Donald McKay, AIA

About Donald

“I had never met an architect before beginning my studies at the University of Illinois. I chose architecture based on my own intuition and that of a high school drafting teacher. My first semester of architectural studies in the School of Architecture confirmed my choice. The School’s balanced emphasis on creative, pragmatic and theoretical learning informed by a humanist spirit, together with access to the full range of the University’s diverse studies, provided me a substantial basis for life-long learning and professional development. The artistic and intellectual curiosity that remain important me to this day is rooted in my University of Illinois School of Architecture education.”

History

Sheehan Nagle Hartray has a 100+ person staff of architects and interior designers that includes six principals. Our main office is in Chicago’s Loop. Our London office serves the European data center market.

We are guided by the following principles:

It is a hell of a thing to build a good building.

The joy we get from practicing architecture is infectious, spreading to our clients, our peers, and to those who construct our work.

Design excellence is our responsibility.

Architecture requires abundant human, financial and natural resources. In exchange for the privilege of designing, we owe excellence to our clients, to those who will live with our built work, and to the world we inhabit.

Innovation sets us apart.

Incremental improvements can have an effect out of all proportion to their size. Innovation is evolutionary as opposed to revolutionary, the result of genuine and enduring curiosity. Our clients expect it. It is our competitive advantage.

Architecture is an act of collective intelligence.

We stand on the shoulders of architects who came before us. We honor the skills and contributions of peers, clients and builders. We mentor as opposed to compete. We share success.