Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939 John O. Merrill joined the firm. SOM, for short, is one of the leading architectural firms. Adrian Smith's position, in the construction of Burj Khalifa, was chief architect and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer. Some of the structures that this firm has built include the John Hancock Center and the Sears Tower.
Award-winning designer Nada Andric led the company of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in the interior design of the Burj Khalifa. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea. Some of the major subcontractors included Besix of Belgium and also Arabtec from the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The project manager assigned to the enormous job was the Turner Construction Company of the U.S.A. The developer of this beautiful building was Emaar Properties, headquartered in Dubai.