Josh Massey

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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/

Written by Josh Massey

February 1, 2011 at 7:18 pm

Posted in Engineers

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP

Main Office:
224 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1000
Chicago, Illinois 60604, USA

Additional Offices:
New York, New York
San Francisco, California
Los Angeles, California
Washington, D.C.
London, England
Hong Kong, China
Shanghai, China
Brussels, Belgium
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Mumbai, India

Number of employees: 1,647

Services:
Architecture
Environmental Graphics
Interior Design
Building Services/MEP
Structural & Civil Engineering
Digital Design
Sustainable Design
Tall Buildings
Graphics
Urban Design & Planning
Industrial Design (1)

History: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP

SOM was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings, who were joined by John O. Merril in 1939. The firm opened its first branch in New York City in 1937, and had more than 1000 employees by 1952. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill specializes in technically challenging upscale and high-rise buildings. Their engineers and architects have designed many of the tallest buildings in the world, including Sears Tower by Fazlur Khan in 1974, and the world’s current tallest standing structure, Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010 and designed by Bill Baker. The firm is also in charge of constructing One World Trade Center, which is to be the main building in the new World Trade Center Complex. (8)

Selected Projects:

China Merchant Tower, Shenzhen (LQuntar2015)