Press Release

Announcing #SOMinChicago: An Instagram Contest to Celebrate the Chicago Architecture Biennial

Chicago is home to an unparalleled collection of architectural marvels. The city’s dedication to creating diverse, trailblazing architecture has helped shape skylines the world over. Founded there more than 80 years ago, SOM has contributed to Chicago’s place in architectural history, working to realize projects of all scales across the city.

On the occasion of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, we invite you to lend your photographic eye to the #SOMinChicago Instagram photo contest. It’s easy to enter: Take a photo of an SOM project in Chicago and post it to Instagram with #SOMinChicago in the caption. You’ll have a chance to be featured on SOM’s Instagram feed or to win one of three contest prizes.

  • The first prize winner will be featured on SOM’s website and social media. The winner will also receive a copy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill: The Experiment Since 1936; a copy of DETAIL Engineering 4: SOM Structural Engineering; a limited-edition SOM: Engineering x [Art + Architecture] tote bag; and an SOM Moleskine journal.
  • The second prize winner will receive a copy of DETAIL Engineering 4; the limited-edition tote bag; and the SOM Moleskine journal.
  • The third prize winner will receive the limited-edition tote bag and the SOM Moleskine journal.

From the John Hancock Center to Millennium Park, we’re eager to see what you’ll capture. For inspiration, search our Projects page to find a selection of our work in Chicago. Additionally, download our SOM in Chicago pocket map to locate 30 of our projects in and around the city center.

The #SOMinChicago photo contest begins on September 20th, 2017, and ends on January 7th, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. Entries will be reviewed by a jury of industry leaders and the three winners will be announced in January 2018. 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. Since its founding more than 80 years ago, SOM has earned a reputation for design excellence with a portfolio that includes some of the most important architectural accomplishments of the 20th and 21st centuries, and 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 nearly 2,000 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, Dubai, and Mumbai.