicago, including
Dearborn Center, a commercial/retail tower on a long-dormant
site in the Loop; ABN AMRO Plaza in the rapidly developing
West Loop; the Residences at RiverBend along the
Chicago River on Canal Street; and River East Center,
a 2 million sf mixed use complex in the planned new
community north of the river between Michigan Avenue
and Navy Pier. DeStefano and Partners designed a
comprehensive, four-year revitalization of Sears
Tower and has assisted major developers with the
repositioning of many other office buildings in the
city’s central business district.
Education and Academic Work
Mr. DeStefano holds
a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Illinois
Institute of Technology (1961) in the United States.
Throughout his career, he has been a leader on issues
affecting architectural education and professional
growth. He was a founding member of the SOM Foundation,
established to initiate educational, exhibition and
fellowship programs to encourage the professional
growth of young architects. He has been a Masters
Thesis Advisor at IIT and served as Adjunct Studio
Professor of Architecture in the graduate program
at Illinois Institute of Technology for the 1994-95
academic year.
Professional and Civic Associations
FAIA - Fellow,
The American Institute of Architects
RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects
Economic Club of Chicago
Chicago Central Area Committee
Registrations
NCARB - National Council of Architectural
Registration Boards,
Registered Architect in 31 states and the District
of Columbia.
ARCUK - Architects Registration Council of the United
Kingdom
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