Yamasaki, The Architectural Firm Behind World Trade Center, Returns To Detroit

The architectural firm bearing the name of the late Minoru Yamasaki — who designed the original World Trade Center — is returning to Detroit, the city where Yamasaki’s first skyscraper was built and his work transformed the campus of Wayne State University.

Yamasaki, Inc. is opening a 3,000-square-foot office in the Fisher Building, according to an announcement by the company. Yamasaki President Robert Szantner purchased the company’s intellectual property after it entered receivership in 2009; the firm’s namesake died in 1986.

“Detroit is about to grow in every way, including vertical,” Szantner said in a statement. “That fits into the experience of our professionals with urban projects of all types, so we want to play a role in the transformation of this city, as we have in so many projects here and around the world, while always being based in southeast Michigan.”

In addition to the World Trade Center and structures such as the DeRoy Auditorium and McGregor Conference Center on the Wayne State campus, the Yamasaki firm is also known for designs such as Lambert Airport in St. Louis, the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Qatar National Convention Center.

“We are reinterpreting Yama’s values, that we learned from him,” Szantner said. “Simplicity in design, the use of sustainable materials, buildings that enhance social interaction — those are all qualities that buildings need now, with new applications.”

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Image credit: Mikerussell at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons