The Ledge at Skydeck Chicago Wins Vertigo Award

SOM recognized with two awards from Friends of Downtown

May 11, 2010  (Chicago) - The Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is pleased to receive the Friends of Downtown Coolest Thing - Vertigo Award for The Ledge at Skydeck Chicago located at The Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). This new award category was created especially for The Ledge. The Friends of Downtown is a not-for-profit group which, for the past 20 years, annually awards firms, organizations or individuals for intelligent planning, superior design and awareness of important issues affecting Chicago's downtown.

The Ledge at Willis Tower was created to enhance a classic SOM building with an innovative addition that is in the spirit of the original design. The four minimal, five-sided glass platforms allow for views in all directions from the observation level on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower. The ledges provide a dramatic experience, suspending visitors 1,353 feet above street level.

The Ledge, along with SOM Chicago's Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago - which won the Friends of Downtown award for Best New Building - were honored at a reception and awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 5, 2010.

About SOM
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the leading architecture, urban planning, interior design, and engineering firms in the world, with a 75-year reputation for design excellence and a portfolio that includes some of the most important architectural accomplishments of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since its inception, SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment. The firm’s longstanding leadership in design and building technology has been honored with more than 1,400 awards for quality, innovation, and management. The American Institute of Architects has twice recognized SOM with its highest honor, the Architecture Firm Award—in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco,  Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai, and Brussels.