Ross Wimer, FAIA, the longtime design partner at Skimore, Owings & Merrill, is leaving the firm to join AECOM. “After 18 years, 423 projects, 87 design awards and countless hours of cabin air I am moving on from SOM,” he writes in an email. “It has been an honor to have excellent clients and great colleagues to work with.”
Wimer leaves SOM for AECOM, where he will lead the firm’s architecture practice in the Americas. “After an intensive global search, it became clear that Ross had the vision, talent, and experience to reinforce a culture of architectural excellence and to embrace our focus on integrated practice,” said AECOM executive vice president Bill Hanway in a statement.
Wimer is responsible for buildings in 20 cities on 5 continents. He designed Chicago’s 2016 Olympic Games bid master plan. His projects include the Ledge at Skydeck in Chicago, Terminal 3 at the Changi Airport in Singapore, and the Tianjin Tanggu Transportation Hub in Tianjin, China. Wimer, who was first profiled by ARCHITECT in 2006, designed the Cayan Tower in Dubai, a building featured in the upcoming November issue.
“We regret that Ross Wimer has chosen to leave SOM,” said a statement that the firm provided to ARCHITECT. “Over 18 years, he has made significant contributions to our work within the collaborative environment that defines SOM. He leaves us on amicable terms as an admired colleague and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Wimer, who is based in Chicago and Los Angeles, will work across AECOM’s offices in the Americas.