SOM (consulting firm)

SOM (consulting firm)
Name	SOM
Type	Partnership
Industry	Consulting; Engineering; Architecture
Founded	1936
Founders	Gordon Bunshaft; Nathaniel Owings; Louis Skidmore
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Key people	Roger Duffy; David Nelson
Num employees	1,500+ (approx.)

SOM (consulting firm)

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP is a global professional services firm known for integrated architecture and engineering consulting, with an extensive portfolio across skyscraper design, urban planning, and sustainable building systems. Established in the 20th century and headquartered in Chicago, the firm has collaborated with major clients on projects in cities such as New York City, London, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, producing landmark work associated with figures and firms including Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and Richard Rogers.

History

Founded in 1936 by partners including Louis Skidmore, Nathaniel Owings, and Gordon Bunshaft, the firm emerged during the interwar period amid shifts in American modernism and the expansion of corporate architecture linked to firms like General Motors and Standard Oil. Early commissions placed the firm alongside contemporaries such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill peers and drew attention from patrons like Lever House developers and financial institutions in New York City. Post‑World War II growth paralleled the rise of international corporate headquarters in Chicago and the development of modernist towers influenced by the International Style and debates involving figures such as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. In the late 20th century the firm expanded internationally, opening offices in centers including London and Hong Kong and participating in urban redevelopment projects tied to events like the Expo 67 and World Expo 2010. Leadership transitions over decades included designers and partners who had worked with or influenced contemporaries such as Eero Saarinen, Philip Johnson, and I.M. Pei.

Services and Expertise

The firm provides multidisciplinary services spanning architecture, structural and mechanical engineering, interior design, urban design, façade engineering, and sustainability consulting. Its practice integrates computational design methods that draw on work by researchers affiliated with institutions like MIT, Stanford University, and Harvard Graduate School of Design, and collaborates with specialist contractors and consultancies such as ARUP, AECOM, and WSP Global. Projects often require coordination with municipal agencies including those in New York City, Los Angeles, Singapore, and Dubai and engagement with building codes influenced by standards from organizations like the American Institute of Architects and regional authorities connected to the British Council for Offices and China State Construction Engineering Corporation processes.

Notable Projects

The portfolio includes high‑profile towers, cultural institutions, and infrastructure works. Landmark skyscrapers and mixed‑use developments connect to urban centers and to designers and projects such as the John Hancock Center in Chicago, the Willis Tower context in Chicago, the One World Trade Center project in New York City (involving teams linked to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill partners and consultants), and high‑rise developments in Shanghai and Dubai. Cultural and civic commissions span museums and transit hubs with affinities to projects like The Getty Center, Tate Modern, National September 11 Memorial, and station schemes similar to Hong Kong International Airport expansions. The firm’s work on tall buildings and urban planning has been compared and connected to projects by SOM contemporaries such as Foster + Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Santiago Calatrava, and Bjarke Ingels Group, and has involved collaborations with contractors and clients including Skanska, Lendlease, Mitsubishi Estate, and sovereign entities from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

Structured as a partnership, governance combines design leadership with technical management; senior partners and principals oversee regional studios in cities like Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, London, and Shanghai. Leadership historically includes prominent architects and engineers who have engaged in academic roles at institutions such as Columbia University, University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign, and the University of California, Berkeley. Executive committees coordinate practice areas—architecture, structural engineering, facade engineering, sustainability, and interior design—while practice leads often participate in industry bodies including the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.

Global Offices and Operations

The firm operates studios and regional offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with notable presences in Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai, and Mumbai. International work frequently interfaces with national planning authorities such as those in China, United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, and India and involves coordination with international contractors like China State Construction Engineering Corporation and financiers including multinational banks such as Citigroup and HSBC.

Awards and Recognition

The firm and its partners have received numerous honors and awards associated with bodies like the American Institute of Architects and international juries awarding Pritzker Architecture Prize nominees and recipients, as well as prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects and civic awards from municipal governments including New York City and Chicago. Specific projects have been recognized by publications such as Architectural Record, Dezeen, and The New York Times architecture critics, and by institutions including the Museum of Modern Art for contributions to modernist architecture.

Controversies and Criticism

Criticism has focused on debates over urban impacts of high‑rise development, environmental performance of large‑scale projects, and relationships with large clients including state entities in places such as China and Gulf states like Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Public controversies mirror disputes seen in cases involving firms like Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects over heritage impacts in cities such as London and Venice. Academic and activist critiques have engaged universities and organizations including Columbia University and Greenpeace on topics of sustainability, labor practices in construction chains tied to contractors like Skanska, and the socio‑economic effects of flagship developments.

Category:Architecture firms of the United States Category:Engineering consulting firms