Brian Lee, FAIA, is a Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). After practicing in the SOM San Francisco office for 28 years, where he became a Design Partner, he joined the Chicago office in 2007; transitioning to Consulting Design Partner in 2019. Brian is a registered NCARB architect in multiple states across the nation and a LEED accredited professional. He is a member of the AIA and was added to its College of Fellows in 2008.
Brian has lectured, taught, and participated in studio reviews or Dean’s committees at Harvard, UC Berkeley, Stanford, California College of Arts, IIT, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Virginia Tech, and TU Delft. He served on AIA, Athenaeum, Marcus Prize, and Spark juries, and he has been published worldwide. Brian’s portfolio encompasses domestic and international projects at all scales, recognized by over 100 significant awards such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Urban Land Institute, American Library Association, the Chicago Athenaeum, MIPIM, and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Brian holds a B.A. in Architecture, with Highest Honors, from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California in Berkeley. He also holds a master’s degree in Architecture, with Commendation, from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He was honored in 2012 as Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business and in 2019 by Chicago United Business Leaders of Color. His work was exhibited in the 2004 Venice and Beijing Biennales and featured at the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona and at the 2015 Chicago Biennial.