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Jon Pickard
Principal, Pickard Chilton
Age: 67
Industry experience: 46 years
Pickard Chilton punches above its weight in winning competitions to design signature commercial buildings on a global scale. With 55 employees, the New Haven, Connecticut-based architectural firm was recently selected to design a pair of office-lab buildings totaling nearly 863,000 square feet on Boston Properties’ Blue Garage property in Kendall Square. It’s already put its stamp on the East Cambridge skyline as designer of Google’s 417,000-square-foot office building, under construction at 325 Main St., and Akamai’s new headquarters at 145 Broadway. Most recently, Pickard Chilton was selected by Texas real estate developer Hillwood to design Dallas’s tallest skyscraper in three decades, a 600-foot-tall tower at 2012 North Field St. Jon Pickard founded the firm in 1997 with his former college classmate, Bill Chilton.
Q: What were Google’s top goals for its new office building in Kendall Square?
A: They were in a building that our client Boston Properties owned, and they liked that building and simply wanted to expand. The site is complicated with the MBTA Red Line. We articulated the new building to be different but it’s still very respectful to scale for Cambridge. Operationally, there are large floor plates, and they were interested in access to outdoor spaces. We didn’t build on top of the building, but to its side, and we felt it was appropriate to have a different character. It’s a constant balance, because people want more access to views and daylight and windows. But you have to be careful that the building is energy-efficient.
Q: What’s the breakdown of Pickard Chilton’s business by property type?
A: We are diversified and we have earned a positive reputation on the commercial side. We have done a significant number of headquarters for Fortune 500 companies, but for the most part they’re flying under the radar. My partner is leading Sherwin-Williams’ new headquarters in Cleveland and Norfolk Southern’s in Atlanta. We’ve earned a reputation for creating homes that people can be productive in and want to be a part of, because it’s a battle to get talent. But we’re doing a lot more than that: significant life science projects, luxury residential, hospitality and health care. We’re also diversified geographically: Most of our competitors are three to 10 times our size. We’re 55 people. But we’re active in Japan, the United Kingdom and 12 cities across North America.
Q: Where are the opportunities for Pickard Chilton to expand its practice?
A: The fastest-growing piece of our practice is mass timber, and we’re up to 3 million square feet of projects completed and on the boards. It creates a unique atmosphere where people just want to be there. Clients have learned that mass timber can lease faster than a conventional concrete or steel building. We’re continuing to take mass timber wherever we can.
Q: How does the permitting process in Dallas compare with other cities where Pickard Chilton does business?
A: There is a fair amount of community engagement and I would argue it’s quite positive. As an architectural firm, we embrace community engagement. It allows the building to be more thoughtfully considered, and as an architect, Pickard Chilton is committed to crafting buildings that make sense where they are. A building in Kendall Square in Cambridge has different issues than a building in Dallas. Our client is Hillwood, which is headed by Ross Perot Jr. and his family. They have a different timeframe than other real estate folks. Also, Dallas is their home and they want to get it right. Now there’s the delicate dance to find the appropriate tenant that will ultimately launch the building. Dallas has to be one of the most active markets we’re seeing. The fact that we have three active projects there speaks to the vitality.
Q: What prompted your interest in an architectural career?
A: My father was an engineer, and as an undergraduate at Iowa State I met Bill Chilton. We were classmates in 1971. My professor encouraged me to take a look at Yale School of Architecture and its dean, Cesar Pelli. We worked together and formed a good friendship. People often wonder, “Why are you in Connecticut?” It’s because Connecticut and New Haven are a great place to practice. Our employees can afford to buy homes and live comfortably. If we were in Manhattan, it would be a different picture. We never for a moment considered leaving Connecticut.
A year ago, questions were being asked about the future of commercial office space and “why do we need it?” I would argue the jury has spoken. The workplace is the place to be together. You can’t create a climate of innovation and build culture through Zoom. At the end of the day, whether it’s decentralized, people are going to come together. Our clients were squeezing more and more people into smaller and smaller spaces. We’re now seeing that relax a bit, and we’re still building the same amount of space.
Pickard’s Five Favorite Pencils
- BlackwingMatte
- StabilloAquarellable
- BlackwingPalomino
- Prismacolor Ebony
- BlackwingPearl
