Architecture News

SOM’s David Childs Has Died

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) partner and former chairman (1991–93, 1998–2000) David Childs died on March 26, at his home in Pelham, New York, following a battle with Lewy body dementia. He was 83. Architect of emblematic skyscrapers and complex infrastructure, Childs oversaw projects in New York including One Worldwide Plaza (1989), Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (2001), 7 World Trade Center (2006), One World Trade Center (2014), 35 Hudson Yards (2019), and the Deutsche Bank Center (2004), formerly known as Time Warner Center.

“We’ve had a lot of towering figures in SOM’s history, but few have had the kind of impact that David had,” remarked partner Laura Ettelman. “He was a visionary and cared deeply for the people he worked with and designed for, and that compassion came through in everything that he did.”

One World Trade Center towering over the Lower Manhattan skyline. Photo © James Ewing

David Magie Childs was born on April 1, 1941, in Princeton, New Jersey. A graduate of the Deerfield Academy (where he later returned to design a natatorium and an academic building, in 1991 and 2007, respectively), he went on to study zoology at Yale University before turning his interest to architecture, moved by a lecture of professor Vincent Scully’s. He earned his architecture degree from the Yale School of Architecture in 1967 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he began his career planning the redevelopment of “America’s Main Street,” with the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation. It was there that Childs met SOM founding partner Nat Owings, who persuaded the young architect to open the firm’s D.C. office in 1971. This was the start of a nearly halfcentury relationship, with a prolific output that spanned typologies, including civic and government, education, aviation, and urban planning.

In the capital, Childs served as design partner for SOM, leading many diverse projects, including the Four Seasons and Park Hyatt hotels (1979, 1986); headquarters for U.S. News & World Report and the National Geographic Society (1983, 1984), and the 1976 master plan for the National Mall and Constitution Gardens. The firm’s expansion and renovation of Eero Saarinen’s main terminal at Dulles International Airport was completed in 1997. During his D.C. era, he served as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission (1975–81) and, decades later, acted in another presidentially appointed chairman role with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (2003–05).

35 Hudson Yards (1) and the Shops at Columbus Circle at the former Time Warner Center (2). Photos © Dave Burk/SOM (1), James Ewing (2)

In 1984, Childs moved to SOM’s New York office to fill a leadership gap left by the retiring Gordon Bunshaft. He went on to leave a lasting mark on that city’s skyline, most notably as lead architect of One World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks that took down the Twin Towers. At a symbolic 1,776 feet, it is the tallest building in the western hemisphere. His 7 World Trade Center was the first tower rebuilt at Ground Zero.

“The rebuilding of the World Trade Center was a labor of love for thousands of people, and no single individual was more responsible for its success than David,” said Larry A. Silverstein, founder and chairman of Silverstein Properties, in remembrance of his collaborator. “He pushed from the earliest days for the creation of a master plan and the participation of a wide range of architectural voices.”

Childs’s personal relationship with New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, stemming from his time in Washington, led to a decadeslong effort to adapt McKim, Mead & White’s Farley Post Office Building to become Moynihan Train Hall, which was completed in 2021. He also led the 2001 renovation of SOM’s 1952 Midtown land mark, Lever House.

Looking for quick answers on architecture and design topics?
Try Ask RECORD, our new smart AI search tool. Ask RECORD →

Outside of New York and Washington, key projects led by Childs include the United States Embassy in Ottawa (1999), the U.S. Courthouse in Charleston, West Virginia (1998), Tokyo Midtown (2007), and major undertakings at Singapore Changi Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport. His final project, a dual-skyscraper residential development, broke ground in June 2024 at the former Chicago Spire site.

In addition to his extensive and profound contributions to SOM’s portfolio, Childs, in the role of the firm’s first chairman, steered SOM through potentially ruinous waters during the 1987 stock market crash and the 1990–91 recession. “David rescued the firm,” said former partner T.J. Gottesdiener. “He made a lot of hard choices to consolidate, and to watch him was to witness a master class in how to be an architect, a partner, a mentor, and a leader.”

Childs is survived by his wife, Anne, three children, and six grandchildren.