Chris Wood

Details get Chris’s attention, whether he’s listening to music or working with clients on museums or archives. Chris finds inspiration in subtleties, he says, be it "a striking image or a piece of music—anything that changes, or evolves, or reveals new things each time you experience it." Those observational skills are a fine complement to his architectural talents. Leading SmithGroup's Washington, DC Cultural studio, Chris has to balance the big ideas and the tiny details to create architecture that has the capacity to deliver those layers of experience. Chris jokes that "I'm often surprised by my capacity to obsess over even the most unseen details of a project. But the fun lies in the power of details to reinforce big ideas. Successful design comes not just from understanding and implementing the client’s communicated needs, but through shaping the details that enhance experiences."