1.
American Museum of Natural History
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The American Museum of Natural History, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, is one of the largest museums in the world. The museum has a scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year. Before construction of the present complex, the museum was housed in the Arsenal building in Central Park. Sherman, A. G. Phelps Dodge, William A. Haines, Charles A. Dana, Joseph H. Choate, Henry G. Stebbins, Henry Parish, the founding of the museum realized the dream of naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore. Bickmore, a student of Harvard zoologist Louis Agassiz, lobbied tirelessly for years for the establishment of a natural history museum in New York. In 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the museums first building, the original Victorian Gothic building, which was opened in 1877, was designed by J. Wrey Mould, both already closely identified with the architecture of Central Park. The original building was eclipsed by the south range of the museum, designed by J. Cleaveland Cady. It extends 700 feet along West 77th Street, with corner towers 150 feet tall and its pink brownstone and granite, similar to that found at Grindstone Island in the St. Lawrence River, came from quarries at Picton Island, New York. The entrance on Central Park West, the New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt and it leads to a vast Roman basilica, where visitors are greeted with a cast of a skeleton of a rearing Barosaurus defending her young from an Allosaurus. The museum is accessible through its 77th street foyer, renamed the Grand Gallery. The hall leads into the oldest extant exhibit in the museum, since 1930, little has been added to the exterior of the original building. The architect Kevin Roche and his firm Roche-Dinkeloo have been responsible for the planning of the museum since the 1990s. Various renovations both interior and exterior have been carried out including improvements to Dinosaur Hall and mural restoration in Roosevelt Memorial Hall, in 1992 the firm designed the new eight story AMNH Library. The museums south façade, spanning 77th Street from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue was cleaned, repaired and re-emerged in 2009, steven Reichl, a spokesman for the museum, said that work would include restoring 650 black-cherry window frames and stone repairs. The museums consultant on the latest renovation is Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. an architectural and engineering firm with headquarters in Northbrook, the museums first two presidents were John David Wolfe and Robert L. Stuart, both among the museums founders. The museum was not put on a sound footing until the appointment of the president, Morris K. Jesup. Jesup was president for over 25 years, overseeing its expansion, the fourth president, Henry Fairfield Osborn, was appointed in 1906 on the death of Jesup. Osborn consolidated the museums expansion, developing it into one of the worlds foremost natural history museums, F. Trubee Davison was president from 1933 to 1951, with A. Perry Osborn as Acting President from 1941 to 1946
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Washington Metro
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The Washington Metro, known colloquially as Metro and branded Metrorail, is the heavy rail rapid transit system serving the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area in the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name, besides the District, Metro serves several jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia. In Maryland, Metro provides service to Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, in Virginia, to Arlington and Fairfax counties and the independent city of Alexandria. Combined with its ridership in the independent Virginia cities of Falls Church and Fairfax, the system is currently being expanded into Loudoun County, Virginia. It operates mostly as a subway in the District itself, while most of the tracks are at surface level or elevated. Opened in 1976, the network now includes six lines,91 stations, Metro is the second-busiest rapid transit system in the United States in number of passenger trips, after the New York City Subway. There were 215.3 million trips on Metro in fiscal year 2015, in June 2008, Metro set a monthly ridership record with 19,729,641 trips, or 798,456 per weekday. Fares vary based on the distance traveled, the time of day, Riders enter and exit the system using a proximity card called SmarTrip. Metro also has the distinction of having the longest, single-tier escalator in the Western Hemisphere in the Wheaton station, during the 1960s plans were laid for a massive freeway system in Washington. But the plan met fierce opposition, and was altered to include a Capital Beltway system plus rail line radials, the Beltway received full funding, funding for the ambitious Inner Loop Freeway system was partially reallocated toward construction of the Metro system. In 1960 the federal government created the National Capital Transportation Agency to develop a rail system. In 1966, a bill creating WMATA was passed by the government, the District of Columbia, Virginia. WMATA approved plans for a 98-mile regional system in 1968, the first portion of the system opened March 27,1976, with 4.6 miles available on the Red Line with five stations from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North, all in the District of Columbia. Underground stations were built with arches of concrete, highlighted by soft. The name Metro was suggested by Massimo Vignelli, who designed the subway maps for the New York City Subway, the 103-mile, 83-station system was completed with the opening of the Green Line segment to Branch Avenue on January 13,2001. This did not mean the end of the growth of the system, the first in-fill station, NoMa – Gallaudet University on the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood, opened November 20,2004. Construction began in March 2009 for an extension to Dulles Airport to be built in two phases, the first phase, five stations connecting East Falls Church to Tysons Corner and Wiehle Avenue in Reston, opened on July 26,2014. Metro construction required billions of dollars, originally provided by Congress under the authority of the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969
4.
Blue Line (Washington Metro)
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The Blue Line of the Washington Metro in the United States consists of 27 rapid transit stations from Franconia–Springfield to Largo Town Center. It has stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, thirteen of the lines stations are shared with the Orange Line,18 are shared with the Silver Line and 9 are shared with the Yellow Line. Only one station – Arlington Cemetery Station – is exclusive to the Blue Line, planning for Metro began with the Mass Transportation Survey in 1955 which attempted to forecast both freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the needs of 1980. In 1959, the final report included two rapid transit lines which anticipated subways in downtown Washington. It did not include a route in Prince Georges County, the route continued in rapid transit plans until the formation of WMATA. With the formation of WMATA in October 1966, planning of the system shifted from federal hands to a body with representatives of the District, Maryland. Congressional route approval was no longer a key consideration, instead, routes had to serve each local suburban jurisdiction to assure that they would approve bond referenda to finance the system. In March 1968, the WMATA board approved its 98-mile Adopted Regional System which included the Blue Line from Huntington to Addison Road, the ARS contained a Blue Line/Orange Line station at Oklahoma Avenue between Stadium/Armory and the Anacostia River Bridge. Local residents objected to a proposed 1, 000-car commuter parking lot at that station, in reaction to their lobbying, the DC government insisted that the station be removed and that the tunnel for the line be extended through the neighborhood. This then made the line the only one to have a station canceled due to neighborhood opposition, to better accommodate tourists, a Smithsonian station exit was added on the Mall and the federal government requested in 1972 that the Arlington Cemetery Station be added to the Blue Line. The federal government paid the cost of design changes. Service on the Blue Line began on July 1,1977, the line was extended by three stations to Addison Road on November 22,1980. Service south of National Airport began on June 15,1991 when Van Dorn Street opened, the original plan for the line was completed when this link was extended to Franconia–Springfield on June 29,1997. Two new stations in Maryland – Morgan Boulevard and Largo Town Center – opened on December 18,2004, beginning December 1,1979, the Orange Line diverged westward from Rosslyn to Ballston. The Blue and Orange Lines remain co-aligned from Rosslyn to Stadium-Armory, the Blue Line was originally planned to follow a slightly different route. The plan would have sent Blue Line trains to Huntington, with Yellow Line trains serving Franconia–Springfield and this was changed due to a shortage of rail cars at the time of the completion of the line to Huntington. From 1999 to 2008, the Blue Line operated to Huntington on July 4, the ARS had the Blue Line end at Addison Road. However, sports fans continually argued for an extension to the Capital Centre sports arena in Largo
5.
Silver Line (Washington Metro)
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The Silver Line of the Washington Metro in the United States consists of 28 existing and six planned rapid transit stations from Wiehle–Reston East to Largo Town Center. It has stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, only five stations are exclusive to the Silver Line, which began service on July 26,2014. Phase 2 will expand the line another 11.5 miles to Loudoun County via Washington Dulles International Airport, preliminary construction of Phase 2 began in 2014 and is scheduled to open in 2019. The $6.8 billion project is the largest expansion by route mileage since the inception of Metro in 1976, the Silver Line has two primary goals. The first is to link Washington, D. C. by rail to Washington Dulles International Airport and the cities of Tysons Corner, Reston, Herndon. The second is to spur development in Tysons Corner and reduce overall reliance on highway traffic in the business district, Virginias largest. The districts area is comparable in size to downtown Washington, D. C. but is rather insulated from its surrounding neighborhoods and has no existing grid pattern in its streets. Funding for the phase of the project will be shared by Loudoun County, Fairfax County, the Commonwealth of Virginia. It follows the Blue and Orange Line tracks through DC, continuing through Arlington along the Orange Line, the new tracks run in the median of the Dulles Connector Road to an elevated bridge, which takes them over Virginia Route 123. Two elevated stops along the west side of Route 123 serve the national headquarters of CapitalOne, SAIC, the tracks then enter a tunnel which emerges in the median of Virginia Route 7. Two elevated stations above Route 7 serve the section of Tysons Corner. The elevated track then swings into the median of the Dulles Access Road until it reaches the airport, along the way, five new stations would be built with platforms in the median of the access road and a faregate and pedestrian bridges to parking areas elevated above the highway. The garage has drawn criticism because of alleged construction flaws, as currently planned, upon reaching the airport the track will enter a tunnel which will follow the path of the arrivals driveway of the airport terminal to a station located close to the terminal. The track would leave the tunnel near the hotel and economy parking lots. A storage yard and maintenance facility would branch off to the west occupying the airports buffer zone north of the end of its major runways, the final two stops would be in the median of the Dulles Greenway, serving the Ashburn suburb. Hence, the line is expected to draw both airport traffic and commuters from the far suburbs of Washington, DC. Buses currently provide these users with limited public transportation, in contrast, the Silver Line is expected to provide trains once every six minutes during rush hours and once every fourteen minutes during non-rush hours. Metros new 7000 series cars have been ordered at a price of $3 million per car,64 of which are for Silver Line service, the contract was signed on July 2,2010 for 428 cars
6.
Museum
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Most large museums are located in major cities throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller cities, towns and even the countryside. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public, the goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public. There are many types of museums, including art museums, natural history museums, science museums, war museums, the city with the largest number of museums is Mexico City with over 128 museums. According to The World Museum Community, there are more than 55,000 museums in 202 countries, the English museum comes from the Latin word, and is pluralized as museums. The first museum/library is considered to be the one of Plato in Athens, however, Pausanias gives another place called Museum, namely a small hill in Classical Athens opposite to the Akropolis. The hill was called Mouseion after Mousaious, a man who used to sing on the hill, the purpose of modern museums is to collect, preserve, interpret, and display items of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance for the education of the public. The purpose can also depend on ones point of view, to a family looking for entertainment on a Sunday afternoon, a trip to a local history museum or large city art museum could be a fun, and enlightening way to spend the day. To city leaders, a healthy museum community can be seen as a gauge of the health of a city. To a museum professional, a museum might be seen as a way to educate the public about the museums mission, Museums are, above all, storehouses of knowledge. In 1829, James Smithsons bequest, that would fund the Smithsonian Institution, stated he wanted to establish an institution for the increase, Museums of natural history in the late 19th century exemplified the Victorian desire for consumption and for order. Gathering all examples of classification of a field of knowledge for research. As American colleges grew in the 19th century, they developed their own natural history collections for the use of their students, while many large museums, such as the Smithsonian Institution, are still respected as research centers, research is no longer a main purpose of most museums. While there is a debate about the purposes of interpretation of a museums collection, there has been a consistent mission to protect. Much care, expertise, and expense is invested in efforts to retard decomposition in aging documents, artifacts, artworks. All museums display objects that are important to a culture, as historian Steven Conn writes, To see the thing itself, with ones own eyes and in a public place, surrounded by other people having some version of the same experience can be enchanting. Museum purposes vary from institution to institution, some favor education over conservation, or vice versa. For example, in the 1970s, the Canada Science and Technology Museum favored education over preservation of their objects and they displayed objects as well as their functions. One exhibit featured a printing press that a staff member used for visitors to create museum memorabilia
7.
National Mall
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The National Mall is a national park in downtown Washington, D. C. the capital of the United States. The National Park Service administers the National Mall, which is part of its National Mall, a smaller designation, sometimes referred to as the Mall proper, excludes both the Capitol grounds and the Washington Monument grounds, applying only to an area between them. The National Mall contains a number of museums and memorials and receives approximately 24 million visitors each year, in his 1791 plan for the future city of Washington, D. C. The National Mall occupies the site of this grand avenue. The Washington Monument stands near the site of its namesakes equestrian statue. Mathew Careys 1802 map is reported to be the first to name the area west of the United States Capitol as the Mall, during the early 1850s, architect and horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan for the Mall. Over the next century, federal agencies developed several naturalistic parks within the Mall in accordance with Downings plan. Two such areas were Henry Park and Seaton Park, in addition, railroad tracks crossed the Mall on 6th Street, west of the Capitol. Near the tracks, a market and a railroad station rose on the north side of the Mall. Greenhouses belonging to the U. S. Botanic Garden appeared near the east end of the Mall, the plan differed from LEnfants by replacing the 400 feet wide grand avenue with a 300 feet wide vista containing a long and broad expanse of grass. Four rows of American elm trees planted fifty feet apart between two paths or streets would line each side of the vista. Buildings housing cultural and educational institutions constructed in the Beaux-Arts style would line each outer path or street, on the opposite side of the path or street from the elms. In subsequent years, the vision of the McMillan plan was followed with the planting of American elms. In accordance with a plan that it completed in 1976, the NPS converted the two innermost boulevards into gravel walking paths, the two outermost boulevards remain paved and open to vehicular traffic. Although the Navy intended the buildings to provide quarters for the United States military during World War I. Much of the area then became Constitution Gardens, which was dedicated in 1976. From the 1970s to 1994, a model of a triceratops named Uncle Beazley stood on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History. The life-size statue, which is now located at the National Zoological Park in Northwest Washington, in 2003, the 108th United States Congress enacted the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act
8.
14th Street (Washington, D.C.)
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14th Street NW/SW is a street in Northwest and Southwest quadrants of Washington, D. C. located 1.25 miles west of the U. S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue, northbound U. S. Route 1 runs along 14th Street from the bridge to Constitution Avenue, where it turns east with US50. US1 southbound previously used 15th Street NW due to the ban on left turns from westbound Constitution Avenue to 14th Street, 14th Street crosses the National Mall and runs near the White House and through the western side of Washingtons Logan Circle neighborhood. Because it connects to one of the bridges crossing the Potomac River into Virginia. In the middle of the 20th century, 14th Street NW near the intersection of P Street was home to many car dealerships and was known as auto row, the Casino Royal at 14th and H Streets was one of the citys most popular nightclubs. The street was the location of riots in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King. In the 1980s, a portion of 14th Street became known primarily for its red-light district, many strip clubs and massage parlors were concentrated roughly between New York Avenue and K Street, while prostitutes plied their trade around Logan Circle. However, rising land values eventually pushed out the adult businesses, the Source Theatre, founded by Bart Whiteman, was given some credit for the areas revival. Whiteman stood outside the theater to escort people inside in order to make them feel safer, the opening of a Whole Foods Market at 14th and P Streets in 2000 is also considered a major turning point for the neighborhood. Moreover, while the center of the citys gay life is still Dupont Circle. As of 2012, the center of gravity had shifted and Logan Circle was voted DCs gay neighborhood, 14th Street, especially south of Florida Avenue, is rapidly gentrifying and now known as the preeminent dining destination in the Greater Washington area. In a nine-month period alone between 2012 and 2013,24 new restaurants opened on 14th Street, fourteenth Street has been a major transit route ever since the Capital Traction Company streetcar line was built around the turn of the 20th century. The successor to that line is the Metrobus 14th Street Line—routes 52,53, and 54
9.
Constitution Avenue
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Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D. C. in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its section was greatly lengthened and widened between 1925 and 1933. It received its current name on February 26,1931, Constitution Avenues western half defines the northern border of the National Mall and extends from the United States Capitol to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. Its eastern half runs through the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Kingman Park before it terminates at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, a large number of federal departmental headquarters, memorials, and museums line Constitution Avenues western segment. In Pierre Charles LEnfants original plan for the city in 1791, B Street NW began at 6th Street NW and its eastern segment, which was unimpeded by any water obstacles, ran straight to the Eastern Branch river. Along its entire length, B Street was 60 feet wide, LEnfant proposed turning Tiber Creek into a canal. His plan included cutting a new canal south across the side of the United States Capitol grounds. The Washington Canal Company was incorporated in 1802, and after several false starts substantial work began in 1810, the Washington City Canal began operation in 1815. The canal suffered from problems and economic competition almost immediately. Traffic on the canal was adversely affected by forces, which the builders had not accounted for. At low tide, portions of the canal were almost dry, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built Washington Branch into the city in 1835, competition from railroads left the canal economically unviable. Although the Washington City Canal remained in use after the coming of the railroad, by 1855 it had filled with silt and it remained in this condition throughout the 1860s. In 1871, Congress abolished the elected mayor and bicameral legislature of the District of Columbia, territorial government only lasted until 1874, but during this period the D. C. Board of Public Works enclosed the canal and turned it into a sewer, B Street NW from 15th Street to Virginia Avenue NW was constructed on top of it. Work began in October 1871 and was complete in December 1873 and this reclaimed land — which today includes West Potomac Park, East Potomac Park, the Tidal Basin — was largely complete by 1890, and designated Potomac Park by Congress in 1897. B Street NW extended through the newly created West Potomac Park between Virginia Avenue NW and 23rd Street NW, however, since this area was considered parkland, the street narrowed to just 40-foot in width. But Congress appropriated no money for the design or construction due to the onset of World War I, but after President Warren G. Congress approved funding for design work on June 12,1922, and authorized construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge on February 24,1925. The 1925 legislation specified that B Street NW be treated as an approach to Arlington Memorial Bridge
10.
McKim, Mead & White
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McKim, Mead & White was a prominent American architectural firm that thrived at the turn of the twentieth century. The firms founding partners were Charles Follen McKim, William Rutherford Mead and they hired many other architects, partners, associates, designers and draftsmen, who came to prominence during or after their time at the firm. The firms New York City buildings include Manhattans former Pennsylvania Station, the Brooklyn Museum, elsewhere in New York State and New England, the firm designed college, library, school and other buildings such as the Boston Public Library and Rhode Island State House. In Washington, D. C. the firm renovated the West and East Wings of the White House, and designed Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair and the National Museum of American History. Across the United States, the firm designed buildings in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, other examples are in Canada, Cuba and Italy. McKim and Mead joined forces in 1872 and they were joined in 1879 by White, who, like McKim, had worked for architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Its vision was to clean up the confusion of American cities and imbue them with a sense of order. The firm retained its name long after the deaths of founding partners White, McKim, among the firms final works under the name McKim, Mead & White was the National Museum of American History in Washington, D. C. Designed primarily by partner James Kellum Smith, it opened in 1964, Smith died in 1961, and the firm was soon renamed Steinmann, Cain and White. In 1971, it became Walker O. Cain and Associates, lewis Colt Albro – who formed a partnership with Harrie T. Lindeberg from 1906 to 1914. Henry Bacon – worked at the firm from about 1886 through 1897, boring – worked at the firm in 1890 before forming a separate partnership with Edward Lippincott Tilton. Page Brown - worked with the beginning in the 1880s, went to California. Walker O. Cain – worked at the firm, he took it over in 1961, john Merven Carrère – worked with McKim, Mead & White from 1883 through 1885, then joined Thomas Hastings to form the firm Carrère and Hastings. Arthur Loomis Harmon – later of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, Thomas Hastings – of Carrère and Hastings, worked with McKim, Mead & White from 1883 through 1885. William Mitchell Kendall, worked with the firm from 1882 until his death, Harrie T. Lindeberg – started at the firm in 1895 as an assistant to Stanford White and remained with the firm until Whites death in 1906. Austin W. James Kellum Smith – a member of the firm from 1924 to 1961, full partner in 1929, and he primarily designed academic buildings, but his last major work was the National Museum of American History. Egerton Swartwout of Tracy and Swartwout – both Tracy and Swartwout worked together for the firm on multiple projects prior to starting their own practice, robert von Ezdorf – took over much of the firms business after Whites death. William M. Wells – worked as firms first Chief Draftsman from 1879–90, often considered to be the fourth partner
11.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP is an American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings, with a portfolio spanning thousands of projects across 50 countries, SOM is one of the largest architectural firms in the world. Their primary expertise is in commercial buildings, as it was SOM that led the way to the widespread use of the modern international-style or glass box skyscraper. They have designed several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the John Hancock Center, Willis Tower, due to their faithful following of Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohes ideas, Frank Lloyd Wright nicknamed them The Three Blind Mies. Notable SOM architects include, Edward Charles Bassett, Natalie de Blois, Gordon Bunshaft, David Childs, Myron Goldsmith, Bruce Graham, Gertrude Kerbis, Fazlur Rahman Khan. Lucien Lagrange, Walter Netsch, Larry Oltmanns, Brigitte Peterhans, Adrian Smith, indeed, Khan is responsible for developing the algorithms that made the Hancock building and many subsequent skyscrapers possible. Another notable SOM engineer is Bill Baker, who is best known as the engineer of Burj Khalifa, to support the towers record heights and slim footprint, he developed the buttressed core structural system, consisting of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form a Y shape. Davis Allen, a pioneer in corporate interior design, had a tenure at SOM. Throughout its history, SOM has been recognized more than 1,700 awards for quality. More than 900 of these awards have received since 1998. In 1996 and 1962, SOM received the Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects, SOM is the only firm to have received this honor twic13 R+D Awards from Architect Magazine. In addition, a collaboration between SOM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology, was honored with a fifth award. SOM has completed over 10,000 projects around the United States and in more than 50 other countries around the world, london, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi. Smaller field offices supplement these in such as the Philippines. Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 829.8 m, construction began on 21 September 2004, and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The towers architect and engineer was Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, george J. Efstathiou was the Managing Partner for the project. Bill Baker, the Chief Structural Engineer for the project, invented the buttressed core structural system in order to enable the tower to achieve such heights economically, Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the Consulting Design Partner. The primary builder is a joint venture of South Korean Samsung C&T, one World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, is located in Manhattan, New York City, and is 1,776 ft high, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
at Federal Triangle
