Identity

Carl Roehling, FAIA

President & CEO, SmithGroup - Detroit

Lecture Title: Big Firm Myths - Is bigger ever better"

Thursday, October 14, 2010
2:00 P.M. - Lawrence J. Plym Auditorium
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall

Sponsored by the Alden Orput Endowment Practice Series (in conjunction with Prof. Gaines Hall ARCH 501 class)

Carl Roehling, FAIA, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SmithGroup, an international, architecture, engineering, interiors and planning firm ranked 19^th largest in the world by Building Design magazine.  In his role, Carl is responsible for the strategic direction and marketing of SmithGroup’s 11 U.S. offices.

During his 22+ years with SmithGroup, Carl has served as principal in charge for many of the firm’s most notable projects.  Among them are Visteon Corporation’s 800,000-square-foot world headquarters in suburban Detroit, uniquely designed as a “village.”  Other key SmithGroup projects under his direction include the $80 million Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the GSA’s new San Francisco Federal Office Building, and the renovation and expansion of the Detroit Institute of Arts.  He also led the firm’s role as executive architect for Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. 

Carl joined SmithGroup (then Smith, Hinchman & Grylls) in 1987.  He was immediately assigned to the task of heading the firm’s activity for the corporate and university sectors, and managed significant projects such as the Chrysler World Headquarters, Auburn Hills, MI.  Prior to his promotion to SmithGroup president & CEO in 2001, Carl was president of SmithGroup’s Midwest U.S. operations with service on the firm’s Board of Directors since 1993.

A graduate of the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Carl received a Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture in 1973 and a Master’s of Science in Architecture in 1975. 

Carl’s career features numerous leadership positions within the 72,000-member American Institute of Architects (AIA) on both the chapter and national levels.  He is the recipient of the prestigious Gold Medal Award -- the highest honor the organization can bestow on a member – by two AIA chapters: AIA-Detroit in 1999 and AIA-Michigan in 2006.  Carl’s long relationship with the AIA includes his serving as president of the Michigan chapter in 1992 and the Detroit Chapter in 1986.  He also served on the Board of Directors for National AIA, as well as the American Architectural Foundation.

Active in the profession and his community, Carl is the past-president of the Michigan Architectural Foundation.  He is on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Detroit Partnership and the YMCA Metropolitan Detroit.  He is one of the co-founders of the University of Michigan, College of Architecture Alumni Board of Governors and is currently on the University of Detroit Mercy Architecture Advisory Board.  He is frequently called upon by the national media for his expertise, and has been quoted in Architectural Record, ENR, Building Design and the Wall Street Journal. 

Carl and his wife Barbara live in Birmingham, MI, and have two children: Kristin and Carl, both University of Michigan graduates.

Additional Information

 Plym Auditorium

Links

Fall 2010 Lectures