Doreen M.

Rotante
 Corporate – Involving or associated with a corporation
 Modernism - a style of art, architecture,literature,
etc., that uses ideas andmethods which are very differentfrom those used in
the past
 Is a term that encompasses a specific kind of Innternational Style building in the
latter half of the 20th century. Large corporations; flush with each as revenues and
profits exploded in a post-war boom, wanted to showcase their forward-looking
attitudes and futuristic products by virtue of cutting-edge innovations in modern
architecture.
 Louis Skidmore was born in
Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He
served in theUnited States
Army during World War I as
a Sergeant. On June 14, 1930, he
married Eloise Owings, the
sister of Nathaniel Owings his
future business partner. Louis
and Eloise were married for
over 32 years until his death in
1962. They had two sons Louis,
Jr. and Philip Murray.
 After eight years of practicing architecture, Skidmore won the Rotch Traveling
Fellowship that allowed him to travel to Europe, where he spent his time primarily
in Rome and Paris.
During his time in Paris he met Raymond Hood who convinced him to be involved in
the Chicago's World's Fair, as Hood was head of the Board of Design. Also, while in
Europe, he met Eloise Owings. They returned to the United States together where
Eloise introduced Skidmore to her brother Nathaniel "Nat" Owings.
 In 1920, he traveled through
Europe. The experience inspired
him to begin to study architecture
at the University of Illinois, but
had to quit the school prematurely
because of illness. He continued
his education at Cornell
University, earning a degree in
1927.
 Owings first marriage to the
former Emily Otis ended in
divorce. He was survived by his
second wife, Margaret Wentworth
Owings.
 Owings first job as an architect was with the New York firm of York and Sawyer. As a
young architect, Owings was impressed with Raymond Hood, who designed
the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. More than 50 years later, Owings
described his first glimpse of the 70-story skyscraper as a breathtaking "knife
edge, presenting its narrow dimension to Fifth Avenue.
 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. He was a founding
partner of the international
architectural firm ofSkidmore,
Owings & Merrill.
 Merril joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in 1939. He is
credited with establishing the multi-disciplinary nature of the
firm, and the innovative character of SOM’s organization and culture
was influenced at an early stage by Merrill and other architectural
engineers who later became partners in the practice. SOM defined a
new architectural approach of teamwork and total or comprehensive
design.
 WHO ARE THEY?
 HOW THEY WORK?
 PROCESS
 LEADERSHIP
 GLOBAL REACH
 ARCHITECTURE
 Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the largest and the most
influential architecture, interior design, engineering and urban planning firms in
the world. Founded in 1936, they have completed more than 10,000 projects across
50-plus countries. They are renowned for their iconic building and yheir steadfast
commitment to design excellence, innovation and sustainability.
 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 of “Glass-box”
skyscraper. They have designed several of the tallest buildings in the world,
including the John Hancock Center (1959, second tallest building in the world
when built), Willis Tower (1973, tallest in the world for over 20 yrs) and Burj Khalifa
(2010, current world’s tallest building).
 SOM’s unrivaled portfolio contains some of the greatest design achievements in the
modern era. They have deep experience in a vast range of building types, from
cutting-edge research facilities to soaring glass office towers. SOM has earned
more than 1,700 awards and is the only practice to have twice been named “Firm of
the Year” by the American Institute of Architects.
 Collaboration is a guiding force at SOM, as we believe that the best results stem
from an ongoing dialogue with all staleholders. There are no pre-established
formulas- they design each project to meet specific needs and conditions.
 SOM Partners and Directors are world-renowned leaders in their respective fields.
As design, technical, and management experts, together they form a holistic
approach that bolsters the design and construction process & contributes to each
project’s success.
 SOM has a long history of working internationally and today employs 1,000
professionals worldwide. They maintain offices in Abu Dhabi, Chicago, Hong Kong,
London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, and
Washington,D.C.
 Their story reputation is based on their ability to translate client aspirations into
architecture of both immediate and lasting quality. Memorable architecture of any
scale is the product of collaboration and innovation – two forces that, along with
their drive for excellence, remain SOM’s defining traditions.

 Designed by Gordon Bunshaft and Natallie de Bois (design coordinator) of
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It was located at 390 Park Avenue in Manhattan,
New York City is a 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 tbe second curtain wall skyscraper in NYC after the
United Nations Secretarial Building. The 307-foot-tall (94m) building features an
innovative courtyard and public space.
 The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,127-foot (344 m) supertall
skyscraper at 875 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, United
States. It was constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings
and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural
engineer Fazlur Khan.When the building topped out on May 6,
1968, it was the second tallest building in the world, the tallest
outside New York City. It is currently the fourth-tallest building in
Chicago and the seventh-tallest in the United States, afterOne World
Trade Center, the Willis Tower, the Trump Tower Chicago, theEmpire
State Building, the Bank of America Tower, and the Aon Center.When
measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,506 feet
(459 m).The building is home to offices and restaurants, as well as
about 700 condominiums, and contains the third highest residence in
the world, after the Trump Tower in Chicago and the Burj Khalifa in
Dubai. The building was named for John Hancock Mutual Life
Insurance Company, a developer and original tenant of the building.
 One of the most famous buildings of the structural expressionist style, the
skyscraper's distinctive X-braced exterior shows that the structure's skin is part of
its 'tubular system'. This is one of the engineering techniques which the designers
used to achieve a record height (the tubular system is the structure that keeps the
building upright during wind and earthquake loads). This X-bracing allows for
both higher performance from tall structures and the ability to open up the inside
floorplan. Such original features have made the John Hancock Center an
architectural icon. It was pioneered by Bangladeshi-American structural civil
engineer Fazlur Khan and chief architect Bruce Graham.
 The interior was remodeled in 1995,
adding to the lobby travertine, black
granite, and textured limestone
surfaces. The elliptical-shaped plaza
outside the building serves as a
public oasis with seasonal plantings
and a 12-foot (3.7 m) waterfall. A
band of white lights at the top of the
building is visible all over Chicago at
night, and changes colors for
different events. For example, at
Christmas time the colors are green
and red. When a Chicago-area sports
team goes far in the playoffs, the
colors are changed to match the
team's colors.
 The Willis Tower, built and still commonly referred to as Sears Tower, is a 108-
story, 1,451-foot (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. At
completion in 1973, it surpassed the World Trade Center towers in New York to
become thetallest building in the world, a title it held for nearly 25 years. The Willis
Tower is the second-tallest building in the United States and the 14th-tallest in the
world. More than one million people visit its observation deck each year, making it
one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations. The structure was renamed in
2009 by the Willis Group as part of its lease on a portion of the tower's space.
 The design for Willis Tower
incorporates nine steel-unit square
tubes in a 3 tube by 3 tube
arrangement, with each tube having
the footprint of 75 ft × 75 ft (23 m
× 23 m). Willis Tower was the first
building for which this design was
used. The design allows future growth
of extra height to the tower if wanted
or needed.
 Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in
2004, with the exterior completed in
2009. The primary structure is reinforced
concrete. The building was opened in
2010 as part of a new development
called Downtown Dubai. It is designed to
be the centerpiece of large-scale, mixed-
use development. The decision to build
the building is reportedly based on the
government's decision to diversify from
an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to
gain international recognition. The
building was named in honor of the ruler
of Abu Dhabi and president of the United
Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the UAE
government lent Dubai money to pay its
debts. The building broke numerous
height records.
 The design of Burj Khalifa is
derived from patterning systems
embodied in Islamic architecture,
incorporating cultural and
historical elements particular to
the region, such as the spiral
minaret. The Y-shaped plan is
designed for residential and hotel
usage. A buttressed core structural
system is used to support the
height of the building, and the
cladding system is designed to
withstand Dubai's summer
temperatures. A total of 57
elevators and 8 escalators are
installed with a capacity of 12 to 14
passengers per cabin.
 Located alongside one of London’s
largest and newest international
transport interchanges, the 135 meter
tower will include a mix of single-
height flats, double-height lofts and
triple-height penthouses. Tenants will
never be more than nine storeys
away from an outdoor space, as three
sky gardens are strategically
integrated throughout the tower.
 The combination of the seven-storey hotel and thirty-four-story residential tower
includes a shared large communal lobby, leisure facilities, swimming pool, spa
facilities, meeting and conference spaces as well as a shared external roof garden
that overlooks the Olympic park.
 The building’s façade maintains a duality of transparent and solid panels in a
serrated composition in glass and terracotta. The panels are aligned using a
triangulated geometry in plan. From the corner aspects of the building, this panel
directionality becomes most apparent – only one type of panel may be visible
across an entire façade. Therefore, movement around the exterior of the building
gives a continual interplay between solidity and transparency. The directionality of
the solid panels versus the transparent ones greatly reduces the amount of direct
sunlight entering the building on certain façades.
 A 116,000-square-meter complex of three speculative office buildings, Poly
International Plaza offers a spacious and light-filled work environment. Its long-
span structural design strategically opens up the interior spaces and employs a
highly sustainable approach to addressing the climatic and air quality issues
specific to Beijing. A faceted diagrid exoskeleton system forms an outer thermal
envelope around the office spaces enclosed within a second glazed interior
envelope, creating daylit communal areas. These areas not only accommodate
meetings and foster social interaction, but they also allow physical and visual
connectivity between floors.