David Childs, the much-admired Skidmore, Owings & Merrillmainstay, passed away last week at the age of 83, leaving behind a portfolio of time-tested and essential designs that charter his career's progression from a young Washington, D.C. architect to its pinnacle in the international spotlight as the designer for the new One World Trade Center tower in New York City in 2014.Along the way, commercial high-rise designs, civic and governmental projects were a carrying force as he leaned on mentors Philip Johnson and Gordon Bunshaft, eventually moving to New York to follow in the footsteps of the latter in 1984."The rebuilding of the World Trade Center was a labor of love for thousands of people, and no single individual was more responsible for its success than David," friend Larry Silverstein remembered recently. "He pushed from the earliest days for the creation of a master plan and the participation of a wide range of architectural voices. He created a masterpiece in 7 World Tra...