They designed the One World Trade Center in New York, the breathtaking Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. However, instead of striving for records, the creative office SOM is more interested in sustainable and responsible architecture – in which EK connectors also play an important role.
Holistic and visionary thinking – for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), this claim is a profession of faith and a founding myth in one. Long before “interdisciplinary work” became a buzzword, the three founders of what is now one of the world’s largest architecture firms put this principle into practice. At SOM, it defines the way building design should be done: as a collective approach by creative people from different disciplines.
At SOM – founded in Chicago in 1936 – architects and engineers work hand in hand with urban planners, interior designers, designers and representatives of many other professions. They all bring different perspectives and understandings to the table: artistic sensibility, highly specialized technical knowledge, a sound understanding of politics and economics. The synthesis of these perspectives results in architectural solutions that no individual could create. At SOM, no specialist area stands alone. From sustainable technology and the design of health aspects to regenerative urban planning: each area is closely interwoven with the others.
This collaborative, holistic approach is probably the reason why SOM has become one of the largest architecture firms in the world. The skyscrapers planned by SOM are considered pioneering in terms of construction, as the collective of creative minds directly incorporated the special structural challenges of a skyscraper into the architectural design. The fact that a mega structure such as the 828-meter-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai tapers upwards is as much a design idea as a structural necessity.
No other office has realized so many record-breaking skyscrapers and high-rise records worldwide. SOM’s designs include the Sears Tower – now the Willis Tower, for some time the tallest building in the world – and the John Hancock Center, also in Chicago, which was at times the second tallest building in the world, the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, which was at times the tallest building in China, and the aforementioned Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates.
With its New York office buildings made of glass and steel, SOM had a decisive influence on the International Style and, for example, created an icon of this functionalist architecture in 1952 with the Lever House on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
The “city that never sleeps” is also home to perhaps SOM’s most emotionally and politically significant design: the One World Trade Center. Incidentally, the – naturally – tallest building in the USA contains expertise from Haan: fasteners from EDUARD KRONENBERG GmbH.
- Row (from left to right):
Lever House, New York (© Photo: akvisuals / stock.adobe.com) /
Burj Khalifa, Dubai (© Photo: hit1912 / stock.adobe.com) /
Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai (© Photo: Decry.Yae / Unsplash - Row (from left to right):
John Hankok Center, Chicago (© Photo: Patrick Foreman / Unsplash) /
Willis Tower, Chicago (© Photo: Mike Balbus / Unsplash) /
View from above into the interior of the Jin Mao Tower (© Photo: piccaya / stock.adobe.com)
Learning, diverse and climate-conscious
- SOM itself consistently exemplifies the holistic and sustainable approach of the projects. Headquartered in Chicago and with branches in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai and Mumbai, the company iscarbon-neutral. By 2040, this should also apply to all construction projects conceived here.
- Thanks to cooperation with universities, research laboratories and industrial partners, SOM is consistently expanding its expertise. Projects on sustainability, materials, digital technology and production have produced innovations that have changed the construction industry.
- SOM sees a diverse and inclusive working environment as a key prerequisite for the desired diversity of thought. In this way, the office aims to promote the best ideas and the best talents. The fact that three women – Xuan Fu, Carrie Byles and Laura Ettelman – make up SOM’s current Board of Directors should not really be worth mentioning, but is still considered a special feature in the world of cutting-edge architecture.