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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill facts for kids

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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Private
Industry Professional services
Founded 1936; 89 years ago (1936), in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Founders
Headquarters Chicago
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Mustafa Abadan, William F. Baker, Thomas Behr, Keith Boswell, Carrie Byles, Larry Chien, Leo Chow, Brant Coletta, Chris Cooper, Paul Danna, Mark Sarkisian, Michael Duncan, Scott Duncan, Laura Ettelman, Xuan Fu, T.J. Gottesdiener, Gary Haney, Craig Hartman, Kent Jackson, Colin Koop, Kenneth Lewis, Adam Semel, Jonathan Stein, Douglas Voigt
Services Architecture, building services/MEP engineering, graphics, interior design, structural engineering, civil engineering, sustainable design and urban design & planning
Revenue $347 million (2021)

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (often called SOM) is a famous American company. They specialize in architecture, urban planning (designing cities), and engineering.

SOM was started in 1936 in Chicago by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, an engineer named John Merrill joined them. The company quickly grew, opening an office in New York City in 1937. Today, SOM has offices all over the world, including in San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai.

SOM has designed some of the world's most important buildings and city projects. They are known for creating many of the tallest buildings in the world. These include the John Hancock Center (1969), Willis Tower (1973, which was the world's tallest for over 20 years), One World Trade Center (2014), and the amazing Burj Khalifa (2010), which is currently the tallest building on Earth!

The company does many different types of work. Their services include designing buildings, planning cities, creating interiors, and focusing on sustainable design to protect the environment.

Building History and Influence

Early Designs

One of SOM's first very important projects was Lever House, finished in 1952 in New York City. It was the first office building in the city built in the modern "International Style," using lots of glass and steel. This was very different from the older brick buildings around it. Lever House became a huge success and inspired many other tall buildings around the world. In 1982, it was named an official landmark.

SOM also designed other key buildings in New York City. The Manufacturers Trust Company Building (1954) was the first modern bank building in the U.S. The Pepsi-Cola World Headquarters (1960) was praised for its beautiful design. Then came 28 Liberty Street (1961), which helped bring businesses back to downtown New York by creating a large open plaza around the tower. This idea of open spaces around tall buildings became very popular.

Another example of SOM's early modern work is the Cadet Chapel in Colorado. Built between 1958 and 1968, this campus was the first U.S. military academy designed in a modern style. The chapel itself is famous for its unique look and has won major awards for its design.

Designing for a Better Planet

SOM has always cared about sustainable architecture and design. As early as 1969, one of its founders, Nathaniel Owings, wrote about how important it is for builders to "make peace with the environment."

An early "green building" example is the Weyerhaeuser Company headquarters (1971). It was designed to fit into the natural landscape and use energy efficiently. Later, the U.S. Census Bureau Headquarters (2007) became the first federal office building to get LEED certification, which means it meets high environmental standards.

In 2015, SOM completed one of the world's first schools that produces as much energy as it uses. The Kathleen Grimm School in New York City has won many awards for its amazing energy performance. SOM also researches new ways to save energy and reduce carbon, like using timber in tall buildings or new concrete designs.

Tall Building Innovations

In the 1970s, SOM changed how skyscrapers were built. In Chicago, they designed the John Hancock Center (1970) and the Willis Tower (1973). The Willis Tower became the world's tallest building and held that record for over 20 years!

These towers were designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan. Khan invented a special "tubular framing system" that allowed buildings to go much higher than ever before. This system is still used today for many of the world's tallest buildings, including the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa, which SOM also designed in 2010.

Digital Design and Technology

SOM was one of the first companies to use computers in design back in the 1960s and 70s. They created their own computer tools before today's common CAD systems existed. These tools helped engineers like Fazlur Khan design complex structures for buildings like the John Hancock Center.

An experimental group at SOM, called the Computer Group, worked hard to use computers in every part of the design process. They realized computers could not only do calculations faster but also help share information in new ways. In 1980, SOM created a computer program called Architecture Engineering Systems. This program was an early version of today's building information modeling (BIM) tools, which are used by architects and engineers everywhere.

Art in Architecture

For many years, SOM has included art in its projects. They have worked with famous artists to add sculptures and other artworks to their buildings. For example, they helped create the Chicago Picasso, a huge steel sculpture in Chicago's city center. Artists like Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, and Isamu Noguchi have had their work featured in SOM projects. More recently, SOM has worked with artists like James Turrell and Janet Echelman.

People at SOM

SOM is run by a group of partners. Some of the current partners include Mustafa Abadan, William Baker, and Laura Ettelman.

Founders and Key Architects

Many talented architects and engineers have worked at SOM. Gordon Bunshaft, who worked at SOM for over 40 years, won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1988, which is one of the highest honors in architecture. Other notable people include Bruce Graham, Fazlur Rahman Khan, and Walter Netsch.

Women in Design

Historically, it was harder for women to get jobs and leadership roles in architecture. For example, Norma Merrick Sklarek, an African-American architect, was hired by SOM in 1955 after being turned down by many other firms. She stayed for five years before starting her own company.

In 2010, Julia Murphy helped restart the Women's Initiative at SOM to help balance this. By 2020, three women – Carrie Byles, Xuan Fu, and Laura Ettelman – were named to the company's main executive committee, showing a positive change.

SOM Foundation

The SOM Foundation was started in 1979. Its goal is to support new design leaders by giving awards to talented students studying architecture, design, and engineering. Many past winners have gone on to have successful careers. The foundation continues to give out awards to students from the U.S., UK, and China.

Awards and Recognition

SOM has won over 2000 awards for its great designs and new ideas. In 1962 and 1996, SOM received the Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects. This award recognizes the excellent design work of an entire company. SOM is the only firm to have won this honor twice!

What SOM Does

Urban Design and Planning

Since the beginning, SOM has been involved in designing and planning large parts of cities. They have worked on major projects in cities like London, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. SOM's city design team has helped create new ways of planning, like transit-oriented development (designing areas around public transport) and sustainable urbanism (making cities environmentally friendly).

In 1942, SOM secretly planned Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a town that grew to 75,000 people by 1945. This project helped SOM prepare for other big city planning jobs after World War II.

For over 20 years, SOM helped plan the National Mall in Washington, D.C. They created a plan in 1966 to make it a more inviting and pedestrian-friendly place. Later plans led to the building of museums like the National Air and Space Museum.

In the 1960s, SOM helped save historic areas in Baltimore. They convinced officials to change a highway plan that would have destroyed old neighborhoods and the Inner Harbor, rerouting the highway instead.

In the 1970s, SOM worked on the Portland Transit Mall in Oregon. This project helped make downtown Portland more lively, encouraged public transport, and created streets that were better for people walking.

Starting in the 1980s, SOM planned Canary Wharf in London. This huge project created a new business district with many buildings and public spaces. It also included a strong transportation network, like a light rail station connected to the London Underground. This big project led to SOM opening its London office in 1986.

In Chicago, SOM designed the master plan for Millennium Park, which opened in 2004. This park is built over bus lanes, parking garages, and a rail yard, making it one of the world's largest roof gardens. It transformed a neglected downtown area into a popular attraction.

In Denver, SOM helped turn the historic Denver Union Station into a major transport hub. They transformed 20 acres of old rail yards into a modern urban area that connects light rail, buses, and trains. This project, finished in 2014, has brought a lot of new development to the area.

Structural Engineering

SOM has had many brilliant engineers. John O. Merrill was one of the earliest. Fazlur Khan is famous for designing the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center. He developed structural systems that are still used today for almost all high-rise buildings. His ideas made it possible to build much taller skyscrapers.

Another important SOM engineer is Bill Baker. He is best known as the engineer for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (2010), which is the world's tallest man-made structure. To make this super-tall and slender tower stable, he created a special "buttressed core" system, which uses a hexagonal core supported by three strong buttresses in a Y-shape.

Interior Design

Davis Allen was a pioneer in designing the inside spaces of corporate offices. He worked at SOM for 40 years. He was known for creating "total designs" for office environments, where furniture, art, and other objects were all planned together to create a complete space.

Famous Projects

Further information: List of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings
Lever House 390 Park Avenue
Lever House, New York City (1952)
Manhattan House 65 jeh
Manhattan House in New York City
Memorial Coliseum wide view from north, 2013
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon (1960)
John Hancock Center 2019
John Hancock Center, Chicago (1969)
Uris Hall and cyclist
Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (1972)
Willis Tower From Lake
Willis Tower, Chicago (1974)
Rowes Wharf, Boston, MA - 4
Rowes Wharf, Boston (1987)
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa, Dubai (2010)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill para niños