Peter J. Kindel is a Chicago-based architect and urbanist focused on the design of cities and their complementary relationship to transportation and environmental systems. He specializes in large-scale design and planning for both public- and private-sector clients, and his interdisciplinary work includes mixed-use master plans, academic planning, new communities, public infrastructure, and open space systems.
Peter’s work at SOM includes The Point, a sustainable and transit-centered community in Utah; a National Plan for the Kingdom of Bahrain; Chicago’s Millennium Park; and China’s Chongming Island Master Plan. In 2013, Peter established SOM’s City Design Practice studio in Hong Kong, undertaking numerous projects throughout China, Australia, and Southeast Asia.
With this global experience, Peter offers clients an international perspective for their design challenges. His work is best represented by the concept of sustainable urbanism, which blends infrastructure, natural systems, and architectural design into compelling development solutions that address client needs, climate change, and issues of global urbanization. Collectively, the projects in which Peter has played a significant design role have been honored with over 20 major design awards from the American Institute of Architects, the Urban Land Institute, and the Congress for New Urbanism, among other organizations.
Peter is a member of the Urban Land Institute and is active in interdisciplinary research and pro-bono efforts to improve our cities. These include National Geographic‘s “Future City” project (2019), The Hong Kong Waterline (2016), and The Last Four Miles (2010), a plan to complete Chicago’s public shoreline.
