Baker, William F.

Baker, William F

Engineering Specialties:
Structural
Civil

Born October 9, 1953, in Fulton, Missouri, Bill Baker earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri in 1975. He then worked briefly at Exxon Mobil before returning to school. After earning his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering in 1980 from the University of Illinois, Bill joined SOM, where he is currently the Structural Engineering Partner over Civil and Structural Engineering in their Chicago and London offices(6). One of his most notable works is the Burj Khalif, where his innovative “buttressed core” structural system allowed the building to become the world’s tallest structure. Baker is very highly regarded within the field of structural engineering. He received the 2010 Gold Medal from the Institution of Structural Engineers and will be the recipient of the 2011 ASCE Outstanding Projects and Leaders Lifetime Award for Design. (7)

Selected Projects:

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Infinity Tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago, Illinois

Millennium Park – BP Pedestrian Bridge, Chicago, Illinois

Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan

Korean Air Lines Operations Center, Seoul, South Korea

McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois

Sources:
(1) http://www.som.com/content.cfm/www_home
(2) http://www.collecticon.org/2010/07/transformers-3-film-locations-continued-trump-tower-and-millenium-park/
(3) http://www.downtowndetroit.org/ddp/photos.htm
(4) http://www.som.com/content.cfm/korean_air_lines_operations_center
(5) http://academics.triton.edu/faculty/fheitzman/architecturalmethodology-C.html
(6) Architectural Engineers of the 20th & 21st Centuries – John Bosley, David Wald
(7) http://www.som.com/content.cfm/william_f_baker
(8) http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Skidmore-Owings-amp;-Merrill-LLP-Company-History.html
(9) http://www.markedlines.com/a-roundup-of-40-oustanding-upcoming-skyscrapers/
(10) http://www.digitalfutures.info/1/lecture-10-03-04-william-baker%20/