The story
Founded by Louis Skidmore, Nathaniel A. Owings and John Merrill in 1936, in Chicago.1
History
20th century
The firm's first influential project was Lever House, completed in 1952 to become the first International Style office building in New York City. Constructed of glass and steel at a time when Park Avenue was lined with masonry buildings, Lever House introduced a modernist aesthetic.
In 1962, architectural historian Reyner Banham wrote: "It gave architectural expression to an age just as the age was being born.... Lever House was an uncontrollable success, imitated and sometimes understood all over the Americanized world, and one of the sights of New York".
In the 1970s, SOM influenced a new era of skyscraper design with its work in Chicago, including the John Hancock Center (completed 1970) and Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), which became the world's tallest structure upon its completion in 1973 and remained so for more than 20 years. Both towers are the result of collaboration between architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan. Khan invented a tubular framing system that made it possible to build higher than ever before. This system has been adapted and is still used today for some of the world's most recent tallest buildings, including the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa, designed by SOM and completed in 2010.
In the 1960s and 1970s, SOM utilized computer-aided design, developing in-house digital tools that preceded the CAD systems used widely today. This work quickly proved valuable in the generation of structural analysis tools that were embraced by Fazlur Khan and his engineering team, aiding the design of projects such as the John Hancock Center.
The activity of an experimental research group at SOM, known as the Computer Group, is a significant group within the organization. Through the 1970s and 1980s, members of the relatively small, dedicated group pushed to integrate the computer's enhanced data-storing and analytical abilities into various phases of the design process. Through these initiatives, SOM was able to identify the potential of the computer to not only expedite necessary calculations but also introduce new ways of representing and sharing information. Just as structural engineering came to be seen early on at SOM as a means of generating rather than simply realizing architectural ideas, with concerted effort, computers gained credence at the firm, and eventually throughout the industry, as a catalyst for architectural innovation.
In 1980, an in-house team at SOM created Architecture Engineering Systems, a computer program that was used to study complex structural systems and energy demands.
SOM's projects have featured works of art by significant artists. In many cases, the firm's architects and engineers played a role in commissioning, engineering, and installing the artworks—such as with the Chicago Picasso, a 50-foot-tall steel sculpture in the city's civic center. Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Harry Bertoia, Richard Lippold, Jean Dubuffet and Chryssa are among the artists whose work has been a part of SOM projects. More recently, SOM's architects and engineers have collaborated with artists such as James Turrell, Janet Echelman, Iñigo Manglano–Ovalle, James Carpenter, and Jaume Plensa.
In 1953, the firm completed the Manufacturers Trust Company Building in New York City, the first international style bank building in the United States, Seven years later, in 1960, the firm completed Pepsi-Cola World Headquarters. In 1961, the firm completed One Chase Manhattan Plaza, which is now 28 Liberty Street, the first International Style building to rise in New York City's Financial District. The 28 Liberty Street project helped reverse an exodus of corporate clients from Lower Manhattan to Midtown Manhattan and the suburbs. SOM's design for 28 Liberty Street also created a plaza surrounding the tower, a novel concept that would be adapted in many future projects.
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In Colorado Springs, Colorado, SOM planned a campus for the United States Air Force Academy. Built between 1958 and 1968, the campus broke from the traditions of West Point and Annapolis to become the first U.S. military academy designed in the modern style. The centerpiece of the campus is the Cadet Chapel, designed by architect Walter Netsch. The American Institute of Architects awarded the building with its prestigious Twenty-five Year Award, conferred onto "a building that has set a precedent for the last 25 to 35 years and continues to set standards of excellence for its architectural design and significance".
In 1969, SOM founder Nathaniel Owings wrote, "Civilizations leave marks on the Earth by which they are known and judged. In large measure, the nature of their immortality is gauged by how well their builders made peace with the environment." (source: Nathaniel Owings, "The American Aesthetic," Harper & Row, 1969) This ethos has shaped the firm's journey into sustainable practices. An early example is the corporate headquarters it designed for timberland company Weyerhaeuser, completed in 1971, which has been called the "original green building" not only for its integration into the surrounding landscape, but also for its use of efficient building systems.
21st century
In 2007, the firm completed a large-scale sustainable architecture project for the U.S. Census Bureau, the first federal office building to receive LEED certification. Like Weyerhaeuser, the design of the campus works in concert with its natural surroundings and incorporates a range of design strategies to reduce its environmental impact.
In 2015, SOM completed the first net-zero-energy school building in New York City and one of the first worldwide. The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability at Sandy Ground, Staten Island, has been awarded for its sustainability performance by organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, the Municipal Art Society, and the Urban Land Institute. SOM has been recognized for its research and experimentation with new energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies, including a timber tower and a modified concrete slab design.
Founders and notable architects
Gordon Bunshaft, who thrived as a design leader at SOM for more than 40 years, received the profession's highest honor, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 1988.
Notable architects who are associated with SOM include: T. J. Gottesdiener, Edward Charles Bassett, Natalie de Blois, Gordon Bunshaft, David Childs, Robert Diamant, Philip Enquist, Myron Goldsmith, Bruce Graham, Gary Haney, Craig W. Hartman, Gertrude Kerbis, Fazlur Rahman Khan. Lucien Lagrange, Walter Netsch, Larry Oltmanns, Eszter Pécsi, Brigitte Peterhans, Norma Merrick Sklarek, Adrian Smith, and Marilyn Jordan Taylor
From Wikipedia’s article on SOM (architectural firm), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5