Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

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Image:Shaklee Terraces San Francisco.jpg Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) is an architectural firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City in 1937. SOM is one of the largest architectural firms in the United States. Their primary expertise is in high-end commercial buildings, as it was SOM which led the way to the widespread use of the modern "glass box" skyscraper. Some architectural critics have dubbed the firm "The Three Blind Mies", citing the similarity of many of their buildings to the works of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Their most famous architects were Gordon Bunshaft, Myron Goldsmith, Bruce Graham, Fazlur Khan, Walter Netsch, and David Childs. The company claims to have completed 10,000 projects and maintains offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Notable SOM buildings

• Individual buildings and the town plan for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1942
• Lever House, New York City, New York 1952
• United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1958
• Tour Telus (CIL House), Montreal, Quebec, 1962
• Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1963
• University of Illinois at Chicago's "Circle Campus", 1965
• Louis Jefferson Long Library at Wells College, 1968
• Bank of America Center, San Francisco, California, 1969
• John Hancock Center, Chicago, Illinois, 1969
• Weyerhaeuser Headquarters, Tacoma, Washington, 1971
• Haj Terminal, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1972
• Sears Tower, Chicago, Illinois, 1973
• Carlton Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1973
• US Bank Building, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1973
• First Wisconsin Plaza, Madison, Wisconsin, 1974
• Enerplex, North Building, Princeton, New Jersey, 1982
• Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, 1982
• Wachovia Financial Center, Miami, Florida, 1984
• Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3,Manila,Philippines,1997
• Jin Mao Building, Shanghai, 1998
• Embassy of the United States in Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, 1999
• 7 South Dearborn (unbuilt), Chicago, Illinois, 2000
• San Francisco International Airport International Terminal, San Francisco, California, 2001
• AOL Time Warner Center, New York City, New York, 2003
• Ben Gurion Airport Terminal 3, Tel Aviv, Israel; completed 2004 (in association with Moshe Safdie)

Buildings under construction

• Freedom Tower, New York City
• second 7 World Trade Center, New York City
• Burj Dubai, Dubai
• Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago

External links

• SOM corporate site
• Review of the 1954 Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Branch Bank in NYCpt:Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill

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