Press Release

SOM Announces One World Trade Center Photo Contest

One World Trade Center officially opens today. To celebrate this historic moment, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the designer of the landmark skyscraper, is hosting a public photo contest. Amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit their original photographs of the tower through Instagram or email. The winner will receive a one-of-a-kind scale model of the tower, handcrafted by the firm’s model shop in Manhattan, as well as a limited-edition print of One World Trade Center, taken by renowned photographer James Ewing.

The crystalline tower has long captured the imagination of locals and visitors alike — who have watched the building as it has materialized, from drawings through its construction. More than 13 years in the making, the 104-story, 1776-foot office tower — the tallest in the Western Hemisphere — recaptures the New York skyline, reasserts downtown Manhattan’s preeminence as a global business center, and establishes a new civic icon for the country.

With this photo contest, the first of its kind organized by SOM, the firm is excited to capture this landmark through the eyes —  and lens — of the public.

The contest begins November 3, 2014, and ends on December 3, 2014, at 11:59 PM EST. The entries will be reviewed by a jury that comprised of several SOM architects, along with James Ewing.

Contest Rules

One winner will be announced on or about December 10, 2014. To enter, contest participants must post their original photo of One World Trade Center to Instagram and caption the image with both #WelcomeOneWTC and @SkidmoreOwingsMerrill. Alternatively, submissions may be emailed to [email protected]. If emailed, attachments must not exceed 10 megabytes in size. Full contest rules are available here.

About Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning 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 1,700 awards for quality, innovation, and management. The American Institute of Architects has recognized SOM twice with its highest honor, the Architecture Firm Award — in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi.