& merrill type partnership industry architecture founded chicago illinois united states 1936 1936 founder louis skidmore nathaniel owings john o. merrill area served international key people john o. merrill fazlur rahman khan services architecture building services mep engineering graphics interior design structural engineering civil engineering sustainable design and urban design & planning net income 1 website www.som.com skidmore owings & merrill llp som is an american architectural urban planning and engineering firm . it was formed in chicago in 1936 by louis skidmore and nathaniel owings ; in 1939 they were joined by john o. merrill . the firm opened their first branch in new york city in 1937 and has since expanded all over the world with regional offices in san francisco los angeles washington dc london hong kong shanghai mumbai and abu dhabi . with a portfolio spanning thousands of projects across 50 countries som is one of the largest architectural firms in the world . their primary expertise is in high end commercial buildings as it was som that led the way to the widespread use of the modern international style or glass box skyscraper . they have designed several of the tallest buildings in the world including the john hancock center 1969 second tallest in the world when built willis tower 1973 tallest in the world for over twenty years and burj khalifa 2010 currently the world s tallest building . som provides services in architecture building services mep engineering digital design graphics interior design structural engineering civil engineering sustainable design and urban design & planning . 2 contents 1 design 1.1 architects 1.2 engineers 1.3 interior designers 1.4 awards 2 projects 2.1 burj khalifa 2.2 one world trade center 2.3 the beacon 2.4 rockwell center 2.5 planning work 3 notable projects 4 see also 5 references 6 external links design edit many of som s post war designs have become icons of american modern architecture including the manhattan house 1950 designated as a new york city landmark in 2007 by the new york city landmarks preservation commission ; and the lever house 1952 also in new york city ; as well as the air force academy chapel 1958 in colorado springs colorado ; and the john hancock center 1969 and sears tower 1973 both in chicago . although som was one of the first major modern american architectural firms to promote a corporate face i.e. not specifically crediting individual architects for their buildings many famous architects engineers and interior designers have been associated with the various national offices . due to their faithful following of ludwig mies van der rohe s ideas frank lloyd wright nicknamed them the three blind mies . 3 architects edit som s original three partners louis skidmore nathaniel owings and john o. merrill . notable som architects include edward charles bassett 4 natalie de blois 5 6 gordon bunshaft 7 8 david childs 9 10 myron goldsmith 11 12 bruce graham 13 14 gertrude kerbis 15 fazlur rahman khan . 16 lucien lagrange 17 walter netsch 18 19 larry oltmanns 20 brigitte peterhans 21 22 adrian smith 23 and marilyn jordan taylor 24 engineers edit the earliest amongst the many som engineers was john o. merrill . 25 fazlur khan another engineer at som is considered the greatest structural engineer of the second half of the 20th century ; he is best known for his design and construction of the willis tower formerly the sears tower and john hancock center and for his designs of structural systems that remain fundamental to all high rise skyscrapers . 26 indeed khan is responsible for developing the algorithms that made the hancock building and many subsequent skyscrapers possible . another notable som engineer is bill baker who is best known as the engineer of burj khalifa dubai 2010 the world s tallest manmade structure . to support the tower s record heights and slim footprint he developed the buttressed core 27 structural system consisting of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form a y shape . interior designers edit davis allen a pioneer in corporate interior design had a forty year tenure at som . 28 awards edit throughout its history som has been recognized with more than 1 700 awards for quality and innovation . 29 more than 900 of these awards have been received since 1998 . 30 in 1996 and 1962 som received the architecture firm award 31 from the american institute of architects which recognizes the design work of an entire firm . som is the only firm to have received this honor twic13 r d awards from architect magazine . 32 33 34 35 in addition a collaboration between som and rensselaer polytechnic institute the center for architecture science and ecology was honored with a fifth award . 36 projects edit som has completed over 10 000 projects around the united states and in more than 50 other countries around the world and maintains offices in chicago new york city san francisco washington d.c. london hong kong shanghai mumbai and abu dhabi . smaller field offices supplement these in locations such as the philippines . burj khalifa edit burj khalifa is the tallest man made structure ever built at 829.8 m 2 722 ft . 37 construction began on 21 september 2004 and the building officially opened on 4 january 2010 . 38 39 the tower s architect and engineer was skidmore owings and merrill . 40 george j. efstathiou was the managing partner for the project . bill baker the chief structural engineer for the project invented the buttressed core structural system in order to enable the tower to achieve such heights economically . adrian smith who worked with skidmore owings and merrill until 2006 was the consulting design partner . 40 41 the primary builder is a joint venture of south korean samsung c & t who also built the taipei 101 and petronas twin towers 42 besix and arabtec . one world trade center edit one world trade center also known as the freedom tower is located in manhattan new york city and is 1 776 ft 541 m high making it the tallest building in the western hemisphere . after daniel libeskind won the competition for master planning som was awarded the architectural design contract for the freedom tower despite having withdrawn their entry in the original design competition . the beacon edit the beacon is one of the largest condominium complexes in san francisco . it was designed by som . rockwell center edit the rockwell center is a high end mixed use area in makati city philippines . it is a project of rockwell land corporation which is in turn owned by the lopez holdings corporation . rockwell center was first developed in 1998 and is being expanded since 2012 carried out the design under the direction of former design partner larry oltmanns planning work edit in addition to architectural services skidmore owings and merrill has also competed in the field of large scale planning programs . an example of one important commission was as the lead design firm for the boston transportation planning review a metropolitan wide re design of boston s entire transit and roadway infrastructure in the 1970s . notable projects edit lever house 390 park avenue manhattan manufacturers trust company building at 510 fifth avenue manhattan willis tower formerly known as the sears tower in chicago 7 world trade center new york city shaklee terraces san francisco completed 1979 with a flush aluminum and glass facade and rounded corners . project location completed principal architects notes oak ridge new town master plan oak ridge tennessee 1949 john o. merrill 43 manhattan house manhattan new york 1951 new york city landmark 44 lever house manhattan new york 1952 gordon bunshaft natalie de blois new york city landmark national register of historic places 45 manufacturers hanover trust 510 fifth avenue manhattan new york 1954 gordon bunshaft charles evans hughes iii new york city landmark 46 hilton istanbul bosphorus istanbul turkey 1955 turkey s first five star hotel . consular agency of the united states bremen bremen germany 1956 gordon bunshaft received an award in 1974 from the association of german architects 47 48 inland steel building chicago illinois 1958 bruce graham walter netsch 49 veterans memorial coliseum portland oregon 1960 also known as portland memorial coliseum . 50 one chase manhattan plaza manhattan new york 1961 new york city landmark 51 52 bma tower kansas city missouri 1961 bruce graham also known as one park place . telus tower montreal quebec 1962 gordon bunshaft french tour telus . previously known as cil house . mcmath pierce solar telescope at kitt peak national observatory kitt peak arizona 1962 53 beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university new haven connecticut 1963 gordon bunshaft 54 united states air force academy cadet chapel colorado springs colorado 1963 55 mauna kea beach hotel kohala hawaii hawaii 1965 edward charles bassett circle campus of the university of illinois at chicago chicago illinois 1965 autzen stadium of the university of oregon eugene oregon 1967 louis jefferson long library at wells college aurora new york 1968 equitable building atlanta georgia 1968 d90 boots headquarters beeston united kingdom 1968 grade ii listed university of illinois at chicago phase iii behavioral sciences building chicago illinois 1969 56 555 california street san francisco california 1969 formerly bank of america center . grand rapids city hall & kent county administrative building grand rapids michigan 1969 john hancock center chicago illinois 1969 red line dan ryan branch chicago illinois 1969 myron goldsmith blue line o hare branch jefferson park to logan square chicago illinois 1970 myron goldsmith regenstein library of the university of chicago chicago illinois 1970 lyndon baines johnson library and museum austin texas 1971 one hsbc center buffalo new york 1971 weyerhaeuser headquarters tacoma washington 1971 hajj terminal at king abdulaziz international airport jeddah saudi arabia 1972 olympic tower manhattan new york 1972 willis tower formerly sears tower chicago illinois 1973 bruce graham fazlur khan carlton centre johannesburg south africa 1973 u.s. bank center milwaukee wisconsin 1973 bruce graham james destefano fazlur khan edmonton city centre edmonton alberta 1974 formerly edmonton centre . first wisconsin plaza madison wisconsin 1974 azadi stadium tehran iran 1974 city center square kansas city missouri 1977 555 17th street denver colorado 1978 formerly anaconda tower and qwest tower . denver world trade center denver colorado 1979 3 world trade center manhattan new york 1981 also known as the marriott world trade center . destroyed in the september 11 attacks in 2001 . madison plaza chicago illinois 1982 former hyatt corporation headquarters . enerplex north building princeton new jersey 1982 hubert h. humphrey metrodome minneapolis minnesota 1982 at & t midtown center atlanta georgia 1982 formerly bellsouth center and southern bell center . georgia pacific tower atlanta georgia 1982 wells fargo center los angeles california 1983 u.s. bancorp tower portland oregon 1983 nicknamed big pink . national commercial bank headquarters jeddah saudi arabia 1983 universit saad dahleb blida blida algeria 1984 skidmore universit de blida 1 https books.google.com books id bophawaaqbaj & pg pa51 trammell crow center dallas texas 1984 republic plaza denver colorado 1984 fort wayne museum of art fort wayne indiana 1984 southeast financial center miami florida 1984 1515 poydras new orleans louisiana 1984 former gulf building 63 building seoul south korea 1985 in yeouido . wachovia tower birmingham alabama 1986 mccormick place phase 2 exposition center expansion north building chicago illinois 1986 57 cannoneer court at pratt institute brooklyn new york 1986 wells fargo tower birmingham alabama 1987 previously known as southtrust tower and wachovia tower . 321 north clark chicago illinois 1987 chase tower dallas texas 1987 also known as jpmorgan chase tower and texas commerce tower . nicknamed keyhole building . leo j. pantas hall at pratt institute brooklyn new york 1987 suntrust center orlando florida 1988 tallest building in orlando nbc tower chicago illinois 1989 one worldwide