Long after his retirement, Roger Kallman’s warmth, generosity of spirit and collegiality continued to resonate among those who had worked alongside him at SOM in London. Even a decade later, ‘How’s Roger doing?’ remained a familiar question among the architects and planners whose paths had crossed with his. It was a measure of the lasting impression he had made on so many: a charismatic world traveller, a passionate advocate of a more humanistic approach to architecture and planning, and a brilliant storyteller whose presence could light up any room. 

An urban planner and bon vivant, Roger was a dynamic figure who embraced life with an adventurous spirit. He was curious about the world, always guided by a genuine interest in people and an ability to form authentic connections. A witty and urbane conversationalist, he could speak confidently and effortlessly with anyone, it seemed, on any subject. He was a born raconteur, but also a deeply empathic listener; one of his greatest qualities was that he could put people at ease. These skills, which came so naturally to Roger, were the key to his success as a planner who pursued an intensely international career, spearheading some of SOM’s first projects in countries such as Malaysia and Kuwait. Significantly, he helped to establish our thriving London office, which celebrated our 40th anniversary this year. 

Born in 1944 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roger studied architecture as an undergraduate and then earned two successive masters’ degrees, in architecture and city planning. At SOM’s Chicago office, he found an ideal place to pursue his intellectual passion for design, together with opportunities to broaden his experience of the world. From early work on planning projects around the United States, Roger found a pivotal opportunity in 1975 to work on a major study for multimodal transportation terminals in Dublin. Eager to travel, Roger jumped at the chance to relocate to Dublin, where he served as the local project representative. The relationships that Roger formed there positioned him to take on his next project, a land use and transportation plan for the city of Cork, where Roger lived for two years. His work there established a framework for future growth in the southwest of Ireland, and it also set the course for his career as a roving urban planner. Roger was the person who always had a suitcase packed, ready to go anywhere that SOM needed him to be.

More international projects followed—a university campus plan on the island of Borneo; a bayfront district plan in Kuwait City—and with them, the chance to travel, study, and learn from cultures different from his own. Then came a more permanent move, in 1986: Roger was one of the first SOM staff to relocate to London, helping to establish the firm’s presence in the UK capital. Two simultaneous, large-scale planning projects—Broadgate and Canary Wharf—allowed SOM to scale up what began as a small site office into a bona fide European headquarters. The firm’s experience in fast-track construction projects in the United States was highly sought after, and SOM’s growth in London also provided an ideal environment for Roger’s career to flourish. Within three years, he became a Partner. 

In London, Roger played a major role in developing SOM’s international profile as a design firm that merged architectural and planning expertise. For more than three decades, he led planning projects throughout the UK and Ireland—including a major mixed-use development in Doncaster and a corporate campus expansion for Hewlett-Packard in Bristol. Roger remained involved in Cork throughout his career, returning there in 1992 to guide an update of the 1976 plan. The Planning Institution of Ireland recognised his contributions to the area by electing him an Honorary Life Member in 1996.

Roger’s zeal for travel never abated; even in the last year of his life, he made journeys to Brazil and Peru. He had a great passion for gastronomy—he could tell you the best restaurant in any city, and knew exactly which wine to order. His connoisseurship was so complete that top chefs would mistake him for a Michelin Guide Inspector. 

He drew upon a lifetime of international travel to share vivid, unforgettable experiences. One particularly memorable account detailed a landing in Iraq during the war, where the runway lights were switched on for a fleeting moment to guide his plane to safety. For all his worldly, cosmopolitan experience, Roger never lost his guileless enthusiasm or unmistakable Midwestern charm. 

His interest in food, people, places, and culture stemmed from the same curiosity that allowed him to succeed as an accomplished planner. A humanist at heart, he demonstrated the value of forming authentic relationships. We can all learn from his example of a life well lived. Roger was a true original, a tremendous asset to SOM, and will be greatly missed. 

Roger Kallman came from Chicago in 1986 to help found Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s London office, and stayed to become one of the most cultivated figures in the capital’s architectural community. 

My abiding memory of Roger is dining with him at the Savoy Grill in 2003. We had gone to sample the menu designed by Marcus Wareing, who had just taken over as chef-patron. Roger started with the ravioli of confit duck with a foie gras velouté. As a fragrant mist rose from the dish, he leant over the bowl and gently wafted the perfume towards him, inhaled, and sat back with eyes closed and a look of utter contentment. He did the same a few years later with Christoffer Hruskova’s hay-smoked quails’ eggs at the Michelin-starred North Road in St John Street, then London’s leading outpost of New Nordic cooking. 

Roger took his pleasures seriously. Architecture, food, art and travel melded into a life lived with great style and courtesy. Sir Stuart Lipton remembers: “Roger was a brilliant town planner, and a man that took to being a consummate Englishman soon after his arrival from the States in 1986. He worked on Broadgate, Canary Wharf and Stockley Park. He understood the eccentricities of UK planning in every detail, even to the point that if he had been given the drawings five minutes before a meeting with Peter Rees [the City of London’s chief planner], he could explain every detail of the application with style, history and local strategy. He had a love of improving cities’ spaces and buildings – all with a mischievous sense of fun.” 

In retirement he pursued those pleasures with focus and dedication. He bought the Glass House in Islington, designed by Future Systems – Jan Kaplicky and Amanda Levete – for the restaurateur Jeremy King and Debbie Hauer. He also bought an apartment in Miami’s Atlantis, Arquitectonica’s celebrated 1982 landmark. He travelled the world to enjoy architecture and food, and as recently as 2023 he was leading visiting graduates of his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, on tours of modern London. 

But he remained close to the City. He was President of the Bishopsgate Ward Club in 2010, and arranged outings to Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilbao and his Marqués de Riscal winery hotel at Elciego, in the Rioja Alavesa. 

A member describes a trip to Basel “meticulously planned around architecture, art and food, getting us through doors that would otherwise have been firmly shut”. Roger was kitted out with a “black mac (it was sunny), black briefcase (full of books) and black galoshes (in case of rain)”. While searching for the next architectural gem, the group stumbled across a naturist area. So focused was Roger on the architecture that he was oblivious to the naked bodies around them. 

Roger was a member of The Architecture Club, a committee member of the City Architecture Forum and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects. As befitted an inveterate traveller, he was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He had joined as a member soon after arriving in London and was later nominated for Fellowship, as he put it, by “the indomitable Sybil Sassoon” like Roger keen traveller and photographer. 

Without exception, all those who knew Roger mention his charm and courtesy. The perfect gentleman. Wherever he has gone, I hope it has a Michelin star or two.

Peter Murray OBE
Co-founder of NLA