John A. Chipman, AIA, NCARB
Founding Principal
Founding partner John Chipman began creating a new direction for his father’s interiors firm in 1979. After a two-year contract working on projects in the Middle East, he returned to the United States, to join his Father, a retail interior designer, in his small Chicago design practice.
Building upon an existing base of regional main-street retail clients, John led the firm into a position of national recognition for retail design. In addition to speaking appearances and writing articles for trade publications, he authored a retail planning workbook that was recognized nationally. With his father’s retirement from the business, John further expanded the architecture firm’s retail direction into the national arena, boldly utilizing the developing computer technology of the mid 1980s to keep up with the unprecedented expansion of corporate retail clients.
With the firm’s retail expertise solidly established, John and partner Daryl Adams, who joined the firm in the late 1980’s, further expanded the firm’s portfolio with award-winning commissions laying the foundation for unparalleled excellence in restaurant design, a distinction for which the firm now possesses a national reputation.
John earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois/Urbana, reinforcing his studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Versailles, France, and at the Ecole Nacionale d’Art Decoratif de Nice, France. Certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, he is a registered Architect in states throughout the country, a Registered City of Chicago Energy Professional and maintains professional membership in the American Institute of Architects.
In addition to his commitment to the profession of architecture, John has served on various local City Council and Zoning Boards as an elected official. The sensitivity to community that he gained during this period has been responsible for his evolving dedication to philanthropic ventures and sustainability in architectural practice.