Case Study: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill achieves 5x faster steel connection analysis with Altair SimSolid

Renowned Architectural Firm Uses Altair SimSolid® to Slash Project Timelines

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, a renowned architectural and design firm, faced tight deadlines on a complex Mexico City high-rise (Antara Fase II) that required detailed steel braced‑frame connection evaluations and extra external peer reviews for multi‑hazard resilience. To meet schedule pressures and maintain rigorous validation standards, the firm turned to Altair and its Altair SimSolid® solution.

Using Altair SimSolid, SOM ran mesh‑free analyses directly on CAD models without geometry simplification or meshing, enabling accurate stress, strain, and deformation results that correlated with traditional methods. Altair’s SimSolid delivered a measurable 5× speedup—cutting what typically took two weeks down to two days—accelerating the project workflow while preserving validated engineering confidence.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Abel Diaz Valdes

Associate Principal