SigEx Ventures : Skidmore, Owings and Merrill keep on building the greatest skyscrapers in the worldby Corina Ciubotaru

When you think developed country, you think high-rise office buildings, people in a hurry and sophisticated technology. Buildings that nearly touch the sky are cool, modern and unique as architects are trying their best to push the boundaries of design and build innovation. And who doesn’t like a beautiful office building anyway? Examples are many, from the Sears Tower, to the Time Warner Center, to the Freedom Tower and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai. They all come from a company called Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, founded in 1936 in Chicago. This company is responsible for the first glass-covered skyscrapers and has paved the way for the innovation and cutting edge design that we see in most luxury office buildings today. Some of SOM’s newest projects include the Broadgate Tower in London with the first double-decker lifts in the UK, the Pearl River Tower in China which is intended to provide more energy than it uses, the Trump International Hotel and Tower with 90 stories of hotels and condominiums, and the Pan Peninsula in London that will incorporate the city’s highest residential tower. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill has been the workplace for many influential architects over the years, but has preferred not to promote their names individually. The company has established the SOM Foundation that awards travel scholarships to talented young architects who want to enrich their view of the world. With 10,000 projects completed all over the world, the company has established itself as an icon in architectural circles and will continue to create astonishing buildings that take us all by storm.

related story: http://www.somfoundation.som.com/fellowships_awards.htm

by Corina Ciubotaru for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

SigEx Ventures's matrix of properties are quickly becoming leaders in digital telebroadcasting, free content delivery allowing people to easily talk, view, upload and share through free online TV broadcasting, free unlimited global calls, video blogs and SMS. SigEx Ventures invests in projects deploying "free" to add-on royalty revenue models