George Karidis

Vice President, Design Director
George Karidis, Detroit, Vice President, Design Director, Academic Research, Campus Energy Systems, Corporate Headquarters & Campuses, Design Thinking, MEP Engineering, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), Sustainable Design, Workplace

George is a born inventor. He found his place among our clients, folding innovative engineering solutions into the design of high-technology facilities. As a SmithGroup Design Director, he is at the forefront of his field, utilizing combined cycle strategies, chilled beams, and low-entropy campus approaches, while constantly leveraging the whole-brained opportunities of integrated design. A national ASHRAE Technology Award honored George's design for the Visteon Village campus, which featured lake-based condensing and a unique linear UFAD system that he patented in 2007. "My brother and I started making things in Dad's workshop as soon as we could hold a screwdriver," recalls George. "Knowing what you're meant to do is a gift." George keeps a photo at his workstation of Thomas Edison talking with Henry Ford. "In the corner I added an insert of Steve Jobs looking their way. All are extraordinary inventors, who remade their world by the things they made."