SOM, previously Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John O. Merrill. The firm opened its second office, in New York City, in 1937 and has since expanded, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seattle, and Dubai.
Dr. Joseph Philip Colaco, is an Indian structural engineer and author. Dr. Colaco, known as Joe, is noted for his contributions to the supertall skyscrapers in the United States and in Middle East. He received his PhD. in civil structural engineering from the University of Illinois in 1965.
Leslie Earl Robertson was an American engineer. He was the lead structural engineer of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in New York City, and served as structural engineer on numerous other projects, including the U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.
The Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the world's tallest structure. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, surpassing Taipei 101, the previous holder of that status.
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect, who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers. Considered the "father of tubular designs" for high-rises, Khan was also a pioneer in computer-aided design (CAD). He was the designer of the Sears Tower, since renamed Willis Tower, the tallest building in the world from 1973 until 1998, and the 100-story John Hancock Center.
Bruce John Graham was a Colombian-born Peruvian-American architect. Graham built buildings all over the world and was deeply involved with evolving the Burnham Plan of Chicago. Among his most notable buildings are the Inland Steel Building, the Willis Tower, and the John Hancock Center. He was also responsible for planning the Broadgate and Canary Wharf developments in London.
Adrian D. Smith is an American architect. He designed the world's tallest structure, Burj Khalifa, as well as the building projected to surpass it, the Jeddah Tower. A long-time principal of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he founded his own architectural partnership firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago in 2006. Among his other projects, he was the senior architect for Central Park Tower in New York City, Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, and Zifeng Tower in Nanjing.
In structural engineering, the tube is a system where, to resist lateral loads, a building is designed to act like a hollow cylinder, cantilevered perpendicular to the ground. This system was introduced by Fazlur Rahman Khan while at the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), in their Chicago office. The first example of the tube's use is the 43-story Khan-designed DeWitt-Chestnut Apartment Building, since renamed Plaza on DeWitt, in Chicago, Illinois, finished in 1966.
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), an architecture firm and design firm based in Chicago, is engaged in the design and development of energy-efficient and sustainable architecture. AS+GG designs buildings, cities, masterplans and components of these, for an international clientele, with projects located throughout the world. The primary uses of these designs are civic, commercial, cultural, hospitality, residential and mixed-use. AS+GG also specializes in supertall skyscrapers, such as the Jeddah Tower, which will overtake the Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building when completed.
The Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards have been awarded for the structural design of buildings and infrastructure since 1968. The awards were re-organised in 2006 to include ten categories and the Supreme Award for structural engineering excellence, the highest award a structural project can win.
The 500 West Monroe Building is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. The building rises 600 feet in Chicago's Near West Side neighborhood. It contains 45 floors, and was completed in 1992. The 500 W Monroe Building currently stands as the 44th-tallest building in the city. The architectural firm who designed the building was Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the same firm who designed Chicago's Sears Tower and John Hancock Center and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Ross Wimer, FAIA is an American architect, known for integrating the rigor and logic of engineering into his designs. Until October 2013, he was a design director in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP. During his tenure at SOM from 1995 to 2013, he created architectural projects in over 20 cities on five continents. Mr. Wimer is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He currently leads AECOM's architecture practice in the Americas.
The Tall Building Awards or CTBUH Awards recognizes projects and individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the advancement of tall buildings and urban environment, as well as achieving sustainability at the highest and broadest level. The annual awards are judged by an independent panel of experts commissioned by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a non-profit organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2019, there are two individual lifetime achievement awards, The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award and Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal, and several categorical awards for projects and structures.
George J. Efstathiou, FAIA, RIBA is an American architect of Greek descent. George joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP (SOM) in 1974, where he served as Managing Partner and later Consulting Partner in the Chicago office until 2016. He is currently leading the consulting practice of Efstathiou Consulting LLC which serves clients in the architecture, planning, interiors design as well as others in the real estate and corporate communities.
Computers and Structures, Inc. (CSI) is a structural and earthquake engineering software company founded in 1975 and based in Walnut Creek, California, with additional office location in New York. The structural analysis and design software CSI produce include SAP2000, CSiBridge, ETABS, SAFE, PERFORM-3D, and CSiCOL.
Srinivasa "Hal" Iyengar was an Indian American civil engineer and a senior structural consultant, who has been particularly instrumental in the development of innovative and efficient structural concepts and systems for high-rise, long-span and stadium structures.
Mark Sarkisian is an American structural engineer. He is the Partner of seismic and structural engineering in the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He is notable for designing many landmark high rise buildings in USA, China and the middle east.
S-FRAME Software Inc., formerly SOFTEK Services Ltd. is a Canadian engineering software company that develops analysis and design software for use by civil and structural engineers. S-FRAME was founded in 1981 by George Casoli, FCSCE, P.Eng. The company was acquired in 2021 by Altair Engineering.
Tianjin CTF Finance Center is a supertall skyscraper located in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area central business district of Binhai, Tianjin, China. Construction started in 2013 and was completed in 2019. At 1,739 ft (530 m), and with 97 floors, the tower is the second-tallest building in Municipal Tianjin after unfinished Goldin Finance 117, the eighth-tallest building in the world, and the tallest building in the world with fewer than 100 floors. It is located in the outer district of the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area. Tianjin CTF Finance Center is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in collaboration with Ronald Lu & Partners.
Buttressed core is a structural system for high buildings, consisting of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form a Y shape.
