22 September 2010 www.TheRealDeal.

com
PHOTOGRAPH FOR THE REAL DEAL BY JAMES CHANG

At

the

Desk

of:

t.J. GottesDiener
These three prints of etchings by Le Corbusier, the prominent French architect, are part of a series of 10 purchased at an auction. Their hues match the workspace. Im a kind of black-and-white guy when it comes to art, Gottesdiener said.

.J. Gottesdiener, managing partner at the prestigious Skidmore Owings & Merrill, may be the most famous architect youve never heard of. Hes worked on some of the most recognizable projects in the city, from the Time Warner Center to 7 World Trade to 7 Times Square. While his colleague David Childs may be best associated with those towers, Gottesdiener has worked alongside him, shaping them from the number-two spot. Now, Gottesdiener, 55, is working on a tower that could cement his legacy: One World Trade Center, which is rising a few blocks from his 25th-floor Wall Street office. Like many of SOMs buildings, his office is spare, organized and neat. My wife jokes that I make the bed in the morning when shes still in it, he said. B y C. J. H ugHes

Three photos of corporate pavilions that SOM founder Louis Skidmore designed for Chicagos 1933 Worlds Fair. One was for Heinz (center), for whom Skidmore later designed a factory. That relationship fizzled, according to SOM lore, over the ketchup companys desire to add a giant rooftop pickle.

A hard hat comes in handy when touring construction sites, like at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which is adding a 645,000square-foot, SOM-designed wing with classrooms, offices and forensic labs, to open in 2011.

A 2007 award from the Cooper Union, from which Gottesdiener graduated in 1979 after transferring from Trinity College in Hartford. He joined SOM a year later.

Gottesdiener always keeps a roll of tracing paper close for impromptu sketching, though its often to design furniture for his homes on the Upper West Side and coastal Connecticut.

One volume of a five-volume monograph of SOMs history published last year; Gottesdiener helped select its photos.

Bolts from various projects. Every time I go on a job, I try to pick one up, said Gottesdiener, who admits that scoring one from high-security One World Trade might be tough.

Like the chairs, the marble desk came from one of SOMs former Midtown offices. Previously used as a conference table, its round shape is ideal for collaboration. Plus, he said, I prefer to have a little less formality.

SOM architects keep two computers on their desks: one for designs and one for research. Gottesdiener touts the high quality of the iPads images.