Tuesday / November 28, 2017 / 5:45 PM - 7:00 PM
SOM@81 - Making New History Since 1936
Chicago Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph Street, Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago
On the 80th anniversary of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP, Eric R. Keune, AIA, will share some of the firm's recent and current work in the Chicago metropolitan area, in Indianapolis, and several international projects which have been informed by work in the firm’s Chicago hometown.
SOM’s interdisciplinary practice model began with the creation of its Chicago office and continues to shape buildings and cities around the world across a broad spectrum of project types. Eric R. Keune, AIA, LEED, NCARB, is a Director at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, will present a brief overview of the firm’s foundational narrative, up to and through the present day - touching on some recent works-in-progress both local and international, including an exhibition of the work of the firm titled SOM: Engineering [ Art + Architecture ] which is ongoing through December in association with the second Chicago Architecture Biennial.
SOM’s unique architecture + urban planning + engineering - multidisciplinary structure enables the firm to work on projects of all scales and to bring to bear unique resources and proprietary tools to problems around the world. Known primarily as the authors of tall buildings, the firm has recently completed pioneering works in what might be surprising typologies including a cathedral, an embassy, a consulate, and a branch public library, in addition to our ongoing work with artists across media and scales, extending a legacy which began with works by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso, and continues today with local artists including Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle and C J Hungerman.
The Chicago office has recently been announced as the winner of large scale urban master planning projects including the redevelopment of the Michael Reese site, and the first new building to emerge from the sites surrounding the Finkl Steel plant along the Chicago river at 1515 West Webster Avenue, in addition to the recently completed Chinatown Public Library, and the recently approved mixed-use Roosevelt Public Library branch and apartments at 1259 West Taylor Street.
Speaker:
Eric R. Keune, AIA, NCARB, is a Design Director with SOM where he has worked for the last 19 years in both the Chicago and San Francisco offices. Architect, architectural historian, and author, Eric is the author of a monograph on the work of onetime Chicagoan Paffard Keatinge-Clay, Modern Architect(ure)/Modern Master(s). During his tenure with the SOM, Eric has designed and built two projects for the State Department in Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as Kia Motors Headquarters and Automotive Design Center in Irvine, the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, and locally, an apartment for his family on Lake Shore Drive.
