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Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

 
Art Encyclopedia: Owings & Merrill Skidmore
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American architectural practice founded in Chicago in 1939 by Louis Skidmore (b Lawrenceburg, IN, 8 April 1897; d Winter Haven, FL, 27 Sept 1962) and Nathaniel A(lexander) Owings (b Indianapolis, IN, 5 Feb 1903; d Santa Fe, NM, 13 June 1984), and the engineer John O(gden) Merrill (b St Paul, MN, 10 Aug 1896; d Chicago, IL, 13 June 1975). Both Skidmore and Owings were trained as architects, and they worked together on the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago (1929-34) before forming a partnership in 1936. In an attempt to gain more commissions they opened a branch office in New York in 1937. During World War II SOM were commissioned to design the town at Oak Ridge, TN (completed 1946), to house those who worked on the atom bomb. The experience that they gained on this enabled them to develop an exceptional organizational and managerial capability at an early stage. The firm dominated American corporate architectural practice for over three decades and during this time grew to be the largest in the country, if not the world. It created an American image and style: International Style, modernist, glossy, meticulously detailed buildings, fitted out with modern furniture and art. At one time or another the firm had branch offices in nearly every American city, and they would compete with one another for commissions.

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Wikipedia: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
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Shaklee Terraces, San Francisco, completed 1979 with a flush aluminum and glass facade and rounded corners.
Lever House

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) is a Chicago-based architectural and engineering firm that was formed in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. 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. SOM provides services in Architecture, Building Services/MEP Engineering, Digital Design, Graphics, Interior Design, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Sustainable Design and Urban Design & Planning.

Contents

Design

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 Willis 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 an 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”.[1]

Architects

Well-known SOM architects include: Gordon Bunshaft, Natalie de Blois, Myron Goldsmith, Bruce Graham, Gertrude Kerbis, Walter Netsch, Pietro Belluschi, Adrian Smith, Ferdinand Gottlieb, Larry Oltmanns, and David Childs.

Engineers

The earliest amongst the many SOM engineers was John O. Merrill.[2] 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 constructions of the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center and for his designs of structural systems that remain fundamental to all high-rise skyscrapers.[3] Indeed, Khan is responsible for developing the algorithms that made the Hancock building and many subsequent skyscrapers possible.

Interior designers

Davis Allen, a pioneer in corporate interior design, had a forty-year tenure at SOM.[4]

Projects

SOM has completed over 10,000 projects around the nation and in more than 50 countries around the world and maintains offices in Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., London, Brussels, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Awards

Throughout its history, SOM has been recognized with more than 800 awards for quality and innovation. More than 125 of these awards have been received since 1998. In 1996 and 1962, SOM received the American Institute of Architects Firm Award[5], which recognizes the design work of an entire firm. SOM is the only firm to have received this honor twice.

In 2009, SOM received four of 13 R+D Awards from Architect Magazine[6]. In addition, a collaboration between SOM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Center for Architecture, Science & Ecology, was honored with a fifth award.

Burj Dubai

In 2004, SOM broke ground on the world's tallest manmade structure in history up to this point, the Burj Dubai, in Dubai, UAE. It is scheduled to open in December 2009.

One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower)

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.

Planning work

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. They have recently designed the Freedom Tower in New York City and the Burj Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Notable SOM buildings

Willis Tower in Chicago.
7 World Trade Center, New York City.
Georgia-Pacific Tower, Atlanta, Georgia.
Jin Mao Building, Shanghai, China.

Buildings under construction

References

  1. ^ Kamin, Blair. "Why Architecture Matters." Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2003.
  2. ^ FundingUniverse: SOM company history.
  3. ^ Ali Mir (2001), Art of the Skyscraper: the Genius of Fazlur Khan, Rizzoli International Publications, ISBN 0-8478-2370-9
  4. ^ Pace, Eric. "Davis Allen, 82, a Designer Of Modern Business Interiors," New York Times. May 23, 1999.
  5. ^ List of AIA Firm Award Recipients http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/AIAS075259
  6. ^ Architect Magazine Third Annual R+D Awards, August 2009: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hanleywood/architect_200908/index.php?startid=46#/48
  7. ^ David W. Dunlap (20 October 1987). "J. Walter Severinghaus, 81, Former Architect". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4D61131F933A15753C1A961948260. "J. Walter Severinghaus, an architect who played a key role in building the practice of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and such structures as One Chase Manhattan Plaza… was a partner in the New York City office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which he joined in 1938, when the Chicago-based firm was beginning to expand. He was made a partner in 1949." 

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William F. Baker (engineer); David Childs; Roger Duffy; T.J. Gottesdiener; Craig Hartman; Ross Wimer;


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