Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, American architectural firm founded in 1936 in New York City by Louis Skidmore (1897-1962), Nathaniel A. Owings (1903-84), and John O. Merrill (1896-1975). The firm helped to popularize the International style during the postwar period. Their best-known early work is Lever House (1952), which was designed by Gordon Bunshaft and reflects the influence of Mies Van der Rohe. Later in the century the firm adopted a postmodern aesthetic, seen in such buildings as the Worldwide Plaza in New York City (1989).