Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Attention students: Looking for an opportunity to job shadow the best in the business? Spend a week with SOM architects, planners, and engineers during our annual Winter Shadowship, happening January 13-17, 2025. The week-long program, sponsored by SOM’s employee resource groups, offers an immersive professional experience, mentorship, and guidance to students of all backgrounds. Get an opportunity to experience the day-to-day at SOM across our Chicago, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. studios. The deadline to apply November 3—throw your hat in the ring below! MORE → bit.ly/3Nglkzn

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden—the Smithsonian’s national museum of modern and contemporary art and one of our most significant legacy projects—turns 50 today. And stewarding our legacy for the next 50 years, we are jointly developing a modernization plan for the museum’s interior and plaza with Selldorf Architects, the largest campus revitalization in the Hirshhorn’s history. Led by Gordon Bunshaft, the museum touts an open, circular design that intrigues visitors along the National Mall in Washington D.C. Affectionately called a “Brutalist donut,” the building belongs among D.C.’s ambitious concrete architecture of the 1960s and ‘70s. “The idiosyncrasies and impact of the Hirshhorn’s architecture mark it as its own irreplaceable, marvelous structure,” said Architecture Critic Deane Madsen. Here, we enjoy a peek back in history at some of the earliest photos of the Hirshhorn from 1974. MORE → bit.ly/3FUH3IJ © Ezra Stoller | Esto

SOM has a long history of designing buildings through an integrated approach, producing engineering solutions that become the architecture, and 800 Fulton Market is a prime example of this integrated design. More than 50 years after inventing an efficient structural system that revolutionized skyscraper design, Aaron Mazeika examines here how SOM engineers are improving and adapting it for a changed construction industry. Read about our iconic X-brace geometry and its evolution below. MORE → bit.ly/4dzQn3K 📷: Dave Burk © SOM

We’re honored to return to one of SOM’s most defining projects, the John Hancock Center (now 875 N. Michigan Avenue), where we’ve been entrusted with the redesign of its iconic 95th and 96th floors. This collaboration with Magnicity, the parent company of 360 CHICAGO, presents a unique opportunity to refresh and elevate this historic space—known to many as the former Signature Room—enhancing its role in Chicago’s architectural and cultural fabric. “The John Hancock Center is a revolutionary project—the world’s first tall mixed-use tower that forever changed how we approach urban architecture,” said SOM Partner Scott Duncan. “The experience at the top is extraordinary, with expansive views of Lake Michigan and the Magnificent Mile. It’s not just an observation point; it’s an opportunity to rethink its role as a premier destination in the city’s cultural and architectural narrative.” Learn about the undertaking of this iconic space below as the Chicago Sun-Times reports. MORE → bit.ly/4eHUBYb 📷: Dave Burk © SOM

Last year, we completed the largest single infrastructure project in Kansas City’s history—a 1.1 million-square-foot airport that the city endeavored to be “the most accessible in the world.” Today, we took that accolade a step further, with Prix Versailles recognizing Kansas City International Airport among a list of 2024’s “Most Beautiful Airports” in the world. The awards program, organized in association with UNESCO, honors projects across the globe that have left extraordinary imprints on their environments. Through a collaboration with Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate, Clark Construction Group, Clarkson Construction Company and The Weitz Company (CWC), and the Kansas City Aviation Department, we replaced the existing overcrowded terminals, originally built in 1972, with a highly sustainable building that reimagines inclusivity and accessibility for air travel. See the full list below. MORE → bit.ly/3Y6l4Jz 📷: Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

The Octagon in Birmingham, UK, has topped out, marking the highest point of construction. At 155 meters tall and 49 floors, the residential building is the city's first official tall building and also its tallest. Helping to realize its ambitious, pure octagonal design, SOM's London-based structures team attended a ceremony last week to mark this important milestone and participated in a vertical-mile challenge to raise money for charity. MORE → bit.ly/3ZC8hzJ

We took home not one, but three awards during the International Conference of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) in London and Paris this week. Winning the coveted 10-Year Award, One World Trade Center reclaimed the New York City skyline, reasserted downtown Manhattan’s presence as a business center, and established a new civic icon for the United States. And named the Best Tall Building in the Asia region, the Greenland Hangzhou Century Center serves as a prominent gateway to the city center. Built for the 2023 Asian Games, the building is the tallest in Hangzhou, creating a dynamic landmark that illuminates the city’s skyline. Last but not least, we are honored to recognize the achievements of John Zils, recipient of the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award. An SOM structural engineer for more than 40 years, he was instrumental in the realization of the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and the Hajj Terminal in Jeddah. The award recognizes an individual for proven excellence in technical design and/or research that makes a significant contribution to the design of tall buildings and the built urban environment. See all 2024 CTBUH award winners below. MORE → bit.ly/4dDArhf 📷: © James Ewing Photography and © Hangzhou Greenland

What does the future of travel look like at Chicago O’Hare International Airport? The leading architects behind O'Hare's new Satellite One discussed all that and more during a panel discussion hosted by the Chicago Architecture Center, which highlighted the vision to redefine the passenger experience. SOM Design Principal Ryan Culligan, AIA; Barrett Peterson, RA, LEED AP of Ross Barney Architects; and JGMA’s Juan Gabriel M. joined Related Midwest’s Executive Vice President and panel moderator Ann Thompson to discuss the site's origins as an orchard field and how it influenced the concourse's tree-like structural design. They explored how its modern architecture is specifically adapted to the Midwest climate, focusing on both passenger wellbeing and enhanced environmental performance. Satellite One—which we designed along with Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (JGMA), and Arup—was recently featured in Passenger Terminal World magazine. Read on as Design Partner Scott Duncan and Principal Derek A. R. Moore shed light on the design. MORE → bit.ly/4dtxKPe 📷: Francisco Lopez de Arenosa © SOM

Good design withstands the test of time, and case in point is our design of the Miami University Art Museum, completed in 1979. The 24,000-square-foot museum was conceived as an active art center, with a wish list of integrating surrounding woodlands and flexibility to house many art genres. The result: a single-story, barrier-free structure containing both intimate exhibition areas and large skylit spaces plus an auditorium. A reflecting pool and exterior areas accommodate outdoor sculptures, and through large windows and clerestories, nature, too, becomes a work of art. Learn about the project below. MORE → bit.ly/3XBlKVW © Abby Sadin | Barbara Karant Photography, Inc.

At SOM, we support professional development opportunities, community connection, and mentorship while enriching the architecture profession through our diverse perspectives. One of our mentors, Maria Sofia Garcia, also serves as Global Leader of the Arquitectos employee resource group, and we caught up with her to learn about her involvement. As part of National Hispanic American Heritage Month, are producing a series of spotlights getting to know the unique individuals represented in SOM’s history along with the next generation of design professionals. Read on as we explore Garcia's perspectives, ideas, and experiences below. MORE → bit.ly/3XEJFn4