This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
An unpublished manuscript by William S. Brown titled "SOM: The Formative Years." The manuscript, a 400-page typescript with holograph annotations throughout, was written between 1979-1983. The manuscript is incomplete, missing various pages sections.
In the text, Brown endeavors to demystify the architectural firm Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill, by shifting the focus away from the star designers and onto members of the firm who "have had little or no public acknowledgement." Brown emphasizes the process of making architecture and the important roles played by lesser known figures, such as the senior designers, the project managers, and the job captains.
This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
Adams, N., William S. Brown's "SOM: The Formative Years" (1983). A New History of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 2019. 78(3): p. 254-258.
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
William S. Brown was a longtime partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and head of the firm's production department. Brown worked at SOM from 1939 to 1969.
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