He has been working in the field for "50 years and six months" since he started as an intern at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, a well-known company then creating high buildings, in 1967.

He worked his way up at the firm for 40 years and, in 2006, he decided to start his own in Chicago.

"As far as I can remember back in my life, I have been interested in tall buildings," Smith recalls.

"When I was in high school taking my first drafting course, the first building I drew was 40 stories tall."

The first project he participated at the first firm was a 100-story building.

"I worked in a basement, detailing the swimming pool," he says.

His first project in China was the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai. In 1993, SOM won the design competition for the tower and then completed the 88-story building, China's highest and the third highest in the world.

"Super tall" buildings involve a lot of engineering and combined technology.

It's 50 percent art and 50 percent science, he says.

The challenge to make a piece of beautiful architecture has kept the architect going in the field for over half a century. "Every building is a different challenge," he says, adding that the sites, circumstances and clients are different.

Smith says he has noticed how Chinese architects are emerging on the international stage.

"I see a lot of buildings going up (by Chinese architects), mostly smaller structures that are very enlightened," he says.

During his last trip to Beijing this year, he was "stunned" by the new Phoenix International Media Center.

The ballooning torus formed by a twisting lattice of steel and enclosed with 3,800 glass panels has been designed by Shao Weiping, chief executive architect of the government-owned Beijing Institute of Architectural Design.

"That would stand up well against any building I have seen around the world. It's highly sophisticated and challenging. That is an outstanding piece of architecture," Smith says.

Having created so many extraordinary high buildings, the architect now wishes to design an art museum. "It will have one story, maybe two."

Contact the writer at tanyingzi@chinadaily.com.cn