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About
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History
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Juries
Team

SOM Foundation
224 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60604

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About
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Support
History
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Team

Team

The SOM Foundation is led by the Executive Director along with the appointed Officers and Directors, who represent all current SOM Partners.

Executive Director

Somf 2021 research prize iker gil headshot

Iker Gil Hide Bio
Executive Director
SOM Foundation

Iker Gil has been the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation since 2019. He is the founder of MAS Studio and Editor in Chief of the nonprofit MAS Context. Gil has edited or coedited several books including Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio and Shanghai Transforming. He has curated multiple exhibitions including Nocturnal Landscapes, Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, and BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago, part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. He was cocurator of Exhibit Columbus 2020–2021 and Associate Curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Officers

Leo Chow edited

Leo Chow Hide Bio
Cochair
SOM Foundation

Leo Chow is a Design Partner in SOM’s San Francisco office. Chow has led a broad range of projects in the United States and Asia, including headquarters and commercial office buildings, residential and hotel towers, higher education facilities, and the planning of urban districts. Chow created the SOM Integrated Design Studio, an academic studio that focuses on tall building design and fully integrates structural engineers as coinstructors. He is a member of the San Francisco Arts Commission, serving on the Civic Design Review and Executive Committees.

Scott Duncan edited

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Cochair
SOM Foundation

Scott Duncan is a Design Partner in SOM’s Chicago office, where he leads the design of high-rise and mixed-use projects locally and around the world. Duncan serves as Chair of the Height and Data Committee of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a member of the Board of Directors of the SOM Foundation, and a leader of The Earth Project, SOM’s multidisciplinary research project on planetary health.

Laura Ettelman edited

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Treasurer
SOM Foundation

Laura Ettelman is a Managing Partner in SOM’s New York office. Ettelman’s management approach is to maximize the integration of the architectural design and technical development with the engineering requirements of the project to meet the client’s goals. In 2020, Ettelman was one of two architects appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to New York City’s Advisory Council in the Construction and Real Estate Sector.

Kent Jackson new edited

Kent Jackson Hide Bio
Secretary
SOM Foundation

Kent Jackson is a Design Partner in SOM’s London office. Jackson’s creative approach to design responds to individual context and enables the integration of the natural and built environment. He is a leading advocate of the firm's pledge to meet the AIA 2030 Commitment towards a carbon-neutral built environment. He serves on the UK Advisory Board for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and is also a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects and the British Council of Offices.

Robert L. Wesley Award Mentors

Paola Aguirre Founder, Borderless

Germane Barnes Founder, Studio Barnes

Danei Cesario Associate, SOM

Leo Chow Design Partner, SOM

Chris Cornelius Founding Principal, studio:indigenous

Iker Gil Executive Director, SOM Foundation

Roberto Gonzalez Principal, RGB-Architects

Jia Yi Gu Director, MAK Center for Art and Architecture

Joyce Hwang Director, Ants of the Prairie

Ojay Obinani Associate Director, SOM

Quilian Riano Founder, DSGN AGNC

Maria Villalobos Hernandez Cofounder and Artist Creator, Botanical City

Robert L. Wesley Retired Partner, SOM

Amanda Williams Visual Artist

Consulting Team

Michelle Benoit Editorial Consultant

Nathan Bluestone Graphic Design

Alison Kalantzis Administrative Assistant

Finn MacLeod Global Communications

Karen Widi Archivist

Span Website Designers

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