Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP + HP

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). Even if you don't know the name, you know the work. Chicago's Sears Tower and John Hancock Tower, San Francisco's Bank of America headquarters, even the U.S. Air Force Academy are all signature projects of SOM, a 1,000–person, world-renowned architectural firm.

Today, SOM has projects in development all over the world, which means SOM architects need to be all over the world. This poses an array of logistical challenges, from lugging cumbersome 3–D models and drawings through airports to implementing on–site revisions while being far from a drawing table.

But a revolutionary new computer is changing all that – HP's Tablet PC, combined with Autodesk Architectural Studio Software (www.autodesk.com/architecturalstudio), allows SOM architects to take all the tools of their offices with them wherever they go, making it as easy to sketch, render and revise on site as it is on a plane or in the office.

HP's Tablet PC is equipped with a highly intuitive interface capable of duplicating the layering process inherent in architectural design. And, it's backed by sophisticated wireless technology, enabling SOM's architects to not only work from anywhere but also share their ideas instantly with colleagues from New York to Shanghai.

The adoption of HP's Tablet PC has resulted in tremendous productivity gains for SOM. By eliminating the technological barriers between designer and design, SOM architects are now able to eliminate the barriers between today's inspired vision and tomorrow's inspiring skylines.