Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Encyclopedia
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
ural and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore
Louis Skidmore
Louis Skidmore was an American architect, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.-Biography:...
and Nathaniel Owings
Nathaniel A. Owings
Nathaniel Alexander Owings was an American architect, a founding partner of Skidmore Owings and Merrill , which became one of the largest architectural firms in the United States and the world. Owings viewed skyscrapers as his firm's specialty...
; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill
John O. Merrill
John Ogden Merrill Sr. was an American architect and structural engineer. He was chiefly responsible for the design and construction of the United States Air Force Academy campus and for the development of Oak Ridge, Tennessee where the atomic bomb was developed...
. They opened their first branch in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
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
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
or "glass box" skyscraper. They have built several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
(1969, second tallest in the world when built), Sears Tower (1973, tallest in the world for over twenty years), and Burj Khalifa (2010, current world's tallest building). SOM provides services in Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, Building Services/MEP Engineering, Digital Design, Graphics, Interior Design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
, Structural Engineering
Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
, Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, Sustainable Design
Sustainable design
Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...
and Urban Design
Urban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
& Planning.
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 CommissionNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for...
; and the Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
(1952), also in New York City; as well as the Air Force Academy Chapel (1958) in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; and the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
(1969) and Sears Tower (1973), both in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
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
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
’s ideas, Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
nicknamed them "The Three Blind Mies".
Architects
Notable SOM architects include: Gordon BunshaftGordon Bunshaft
Gordon Bunshaft was an architect educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1988, Gordon Bunshaft nominated himself for the Pritzker Prize and eventually won it.-Career:...
, Natalie de Blois, Myron Goldsmith, Bruce Graham
Bruce Graham
Bruce John Graham was an Colombian-American architect. Among his most notable buildings are the Inland Steel Building, the Willis Tower , and the John Hancock Center. He worked with Fazlur Khan on all three constructions...
, Gertrude Kerbis, Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch
Walter Netsch was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes...
, Edward Charles Bassett
Edward Charles Bassett
Edward Charles Bassett was an American architect.Born in Port Huron, Michigan, Bassett was a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome in 1970, and served as design partner in the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill for 26 years, from 1955 through his retirement in 1981 .Bassett's...
, Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith (architect)
Adrian D. Smith is an American architect who has designed skyscrapers including the Burj Khalifa, Jin Mao Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower, as well as the proposed Kingdom Tower for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.-Education:...
, Michel Mossessian
Michel Mossessian
Michel Mossessian is a French architect based in London, UK. Michel gained his diploma in architecture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts UP N°8 in Paris, where he also engaged in philosophy under Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault...
, Larry Oltmanns
Larry Oltmanns
Larry Oltmanns has achieved international acclaim for his work as an architect and master planner of large-scale mixed-use developments worldwide. Master plans designed by Mr Oltmanns include 25 mixed-use developments over $100 million, of which 12 have been completed and four are under construction...
, Fazlur Rahman Khan. Lucien Lagrange
Lucien Lagrange
Lucien Lagrange is an architect and a former partner at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, who founded his own firm, named Lucien Lagrange Architects in 1985...
, and David Childs
David Childs
David M. Childs is the Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He is best known for his redesign of the new One World Trade Center in New York....
.
Engineers
The earliest amongst the many SOM engineers was John O. MerrillJohn O. Merrill
John Ogden Merrill Sr. was an American architect and structural engineer. He was chiefly responsible for the design and construction of the United States Air Force Academy campus and for the development of Oak Ridge, Tennessee where the atomic bomb was developed...
. Fazlur Khan
Fazlur Khan
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi born architect and structural engineer. He is a central figure behind the "Second Chicago School" of architecture, and is regarded as the "Father of tubular design for high-rises"...
, 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
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
and for his designs of structural systems
Skyscraper design and construction
The design and construction of skyscrapers involves creating safe, habitable spaces in very tall buildings. The buildings must support their weight, resist wind and earthquakes, and protect occupants from fire. Yet they must also be conveniently accessible, even on the upper floors, and provide...
that remain fundamental to all high-rise skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s. 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
William F. Baker (engineer)
William Frazier Baker, also known as Bill Baker, is an American structural engineer known for engineering the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building/manmade structure....
, 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” structural system, consisting of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form a Y shape.
Interior designers
Davis AllenDavis Allen
Davis Allen was an interior designer and furniture designer. He was noted as a pioneer in the design of interior corporate environments and had a forty-year tenure at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He also designed the Andover chair. In 1985, he was inducted into the Interior Design Magazine Hall Of...
, a pioneer in corporate interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
, had a forty-year tenure at SOM.
Awards
Throughout its history, SOM has been recognized with more than 1400 awards for quality and innovation. More than 580 of these awards have been received since 1998. In 1996 and 1962, SOM received the Architecture Firm AwardArchitecture Firm Award
The Architecture Firm Award is the highest honor that The American Institute of Architects can bestow on an architecture firm for consistently producing distinguished architecture.Prior recipients of the AIA Architecture Firm Award include:...
from the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
, which recognizes the design work of an entire firm. SOM is the only firm to have received this honor twice.
August 2009, SOM received four of 13 R+D Awards from Architect Magazine. In addition, a collaboration between SOM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
, The Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology
Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology
The Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology is a research facility of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute . It is a joint project of RPI and architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill...
, was honored with a fifth award.
Projects
SOM has completed over 10,000 projects around the nation and in more than 50 countries around the world and maintains offices in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa ( "Khalifa Tower"), formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a supertall skyscraperSkyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The tower's architect and engineer is Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. George J. Efstathiou was the Managing Partner for the project. Bill Baker
William F. Baker (engineer)
William Frazier Baker, also known as Bill Baker, is an American structural engineer known for engineering the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building/manmade structure....
, 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
Adrian Smith (architect)
Adrian D. Smith is an American architect who has designed skyscrapers including the Burj Khalifa, Jin Mao Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower, as well as the proposed Kingdom Tower for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.-Education:...
, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the Consulting Design Partner. The primary builder is a joint venture of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n Samsung C&T, who also built the Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
and Petronas Twin Towers
Petronas Twin Towers
The Petronas Towers are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, Besix and Arabtec. The total budget for the Burj Khalifa project is about US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US $20 billion.
One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center, formerly known as Freedom Tower, is located in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
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 ReviewBoston Transportation Planning Review
Boston Transportation Planning Review is a transportation planning program for metropolitan Boston, United States which was responsible for analyzing and re-designing the entire area-wide transit and highway system in the 1970s. The major contractors involved were Alan M...
, a metropolitan wide re-design of Boston's entire transit and roadway infrastructure in the 1970s.
Notable SOM buildings
- Individual buildings and the town plan for Oak RidgeOak Ridge, TennesseeOak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
, Tennessee, United States, 1942 - Manhattan House, 1947-51, a designated New York City Landmark.
- Lever HouseLever HouseLever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
, New York City, New York, United States, 1952 - Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank branch building 1954, a designated New York City Landmark and Interior, 2011.
- Inland Steel BuildingInland Steel BuildingThe Inland Steel Building, located at 30 W. Monroe Street in Chicago, is one of the city's defining commercial high-rises of the post-World War II era of modern architecture. It was built in the years 1956–1957 and was the first skyscraper to be built in the Chicago Loop following the Great...
, Chicago, United States, 1957 - United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force AcademyThe United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, 1958 - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon, United States, 1960
- One Chase Manhattan PlazaOne Chase Manhattan PlazaOne Chase Manhattan Plaza is a banking skyscraper located in the downtown Manhattan Financial District of New York City, between Pine, Liberty, Nassau, and William Streets. Construction on the building was completed in 1961...
, Financial District, Manhattan, New York, United States, 1961, a designated New York City Landmark. - BMA TowerBMA TowerThe BMA Tower in Kansas City, Missouri, also known as One Park Place, was built as a 19-story Modern style office building. Located on a prominent height south of downtown Kansas City, the building is uniquely visible. The building was planned for the Business Men's Assurance Company of...
(One Park Place), Kansas City, Missouri, 1961 - Tour TelusTour TelusTour Telus is an office building at 630 René Lévesque Boulevard West in Montreal. It was built for Canadian Industries Limited from 1960 to 1962, given the name CIL House. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft from the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with local architects...
(CIL House), Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1962 - Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript LibraryBeinecke Rare Book and Manuscript LibraryYale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library was a 1963 gift of the Beinecke family. The building was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft of the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books...
, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 1963 - Mauna Kea Beach HotelMauna Kea Beach HotelThe Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is a hotel property on the Kohala Coast of the island of Hawaii. It sits at Kaunaoa Bay. The American Institute of Architects awarded the hotel an Honor Award in 1967 citing its "restrained detailing and fine spacial sequences." In 2007, the hotel received honors...
, Kohala Coast, Hawaii, United States, 1965 - University of Illinois at ChicagoUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoThe University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
's "Circle Campus", United States, 1965 - Autzen StadiumAutzen StadiumAutzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions...
, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 1967 - Louis Jefferson Long Library at Wells CollegeWells CollegeWells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....
, Aurora, New York, United States, 1968 - Equitable BuildingEquitable Building (Atlanta)The Equitable Building is a 35-story, 453 foot tall office building in Atlanta, Georgia, located at 100 Peachtree Street in the Fairlie-Poplar neighborhood in downtown Atlanta...
, Atlanta, Georgia, 1968 - 555 California Street, San Francisco, California, United States, 1969
- Grand Rapids City Hall & Kent CountyKent County, Michigan-Air Service:*Commercial air service to Grand Rapids is provided by Gerald R. Ford International Airport . Previously named Kent County International Airport, it holds Grand Rapids' mark in modern history with the United States' first regularly scheduled airline service, beginning July 31, 1926,...
Administrative Building - Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1969 - City Center SquareCity Center SquareCity Center Square is a Skyscraper in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, built by Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill, in Spring of 1977. It consumes the entire block of 11th Street to 12th Street, and from Main Street, to Baltimore Street. It is 30-stories tall, and uses a reinforced concrete structure...
, Kansas City, Missouri, United States 1977 - John Hancock CenterJohn Hancock CenterJohn Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1969 - Dan Ryan Rapid Transit StationsRed Line (Chicago Transit Authority)The northern terminus of the Red Line is Howard Street in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago , on the City Limits farthest north. The Red Line extends southeasterly on an elevated embankment structure about a half-mile west of the lakefront to Touhy Avenue then turns south along Glenwood...
, Myron Goldsmith Chicago, Illinois, 1969 - Kennedy Rapid Transit StationsBlue Line (Chicago Transit Authority)The Blue Line consists of a long trunk line in the Chicago Transit Authority's rapid transit system which extends through Chicago's Loop from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway, and across the West Side to its...
(Jefferson Park to Logan Square), Myron Goldsmith, Chicago, Illinois, 1970 - Regenstein LibraryRegenstein LibraryThe Joseph Regenstein Library is the main library of the University of Chicago, named after industrialist and philanthropist Joseph Regenstein. Holding over 7.9 million volumes, it is one of the largest repositories of books in the world, and is noted for its brutalist architecture.-History:The...
, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1970 - Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and MuseumLyndon Baines Johnson Library and MuseumThe Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum is one of 13 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, including the papers of Lyndon Baines Johnson and those of his close associates and others...
, Austin, Texas, 1971 - One HSBC CenterOne HSBC CenterOne HSBC Center is a skyscraper located in downtown Buffalo, New York. Formerly known as the Marine Midland Center, its name was changed in 1999 shortly after Marine Midland's parent company HSBC rebranded the bank as HSBC Bank USA. The building was constructed at a cost of $50 million between...
, Buffalo, New York, United States, 1971 - WeyerhaeuserWeyerhaeuserWeyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber...
Headquarters, TacomaTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, Washington, United States, 1971 - Hajj Terminal, JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi Arabia, 1972 - Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1973
- Carlton CentreCarlton CentreThe Carlton Centre is a skyscraper and shopping centre located in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. At , it has been the tallest building in Africa for 38 years. The Carlton Centre has 50 floors. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 3.5m in diameter and extend 20m down to the...
, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1973 - U.S. Bank Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 1973
- First Wisconsin Plaza, MadisonMadison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin, United States, 1974 - 200 W Madison, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois (former HyattHyattHyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
Corporation headquarters) - Enerplex, North Building, PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, New Jersey, United States, 1982 - Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 1982 - BellSouth CenterBellSouth Center (Atlanta)AT&T Midtown Center I is a , 47-story skyscraper in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Formerly known as BellSouth Center and Southern Bell Center. Completed in 1982, it serves as the regional headquarters of BellSouth Telecommunications, which does business as AT&T Southeast, and was acquired as part of...
, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 1982 - Georgia-Pacific TowerGeorgia-Pacific TowerGeorgia-Pacific Tower is a skyscraper in downtown Atlanta. It contains 52 stories of office space and was finished in 1982. Before the six year era of tall skyscrapers to be built in Atlanta, it was Atlanta's second tallest building from 1982 to 1987, and during that time period, the Westin...
, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 1982 - US Bancorp TowerUS Bancorp Tower (Portland, Oregon)US Bancorp Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in Portland, Oregon. It stands at with 42 floors. The building has nearly of office space inside, making it the largest office building in Oregon in terms of volume, and the second tallest building in Oregon, with only the Wells Fargo Center...
, Portland, Oregon, United States, 1983 - Trammell Crow CenterTrammell Crow CenterTrammell Crow Center is a 50-story postmodern skyscraper at 2001 Ross Avenue in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas. With a structural height of , and to the roof, it is the sixth-tallest building in Dallas and the 18th-tallest in the state The tower was designed by the architecture...
, Dallas, Texas, 1984* - Fort Wayne Museum of ArtFort Wayne Museum of ArtThe Fort Wayne Museum of Art is a Contemporary art museum located in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, Allen County, United States, neighboring the Arts United Center...
, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, 1984 - Southeast Financial Center, Miami, Florida, United States, 1984
- 63 Building63 BuildingThe 63 Building , officially the 63 City, is a skyscraper on Yeouido island, overlooking the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. At 249 meters high, it surpassed Sunshine 60 in Tokyo and became the tallest building outside North America when completed in 1985, but a few months later the title went to...
, Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea, 1985 - Wachovia TowerWachovia Tower (Birmingham)The Wells Fargo Tower is a 34 story, 454 foot tall office building located in Birmingham, Alabama. Built in 1986 as the corporate headquarters for SouthTrust Corporation, the building was originally known as the SouthTrust Tower until 2005 when SouthTrust completed its merger with Wachovia and was...
, Birmingham, Alabama, 1986 - JPMorgan Chase TowerJPMorgan Chase Tower (Dallas)Chase Tower is a , 55-story postmodern skyscraper at 2200 Ross Avenue in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. Although it is the fourth tallest skyscraper in the city, if one were to exclude antennas and spires, it would be the third. It is also the 12th tallest building in Texas...
, Dallas, Texas, United States, 1987 - NBC TowerNBC TowerThe NBC Tower is an office tower on the Near north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States located at 454 North Columbus Drive in downtown Chicago's Magnificent Mile area. Completed in 1989, the 37-story building reaches a height of 627 feet...
, Chicago, Illinois, 1989 - One Worldwide PlazaOne Worldwide PlazaOne Worldwide Plaza is part of a three-building, mixed-use commercial and residential complex completed in 1989, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known collectively as Worldwide Plaza. One Worldwide Plaza is a commercial office tower on Eighth Avenue...
, New York City, New York, United States, 1989 - 461 Fifth Avenue461 Fifth Avenue461 Fifth Avenue at 40th street is a 28-story skyscraper located in the Grand Central Terminal area of the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City...
, New York City, New York, United States, 1989 - Roosevelt HospitalSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital CenterSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
, New York City - Islamic Cultural Center of New YorkIslamic Cultural Center of New YorkThe Islamic Cultural Center of New York is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is located at 1711 Third Avenue, between East 96th and 97th Streets. The Islamic Cultural Center was the first mosque built in New York City...
, 1991 - 100 East Pratt Street100 East Pratt Street100 East Pratt Street is a building located in Baltimore, Maryland. The building originally began construction in 1973 by Emery Roth & Sons, though it halted in 1975. Construction was then completed and developed in 1992 by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The building stands at 418 ft. , containing...
, Baltimore, 1992 - Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreHong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreThe Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld-Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbour, it is linked by covered walkways to nearby hotels and commercial...
(HKCEC), Hong Kong, China, 1997 - National Commercial Bank, JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi Arabia - Ninoy Aquino International AirportNinoy Aquino International AirportThe Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...
Terminal 3, Manila, Philippines, 1997 - Jin Mao BuildingJin Mao BuildingThe Jin Mao Tower is an 88-story landmark supertall skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of the Pudong district of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in the PRC, the fifth tallest in the world by roof...
, Shanghai, China, 1998 - Pavilhão AtlânticoPavilhão AtlânticoPavilhão Atlântico is an indoor arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Pavilhão Atlântico holds 20,000 people and was built in 1998 for Expo '98.-History:...
, Lisbon, Portugal, 1998 - Embassy of the United States, Ottawa, Canada, 1999
- Korea World Trade Center, SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, Korea, 2000 - PBCom TowerPBCOM TowerThe Philippine Bank of Communications Tower, more commonly known as PBCom Tower, is an office skyscraper that currently holds the title, since 2000, of the tallest building in the Philippines. It has a total ground to architectural top height of , with 52 storeys including an 8-level radio tower...
, Makati, Philippines, 2000 - O'FerrallAMERICA Industries, World Headquarters, DundalkDundalk, Maryland-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,306 people, 24,772 households, and 16,968 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,689.5 people per square mile . There were 26,385 housing units at an average density of 1,985.9 per square mile...
, Maryland, 2000 - 7 South Dearborn7 South Dearborn7 South Dearborn was a planned skyscraper in Chicago, United States. It would have been high and at the intersection of Madison and Dearborn.-Initial Plans:...
(unbuilt), Chicago, Illinois, United States, 2000 - Adelaide Convention Centre, AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Australia, 2001 - San Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
International Terminal, San Francisco, California, United States, 2001 - Dallas Convention CenterDallas Convention CenterThe Dallas Convention Center, originally the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, is a meeting hall, event/convention center and civic center in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas...
, Dallas, Texas, United States, 2002 - Time Warner CenterTime Warner CenterThe Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper developed by AREA Property Partners and The Related Companies in New York City. Its design, by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, consists of two 750 ft towers bridged by a multi-story atrium containing upscale retail shops...
, New York City, New York, United States, 2003 - Random House TowerRandom House TowerThe Random House Tower and Park Imperial is a 52-story mixed use tower in New York City that is used as the headquarters of Random House and a luxury apartment complex called Park Imperial. The book publisher entrance is on Broadway and goes up to 27 floors, while the apartment complex entrance...
, New York City, New York, United States, 2003 - Ben Gurion Airport Terminal 3, Tel Aviv, Israel, completed 2004 (in association with Moshe SafdieMoshe SafdieMoshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
) - Rondo ONZRondo 1Rondo 1 is an office skyscraper with a total height of 192 m located in Warsaw, Poland at Rondo ONZ. The building was designed by architectural studio Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with the Warsaw studio AZO...
, Warsaw, Poland, 2005 - 10 Exchange Square, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom, 2004 - Finsbury Avenue Square, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom, 2004 - Samsung Tower Palace 3 - Tower GSamsung Tower Palace 3 - Tower GTower Palace Three, Tower G is a 73-floor luxury residential skyscraper in Seoul, South Korea. It was the tallest building in the country since 2004 but surpassed in height by the Northeast Asia Trade Tower in Incheon when it was topped out in 2009. It was designed by United States-based...
, Seoul, South Korea, 2004 in partnership with Samoo Architects & Engineers - Toronto Pearson Airport - Terminal 1, Toronto, Ontario, Canada opened April 2004 (in association with Adamson Associates Architects, and Moshe SafdieMoshe SafdieMoshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
and Associates) - Jianianhua Centre, ChongqingChongqingChongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, China, 2005 - AIG TowerAIG TowerThe AIA Central in Hong Kong is a 185 m , 40 storey skyscraper that was completed in 2005...
, (美國國際集團大廈), Hong Kong, PRCPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, completed 2005 - New Providence WharfNew Providence WharfThe New Providence Wharf is a residential development in London's Docklands, at the north end of the Blackwall Tunnel. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and is being developed by Ballymore, a property development company....
, London, United Kingdom, 2006 - 7 World Trade Center (second)7 World Trade Center7 World Trade Center is a building in New York City located across from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. It is the second building to bear that name and address in that location. The original structure was completed in 1987 and was destroyed in the September 11 attacks...
, New York City, New York, United States, 2006 - Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo, Japan, 2007
- Dublin International Airport, Dublin, Ireland, 2007
- Singapore Changi AirportSingapore Changi AirportSingapore Changi Airport , Changi International Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the main airport in Singapore. A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a site....
Terminal 3, Changi, Singapore in partnership with CPG Corporation - Cathedral of Christ the LightCathedral of Christ the LightThe Cathedral of Christ the Light and also called the Oakland Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland in Oakland, California. It is the seat of the Bishop of Oakland...
, Oakland, California, United States, 2008 - Centennial Towers, South San Francisco, California, United States, 2008
- Trump International Hotel and TowerTrump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)The Trump International Hotel and Tower, also known as Trump Tower Chicago and locally as the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named after real estate developer Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill...
, Chicago, Illinois, United States - Burj Khalifa, also known as the Burj Dubai, Dubai City, UAE, 2010
- Nanjing Greenland Financial Center, Nanjing, China, 2010
Buildings under construction
- 1 World Trade Center, New York City, New York, United States
- 222 South Main, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Al Hamra TowerAl Hamra TowerThe Al Hamra Tower is a topped out skyscraper in downtown Kuwait City, Kuwait. Designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the tower is the tallest building in Kuwait on completion in 2011 at . It will also be the tallest sculpted tower in the world.The tower will include of...
, Kuwait City, Kuwait - Chemsunny Plaza, BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China - Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- China World Trade Center Tower 3China World Trade Center Tower 3China World Trade Center Tower III is a supertall skyscraper with 81 floors, 4 underground floors, and 30 elevators in Beijing, China. It is the third phase of development of the China World Trade Center complex in Beijing's central business district of Chaoyang at the junction of the East Third...
, Beijing, China - King Abdullah Economic City, JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi Arabia - Lopez CentreLopez CentreThe Lopez Centre is a proposed building that will rise at a one-hectare area at JP Rizal, Rockwell Center, Makati City. It was launched in 2008 as a mixed-use building that has 50 floors. It would be the future headquarters of several companies owned by the Lopez family. The tower is named after...
, Makati, Philippines - Pan Peninsula Towers, London, England, UK
- Pearl River TowerPearl River TowerThe Pearl River Tower is a clean technology skyscraper under construction at the junction of Jinsui Road/Zhujiang Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill with Adrian D. Smith and Gordon Gill as...
, Guangzhou, China - Rajhi Bank Headquarters, RiyadhRiyadhRiyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, Saudi Arabia - Pan Peninsula, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom, Due 2009 - Financial Street Chongqing Financial Centre, ChongqingChongqingChongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, China, Due 2011 - Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank Financial Building, ChongqingChongqingChongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, China, Due 2012 - NATO Headquarters, BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium, Due 2012 - Zuellig BuildingZuellig BuildingThe Zuellig Building is an office skyscraper to be constructed in Makati City, Philippines. It is owned by the Zuellig Group and developed by its real estate arm, Bridgebury Realty Corp...
, Makati, Philippines, Due 2012